Are you looking to purchase or maybe switch your network monitoring tool?
This network planning checklist can help you to find the right network monitoring tool if you want to compare other options to what you currently have or if you’re just getting started.
If you’re considering using or changing to a new network monitoring system, you’ll want to make sure that all of your needs are covered. This tool will allow you to organize your notes and make a customized, filtered list of your necessary features that you might not have thought about yourself. You’ll be able to compare up to three products at a time and select the options that meet your needs.
The purpose of a network monitoring checklist is to make sure that all the critical aspects of your network are being monitored. You’ll want to make sure your set of tools meets key capabilities as they relate to your network environment and network engineers' skills.
Key items to keep in mind when selecting a network monitoring tool:
Total visibility. The ability to monitor ALL devices to ensure that they are operational and reachable and allows you to have the information and insight you need, not only to keep your organization safe, but to keep it operating at maximum capacity.
Graphical visualization. With a single picture, you should be able to see how your network is connected. A network diagram should be automatically generated so you don't have to worry about updating it, but also be flexible and interactive so you can move elements around and lock them in place so you can have a static or dynamic view of the environment.
Root-Cause Analysis & Troubleshooting. Basic network monitoring tools usually aren’t much help in solving networking issues. They may indicate that something is wrong but give you no guidance on where the problem lies, or how to fix it. You need a tool that can help you quickly diagnose issues and allow you to get to the root cause so that you can truly fix them without spending hours, weeks, or even months doing so.
Plain-English answers. You need to understand the data. You don’t want to have to research what it means when you see FCS errors combined with alignment errors. Make sure the tool has a heuristics engine that can analyze error counters and configuration, and produces a list of plain-English answers, for rapid remediation of network issues.
How to use the NetOps Planning Tool Checklist:
- Check the functions based on your needs for what you are required to manage.
- Compare multiple products against the functions that you selected. The product comparison section allows you to add other products you’d like to compare. You can edit the “ChangeMe1” and “ChangeMe2” names and customize them to the products you want to compare.
- Add notes to yourself as needed.
- Select the “Collapse Unselected” to collapse the list, if you only want to see the items that you’ve selected.
- Download a PDF of your planning list by clicking on “Download Selected” or Download Full”.
Note: You can return to this page any time to continue working on the form and the data will remain available, as long as you do not clear your cache.
Finding the right tool to get the job done is key. Don’t allow yourself to spend weeks and months chasing down the root causes of issues that may not even matter by the time you find the answers you’re looking for. Find a network monitoring and troubleshooting tool that will tell you exactly when, where and why your problem occurred in a matter of minutes.
