2.11 Tracking Network Activity

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The ability to monitor network activity allows the LAN administrator to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of network services. An event manager agent is used to track network activity (events), log network activity, and automatically alert the person responsible for responding to certain network occurrences. The following network occurrences are considered events:

• Running jobs, such as network backup or a virus scan;

• Recording the status of completed jobs;

• Recording changes to the hardware inventory;

• Logging in and out of the network;

• Accessing applications;

• Starting programs—successfully or unsuccessfully.

The LAN administrator can specify the network activity to be tracked, such as the times when users log in and out of the network or when programs are run. Network activities that may require immediate attention also can be specified. A notification feature can be set to alert the LAN administrator of the times when these events occur. The following methods of event notification typically are available:

• Console messages: Text messages display the name of the event and color-coded views indicate the priority level of the event. Some products use event icons to display events.

• E-mail messages: The event level and name is sent in an e-mail message.

• Pager messages: A phone number, the event name, or both, is sent to a pager.

Different notification methods can be set as appropriate for each network event. Event notifications can be processed based on priority level. For example, if three network events occur simultaneously, notification of the event with the highest priority is sent first. A priority level may be a number from 1 to 9—with 1 indicating the lowest and 9 indicating the highest priority. When the LAN administrator specifies the network activity to monitor, a priority level for each event is assigned based on how critical the activity is and whether or not someone has to be notified when the event occurs.

The LAN administrator can choose one or more contacts to receive notification of each event level. For example, a technician can be specified to receive a pager message when high-priority events occur, and that an e-mail message be sent to a help desk operator when routine application-related events occur. An acknowledgment of receipt for event data can be sent to the console to help ensure a proper response to events.

Some network monitoring tools use intelligent agents to gather protocol and activity data on LANs. The data gathered by the agents is stored in a relational database, where it is correlated for traffic analysis, billing, and report generation. With the ability to identify traffic loads, including which nodes are generating the most traffic, the resulting information can be used to charge departments for their share of the resources, including dial-out connections.

Even if such information is not used for charge-back, the network monitoring tool can still be used to reduce costs and help administrators determine policies for more efficient network use. In addition, monitoring the network for predefined traffic thresholds on a particular LAN segment or ring gives administrators the means to identify traffic patterns that could cause the network to crash. Traffic reports can even identify the need to change the network. If too many users on one or more network segments are logging in to different servers or using resources in another building, for example, a lot of backbone traffic can be created. With the aid of traffic reports, the network can be redesigned to alleviate backbone traffic and make sure bottlenecks do not occur.

Managing various tasks and ensuring they are completed can be a time-consuming part of LAN administration. However, using a task manager agent allows the LAN administrator to create and maintain a centralized list of tasks at the console, thereby streamlining their management. A task manager agent can track the following task information on-line:

• Description;

• Person requesting service;

• Station ID;

• Status;

• Origination, due, start, and completion dates;

• Person assigned the task.

The task manager agent also can be used for keeping track of what information is contained in various data sets. A data set is several related files that hold information collected by one or more agents. The kind of information stored in a data set could include the status of application metering, software inventory, hardware inventory, and the status of network activities (events). When setting up the agents, the LAN administrator specifies a data set in which to store this kind of information. After defining task and data set information using the task manager, the LAN administrator can view the information in a browse or report format at the console.

The task manager allows the LAN administrator to add, edit, and delete task information in one or more data sets. After creating a task list, the LAN administrator can choose to display the items in the list by priority, due date, status, or alphabetically by description at the console.

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