3Com 2500 manual An RMON implementation offers solutions to both of these problems

13-2 CHAPTER 13: REMOTE MONITORING (RMON) TECHNOLOGY

Benefits of RMON Traditional network management applications poll network devices such as switches, bridges, and routers at regular intervals from a network management console. The console gathers statistics, identifies trends, and can highlight network events. The console polls network devices constantly to determine if the network is within its normal operating conditions.

As network size and traffic levels grow, however, the network management console can become overburdened by the amount of data it must collect. Frequent console polling also generates significant network traffic that itself can create problems for the network itself.

An RMON implementation offers solutions to both of these problems:

■The RMON probe looks at the network on behalf of the network management console without affecting the characteristics and performance of the network itself.

■The RMON MIB reports by exception rather than by sending constant or frequent information to the network management console. The RMON probe informs the network management console directly if the network enters an abnormal state. The console can then use more information from the probe, such as history information, to diagnose the abnormal condition.

LANplex RMON The LANplex Extended Switching software offers full time embedded RMON Implementation support through SNMP for four RMON Groups. When combined with the

Roving Analysis Port (RAP) function, RMON support for these groups provides a comprehensive and powerful mechanism for managing your network.

You can gain access to the RMON capabilities of the LANplex 2500 system only through SNMP applications such as Transcend® Enterprise Manager software, not through the serial interface or telnet. For more information about the details of managing 3Com devices using RMON, see the user documentation of the Transcend Network Management Application for Windows.

The LANplex system supports four of the RMON groups defined by the IETF.

Table 13-1 lists these supported groups.