SMC Networks 6.20 manual Introduction, Brief Description of Rmon

CHAPTER 9

USING RMON

Introduction

This chapter describes how to use Remote Monitoring (RMON) to more effectively monitor your network. RMON provides a cost-effective way to monitor large networks by placing embedded or external probes on distributed network equipment (i.e., hubs, switches or routers). EliteView can access the probes embedded in recent SMC network products to perform traffic analysis, troubleshoot network problems, evaluate historical trends, or implement proactive management policies. RMON has already become a valuable tool for network managers faced with a quickly changing network landscape that contains dozens or hundreds of separate segments. RMON is the only way to retain control of the network and analyze applications running at multi-megabit speeds. It provides the tools you need to implement either reactive or proactive policies that can keep your network running based on real-time access to key statistical information.

RMON can be used to perform a wide range of management tasks, including:

•Troubleshoot problems

•Track down intermittent problems

•Locate bottlenecks

•Plan for network expansion

A Brief Description of RMON

Remote Monitoring allows you to instruct a remote device to collect information or respond to specified events on an independent basis. An RMON-capable device can independently perform a wide range of tasks, significantly reducing network management traffic. It can continuously run diagnostics and log network performance. If an event is triggered, the remote device can automatically notify the network administrator of a failure and provide historical information about the event. If the remote device cannot connect to the management agent, it will continue to perform any specified tasks and pass data back to the management station the next time it contacts the remote device.

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