One of the most underrated and most vital pieces to any organization no matter the size of the business is network device backup.

The reason why you should have a backup device solution in place is as follows:

1. Quick reestablishment of device configs.
2. Reduced downtime due to failed devices.
3. Disaster recovery and business continuity.
4. Network compliance.

These are all key components to the success of your organization.

Another aspect which should not be ignored is Policy checking. A policy checking system uses an advanced “Snippet” based rules engine, with advanced regular expression based rules and filters to quickly create policies that range from the simple, to the very complex.

These rules can be based on simple text ‘strings’ to finding items present or missing in configuration files; powerful configuration snippets with ‘section’ matching and ‘regular expression’ searching; or advanced scripting languages, (i.e. XML, Perl).

Our CTO John Olson will educate you on why organizations are turning to NMSaaS to capture their network device configurations and then use that information to run detailed compliance checks.

In this technical webinar he will show you how to leverage the power of the NMSaaS Configuration and Change (NCCM) Module to both protect and report on your critical network device configurations.

Examples of automated functions include:

1. Backup the running configuration of devices.
2. Compare older configurations to the current one.
3. Restore configurations from previous backups.
4. Use logging to watch for device changes and then automatically backup the new configuration.
5. Run Policy checks against those stored configurations for compliance audits.

To listen to a webinar on cloud based network device backup & compliance policy on demand, click below

Thanks to NMSaaS for the article. 

Join Mike Skripek, Senior Network Engineer for a Webinar and Live Demo on- 

“I Have 1000 Devices From this Vendor to Manage, Now What?”

This Webinar will provide insight into:

• How custom integration can solve your device management woes
• Extracting performance data beyond traditional methods
• 5 examples of custom scripting for custom devices
• Custom integration can evolve with your code versions
• Custom integration with Infosim® StableNet® [Live Demo]
• Stump the presenter: “Can you manage this device?” [Q&A]

A recording of this Webinar will be available to all who register!

(Take a look at our previous Webinars here.)

Thanks to Infosim for the article. 

Network device backup is vital for any business no matter what the size of the organization.

Network downtime due to device failure can be accounted for by hardware malfunction or inaccurate changes in the configuration of the device.

Regardless of the cause, you need to find the easiest and fastest way to get your network back up and running.

This means having an up-to-date network backup plan in place that enables you to quickly swap out the faulty device and restore the configuration from backup.

Too often, devices are set up in the network but forgotten soon after. Forgotten, that is, until there’s problem and until it’s too late! Many overlook the first step in network device management, which is to perform regular backups of the configuration.

If a business should experience a failure of any device on the network, without a backup of the configuration the IT staff will not be able to easily get the device working smoothly once again. The more complex or advanced the device in question, the greater the problem can be.

A third of businesses face a potentially serious problem maintaining network stability, because they fail to make copies of the settings of all devices on their network.

Techworld ran a survey and found that 33% of companies do not back up their network device configurations.

Maintaining regular and up to date backups is a vital piece of network management.

The reason why you should have a backup device configuration in place is as follows:

1. Quick reestablishment of device configs.
2. Reduced downtime due to failed devices.
3. Disaster recovery and business continuity.
4. Network compliance.

These are all key components to the success of your organization. If you would like to find out more about network device back up click below to receive your free whitepaper.

Thanks to NMSaaS for the article.

For small and medium sized organization deciding to use a SaaS based Network Management application they will have the ability to use better solutions that would have been too expensive for them to in the past.

Even the smallest business now has access to very advanced CRM, ERP, manufacturing and other software that would never have been available to them at their small scale.

In the world that NMSaaS plays in, this means mid-sized companies can now monitor and manage their IT systems with the same advanced software that was previously only available and affordable for large global enterprises.

The ability to gain these advantages without having to purchase expensive software is what makes cloud based network monitoring so appealing to mid-sized enterprises.

If an Enterprise decides to use a SaaS Network Management solution of any kind they’re going to see immediate benefits from three prime areas.

1. Reduced costs
2. Speed
3. Flexibility

Reduced Cost

In the network monitoring space, many traditional Network Management applications require a hefty upfront fee for their software, and then an equally if not more expensive fee for professional services to actually make the system operate and integrate with other platforms. On the contrary, most cloud based systems are sold as yearly or less. SaaS models don’t need to pay for server hardware, storage or electricity associated with running a solution in house.

Speed

One of the biggest advantages of cloud based systems is that they are already running. The front end, backend and associated applications are already installed. As a user all you have to do is raise your hand and say you want it and in most cases your service can be provisioned in a matter of hours or less.

Flexibility

Cloud based system are generally much more flexible in terms of deployment, usage, terms, and even support compared to “legacy” software deployments! According to a survey by North Bridge Venture Partners, in conjunction with GigaOM Research “More than half of respondents cited business agility 54.5% as a main driver” of cloud migration. Clearly businesses are seeing flexibility as a major reason to move to the cloud and we do not see any end to this trend in sight.

In the end, all organizations are looking for ways to trim unnecessary costs and increase capabilities. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this today is to switch to cloud based SaaS applications where it makes sense.

Thanks to NMSaaS for the article.

What is SNMP? Why should we use it? These are all common questions people ask when deciding if its the right feature for them, the answers to these questions are simple.SNMP Management

Simple Network Management Protocol is an “internet-standard protocol for managing devices on IP netowrks”. Devices that typically support this solution include routers, switches, servers, workstations, printers, modem racks and more.

Key functions

• Collects data about its local environment.
• Stores and retrieves administration information as defined in the MIB.
• Signals an event to the manager.
• Acts as a proxy for some non–SNMP manageable network device.

It typicaly uses, one or more administrative computers, called managers, which have the task of monitoring or managing a group of hosts/devices on a computer network.

Each tool provides valuable insight to any network administrator who requires complete visibility into the network, and it acts as a primary component of a complete management solution information via SNMP to the manager.

The specific agents uncover data on the managed systems as variables. The protocol also permits active management tasks, such as modifying and applying a new configuration through remote modification of these variables.

Companies such as Paessler & Manage Engine have been providing customers with reliable SNMP for years, and its obvious why.

Why use it?

It delivers information in a common, non-proprietary manner, making it easy for an administrator to manage devices from different vendors using the same tools and interface.

Its power is in the fact that it is a standard: one SNMP-compliant management station can communicate with agents from multiple vendors, and do so simultaneously.

Another advantage of the application is in the type of data that can be acquired. For example, when using a protocol analyzer to monitor network traffic from a switch’s SPAN or mirror port, physical layer errors are invisible. This is because switches do not forward error packets to either the original destination port or to the analysis port.

However, the switch maintains a count of the discarded error frames and this counter can be retrieved via a simple network management protocol query.

Conclusion

When selecting a solution like this, choose a solution that delivers full network coverage for multi-vendor hardware networks including a console for the devices anywhere on your LAN or WAN.

If you want additional information download our free whitepaper below.

Thanks to NMSaaS for the article.