Chapter 3: Diagnostic Mechanisms

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In This Chapter

• Cisco Network Management Tools

• Cisco Diagnostic Commands

Managing networks is all about keeping the network running smoothly. Problems need to be detected and diagnosed proactively to prevent or at least minimize network disruptions. Cisco offers a host of management tools and diagnostic commands to provide diagnostic capabilities to network administrators. Cisco network management tools, such as CiscoWorks^tm and CiscoView^tm, enable you to monitor the network continuously for performance, connectivity, resilience, security, and accessibility.

These tools can be selected as per the organization’s specific requirements. For example, CiscoWorks is available for LAN management and IP telephony networks. You can select the most appropriate management tool for a network type and the most appropriate command options for a particular situation. The Cisco IOS commands include show, debug, trace, ping, and cdp. These commands run in different modes on the router console and provide a wide range of options that can be selected to perform specific diagnostic operations.