Using Network Monitoring

The Network Monitor solution monitors systems, including processes, CPU, memory, and disk space, for performance and health. It also monitors systems externally for network availability and network response. The Network Monitor solution also monitors SNMP-capable devices, such routers, hubs, switches.

You can refer to the following resources for more information about Network Monitoring:

Video: Network Systems Monitoring (5:55)

Network & Systems Monitoring Self-paced Training Guide

The Network Monitoring tab includes the following subtabs:

• Summary
• Devices
• Faults
• Admin

Note: Before you can use network monitoring, you must first import and distribute the following agents:

• Systems Agent - deploy to all systems you want to monitor
  
• SNMP Agent - deploy to two systems

You must also set up a Help Desk category, workgroup, and assignment rules for network monitoring. Finally, you must enable the Allow Specialist email commands option.

Summary

The Summary subtab displays reports that provide a high-level view of the systems in your environment.

Follow these steps to display the Summary subtab:

1. Click the Network Monitor tab.
2. Click the Summary subtab to display the Summary page.

The Summary page displays the following reports:

• The Top 10 Worst Availability report lists the devices with the longest down time.
  Click the report name to display the detailed Availability Report.
• The Top 10 Bandwidth Usage graph displays the devices with the highest percentage of bandwidth use in graphic format.
• The Top 10 Diskspace Usage report lists the devices with the highest percentage of diskspace usage.
• The Top 10 Bandwidth Usage report lists the devices with the highest percentage of bandwidth use.
• The Top 10 CPU Utilization report lists the devices with the highest CPU use.
• The Top 10 Memory Usage report lists the devices with the highest percentage of memory use.
• The Top 10 Running Programs report lists the devices with the most number of programs in use.
• The Top 10 Worst (ICMP) Response Time report lists the devices with the slowest response times.
• The Top 10 Open Ports report lists the devices with the greatest number of open ports.
• The Top 10 Longest Uptime report lists the devices with the greatest duration of uptime.

Availability Report

The Availability Report lists the devices with the longest down time.

Follow these steps to display the Availability Report:

1. Click the Network Monitor tab.
2. Click the Summary subtab to display the Summary page.
3. Click the Top 10 Worst Availability report link to display the Availability Report.

The Availability Report displays the following information for each device listed:

• The # column displays the number of the device in the list. This column is colored according to the availability level, from worst to best.
• The Device Name column displays the name of the device.
• The Avail column displays the percentage of time that the device has been available.
• The Last Update column displays the date and time of the last update to the availability information.
• The Collector Type column displays the type and number of the collector.

Devices

The Devices page displays the list of servers and systems being monitored in your environment.

To display the Devices page, click the Network Monitor tab. The Devices page displays by default.

You can view the following details for each device listed:

• The # column displays the number of the device in the list.
• The Status column displays the device status, such as available or unavailable.
• The Device Name column displays the name of the device.
  Click the device name to display the Device Details page.
• The IP Address column list the IP address(es) for the device.
• The Device Type column lists the type of operating system.
• The Uptime column lists the length of time that the device has been available.
• The Total Memory column lists the amount of memory available on the device.
• The Disk Volume(s) column lists the available drives for the device.

Device Details

The Device Details page allows you to view the detailed information for a single device.

Follow these steps to display the Device Details page:

1. Click the Network Monitor tab. The Devices page displays by default.
   
2. Click a device name to view the Device Details page.

You can view the following details about devices:

• The System Information section provides basic system information about the device.
  Click the number of Running Programs link to obtain more details about the programs running on the device.
• The Response Time section displays the maximum, average, and current response times for the device.
• The CPU Utilization section displays the maximum, average, and current CPU utilization percentages for the device.
• The Memory Utilization section displays the maximum, average, and current memory utilization percentages for the device.
• The Interface Utilization section displays the maximum, average, and current interface utilization percentages for the device, as well as traffic in and traffic out information.
• The Disk Usage section displays the maximum, average, and current disk usage and disk size for the device.
• The Faults section displays faults for the device.

Note: The details that display depend on the device type.

Running Programs

The Running Programs page provides a list of all programs running on a system.

Follow these steps to display the Running Programs for a system:

1. Click the Network Monitor tab. The Devices page displays by default.
2. Click a device name to view the Device Details page.
3. Click the number of running programs link to display the Running Programs page.

You can view the following details for each program listed:

• The Program Name column displays the name of the executable file.
• The Memory Used column displays the amount of memory used for the program.
• The See Legend column displays the combination of processes that are applicable to the program.
• The Description column displays a brief description of the program.

You can also set up monitoring of specific programs on the Restart/Stop Process Setup page.

Faults

The Faults page displays a list of all faults, such as service up, service down, or service restart, in your environment. This list is sorted according to date, with the most recent faults listed at the top.

Follow these steps to display the Faults page:

1. Click the Network Monitor tab.
2. Click the Faults subtab to display the Faults page.

You can view the following details for each fault listed:

• The severity column displays the fault level, such as critical, major, normal, or informational.
• The Name column displays the name of the device on which the fault occurred.
• The Item Type column displays the type of device.
• The Date & Time column indicates when the fault occurred on the device.
• The Problem Type column indicates the specific type of fault.
• The Notes column displays information about the fault type, such as threshold, uptime, or fault time.

Click the Previous, Next, and page number links to view other pages of faults.

You can enable notification for a device on the Device Admin page.

Admin

The Admin page allows you to configure the Network Monitor solution for your environment.

Follow these steps to display the Admin page:

1. Click the Network Monitor tab.
2. Click the Admin subtab to display the Admin page.

The Admin page includes links to the following sections:

• Device Admin
• SNMP Poller Admin
• Time Zone Admin
• Add SNMP Device
• Restart/Stop Process Setup
• Thresholds Setup
• Email Setup
• Email Notification Setup
• Supported Private MIB's

Device Admin

The Device Admin page lists all devices that are available to monitor.

Follow these steps to display the Device Admin page:

1. Click the Network Monitor tab.
2. Click the Admin subtab.
3. Click the Device Admin icon to display the Device Admin page.

The Device Admin page displays the following information about each device:

• The # column displays the number of the device in the list.
• The Device Name column displays the name of the device.
• The IP Address column list the IP address(es) for the device.
• The SNMP column displays the SNMP community string.

You can complete the following tasks on the Device Admin page:

• Select the Email Notification check box for a device to receive notification for the device if notifications have been configured on the Email Notification Setup page.
  
• Select the Enable Display check box for a device to display in the devices list. This option determines whether the device displays on the Summary and Devices pages.
• Select the Auto Create Helpdesk Incidents check box for a device to create tickets. If you select this option, Systems Manager opens a Help Desk ticket with fault information each time a fault occurs on a device and closes the ticket when the fault is resolved.
• Add an SNMP device

Click the Admin link to return to the Admin page.

SNMP Poller Admin

The SNMP Poller Admin page allows you to view a list of devices assigned to pollers, as well as complete basic and advanced configuration.

Note: You must first add your SNMP devices, then you can configure the devices on the SNMP Poller Admin page.

Follow these steps to display the SNMP Poller Admin page:

1. Click the Network Monitor tab.
2. Click the Admin subtab.
3. Click the SNMP Poller Admin icon to display the SNMP Poller Admin page.

The SNMP Poller Admin page displays the pool of associated devices.

You can view the following details for each assigned poller:

• #: list of pollers in the order that you installed the SNMP agent
• Status: whether the poller is up or down
• Primary Poller: the poller and the devices for which it is the primary poller
• System the Poller Resides: the name of the system on which the SNMP agent resides
• Last Reported: the last time the poller communicated with the NOC
• Version: the version of the SNMP poller agent
• Failover: the failover poller if the primary poller goes offline

Click the Advanced Configuration link to display the Advanced Configuration page.

Click the Basic Configuration link to display the Basic Configuration page.

Click the Admin link to return to the Admin page.

The green bar displays the devices that are associated with a particular poller.

Advanced Configuration

The Advanced Configuration page allows you to assign devices to a primary and failover poller.

Follow these steps to complete the Advanced Configuration page:

1. Click the Network Monitor tab.
2. Click the Admin subtab.
3. Click the SNMP Poller Admin icon to display the SNMP Poller Admin page.
4. Click the Advanced Configuration link to display the Advanced Configuration page.
5. Select a primary poller.
6. Select a failover poller.
7. Select one or more device(s) for the poller. This action assigns individual devices to pollers. For example, you can assign three devices to one poller, and two other devices to another poller.
8. Click Submit.

Click the SNMP Poller Admin link to return to the SNMP Poller Admin page.

Click the Admin link to return to the Admin page.

Basic Configuration

The Basic Configuration page allows you to assign a failover poller to a primary poller.

Follow these steps to complete the Basic Configuration page:

1. Click the Network Monitor tab.
2. Click the Admin subtab.
3. Click the SNMP Poller Admin icon to display the SNMP Poller Admin page.
4. Click the Basic Configuration link to display the Basic Configuration page.
5. Select a failover poller for each primary poller.
6. Click Submit.

To remove a configuration, select the check box next to the configuration you want to delete and click Submit.

Click the SNMP Poller Admin link to return to the SNMP Poller Admin page.

Click the Admin link to return to the Admin page.

Time Zone Admin

The Time Zone Admin page allows you to set the time zone for your company.

Follow these steps to set your time zone:

1. Click the Network Monitor tab.
2. Click the Admin subtab.
3. Click the Time Zone Admin icon to display the Time Zone Setup page.
4. From the drop-down list, select the correct time zone for your company.
5. Click Submit.

Click the Admin link to return to the Admin page.

Add SNMP Device

The Add SNMP Device page allows you to add SNMP devices to be monitored.

Follow these steps to add an SNMP device:

1. Click the Network Monitor tab.
2. Click the Admin subtab.
3. Click the Add SNMP Device icon to display the Add SNMP Device page.
4. Enter a device name.
5. Enter an IP address for the device.
6. Select or enter an SNMP community string.
7. Click Submit.

Note: After you add your SNMP devices, you can configure the devices on the SNMP Poller Admin page.

Click the Admin link to return to the Admin page.

Restart/Stop Process Setup

The Restart/Stop Process Setup page allows you to set up monitored processes for devices.

Follow these steps to display the Restart/Stop Process Setup page:

1. Click the Network Monitor tab.
2. Click the Admin subtab.
3. Click the Restart/Stop Process Setup icon to display the Restart/Stop Process Setup page.

You can view the following details for each device listed:

• System: name of system
• Action: restart or stop process
• Process Name: name of monitored process
• Command Line to Restart Process: command line argument to start process
• Reboot: whether a reboot is set to take place and after how many restart/stop attempts

To set up a monitored process for a device, follow these steps:

1. From the Device drop-down list, select a device to monitor.
2. Select either the Restart option or the Stop Process option.
3. Select or enter a monitored process name.
   Example: smartd.exe
4. Enter the command line to start the process.
   Example: c:\windows\system32\smartd.exe
5. Select the check box to reboot the system if the monitor fails to restart/stop the process and select the number of attempts.
6. Click Add to save the monitored process and view it in the list at the bottom of the page.

To delete a monitored process for a device, follow these steps:

1. From the list of monitored processes, select the process monitor you want to delete.
2. Click Delete Checked to delete the process(es).

Click the Admin link to return to the Admin page.

Thresholds Setup

The Thresholds Setup page allows you to set thresholds for devices.

Follow these steps to display the Thresholds Setup page:

1. Click the Network Monitor tab.
2. Click the Admin subtab.
3. Click the Thresholds Setup icon to display the Thresholds Setup page.

To set up a threshold for a device, follow these steps:

1. From the CPU Used drop-down list, select a percentage not to exceed.
2. From the Memory Used drop-down list, select a percentage not to exceed.
3. From the Disk Used drop-down list, select a percentage not to exceed for each disk listed.
4. Click Submit.

Note: Thresholds vary depending on the device type.

Click the Admin link to return to the Admin page.

Email Setup

The Email Setup page allows you to create email notification groups. These groups receive notifications when you enable them on the Device Admin page.

Note: After you set up these email notification groups, you can configure email notifications to be sent to these groups on the Email Notification Setup page.

Follow these steps to display the Email Setup page:

1. Click the Network Monitor tab.
2. Click the Admin subtab.
3. Click the Email Setup icon to display the Email Setup page.

You can view the following details for each group in the Currently Available Email Groups list:

• The Group Name displays the name of the group.
• The Email Distribution List displays the members of the group.

Follow these steps to create an email notification group:

1. Enter a group name.
   For example: CPU Group
2. Enter the email addresses for the group members.
3. Click Submit to display the new group in the Currently Available Email Groups section.

Follow these steps to edit a group:

1. Click the edit icon to display the group information in the Configure Email Groups for Notification Purposes section.
2. Edit the group name.
3. Edit the group members.
4. Click Submit to display the updated group in the Currently Available Email Groups section.

Follow these steps to delete a group:

1. Click the edit icon to display the group information in the Configure Email Groups for Notification Purposes section.
2. Click the Delete This Group button.
3. Click the Yes Delete button on the confirmation page.

Click the Admin link to return to the Admin page.

Email Notification Setup

The Email Notification Setup page allows you to configure email notifications for the groups you create on the Email Setup page. You can then enable these notifications on the Device Admin page.

Follow these steps to set up email notifications:

1. Click the Network Monitor tab.
2. Click the Admin subtab.
3. Click the Email Notification Setup icon to display the Email Notification Setup page.
4. Select a device type.
5. Select the systems to which you want to apply these settings.
6. Select the conditions under which you want to send notifications.
7. Select an email group to notify if these conditions occur.
8. Click Submit.

Click the Delete/View Notifications link to view, sort, or delete the notifications you have set up.

Click the Admin link to return to the Admin page.

Notification(s) Delete

The Notification(s) Delete page allows you to view, sort, and delete the notifications you configure on the Email Notification Setup page.

Follow these steps to display the Notification(s) Delete page:

1. Click the Network Monitor tab.
2. Click the Admin subtab.
3. Click the Email Notification Setup icon to display the Email Notification Setup page.
4. Click the Delete/View Notifications link to display the Notification(s) Delete page.

You can view the following details for each notification on the Notification(s) Delete page:

• Email Group
• Device Name
• Device Item
• Fault Type

Follow these steps to search for an email notification:

1. Select a group, a device name, a device item, or a fault type.
2. Click Search to locate the items that match your criteria.
   Note: Clear all fields to return a list of all configured notifications.

Follow these steps to delete a notification:

1. Select the check box next to the notification item.
2. Click Delete.

Click the Notification Setup link to return to the Email Notification Setup page.

Private MIB's

The Private MIB's page displays all of the supported Management Information Bases (MIBs). This page displays the name and description for each supported MIB.

Follow these steps to send an email to request the addition of a new MIB:

1. Click the Network Monitor tab.
2. Click the Admin subtab.
3. Click the Supported Private MIB's icon to display the Private MIB's page.
4. Enter your request for a private MIB. Include manufacturer, type, and model information.
5. Click Submit.

Click the Admin link to return to the Admin page.