Networks should support both volume traffic as well as the increased requirements for security, analytics and compliance. As networks expand exponentially, there is a natural tendency for the network traffic to increase at each monitoring point. With today's business needs, business applications are hosted on these same networks. In addition, these same networks also host critical clients, product, and business information. With such vital resources in one place, ensuring uptime is a challenge because there are various threats, including information theft, viruses, denial of service attacks and hackers. These threats could easily lead to downtimes and loss of data. If a business depends on a network, network monitoring services are extremely beneficial.

Network Monitoring Services

There are various tools in the market that enable testing of different metrics such as jitter, delay, bandwidth, packet loss, and throughput. Some of the most popular tools used in network performance and monitoring include:

BBMonitor. This is a commercial Windows-based application. This particular software monitors the bandwidth usage and Internet connection speed test. The application monitors all the incoming and outgoing traffic and the data derived is stored in databases. The software comes with features that enable users to create charts using data from the repository so that the administrator can make a decision in regards to the health of the network.

CommView. A commercial based application that runs with Windows, this software monitors Internet and Local Area Network (LAN) activity, and at the same time automatically captures and analyzes the network traffic. The application works by collecting information about data that passes through Ethernet and then decodes the same data. It also lists all the available network connections, local and remote IP's while simultaneously examining individual packets.

Advanced host monitor. This is a network administration tool that monitors the file/folder size, DNS servers, mail, FTP, web and network traffic. This application also comes with capabilities to check on SQL servers, CPU usage, disk space, and TCP services.

GFI network server monitor. This particular application monitors the network for any failures or irregularities. As a result, network availability is maximized because various aspects of windows and Linux servers, workstations and devices like routers and gateways are proactively monitored. When this software detects any failure, alerts are automatically sent via network messages, e-mail, pager, or SMS. This software also comes with capabilities to automatically login to the terminal server and verify if the session was properly established. In addition, GFI can check on disk partition and space, group membership, file/folder size, printer availability, and CPU usage.

Smoke Ping. An open source application that works under UNIX environment, this software measures, stores, and displays latency distribution and packet loss. The application supports dynamic IP and courtesy of the RRD tool, smoke ping has a built-in repository that enables data to be presented in form of graphs, making it possible to define latency or pattern loss.

You can get more information about Hosted PBX Services,Network Monitoring Services by visiting Opentek