Identifying Important Network Components to Monitor

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Identifying Important Network Components to Monitor

In addition to monitoring a system and its components, it is critical to monitor the networks connecting the system to the end-users. Without connectivity to end-users and adequate performance, the service provided by a system is useless. This chapter shows how to monitor all aspects of your networked environment.

Networking is a broad category and it can be broken down into a variety of components. These network components are shown in Figure 6-1. The client in this picture is the end-user connecting to the corporate network from the user 's desktop computer, and the server is the UNIX computer system, providing access to the corporate databases, performing network services such as Network File System (NFS), and so on. Note that the failure of any of these components can affect service availability, so it is important to provide high levels of redundancy throughout the corporate backbone. Network problems can be due to an application, defects in the network protocol software in the operating system, hardware problems with the LAN card or cabling, etc.

Figure 6-1. NNM displays network segments.

graphics/06fig01.gif

To isolate a network problem, you need monitoring tools. The tool discussions in this chapter are organized by network component, such as routers and network interfaces, so that you can more easily see the specific monitoring tools available for each component. Some tools with a variety of capabilities are discussed in multiple sections of this chapter. Tools are available that show you the status of a network graphically, and that detect faults as well as configuration, resource, and performance problems. The most common problems are performance- related , and include both temporary and sustained performance overloads.

This chapter focuses primarily on TCP/IP networks, because the TCP/IP protocol suite is driving most Internet use.

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UNIX Fault Management. A Guide for System Administrators
UNIX Fault Management: A Guide for System Administrators
ISBN: 013026525X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 1999
Pages: 90

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