SYNOPSIS

At best, network problems are a pain in the neck for IT. At worst, they stand in the way of your business' operations, and ultimately its livelihood. The difference between solving them quickly and standing around scratching your head is all about monitoring your network from the inside out. Cohesive management from a single integrated console with access to information from different sources allows you to correlate problem events fast. This is a critical step in ensuring a healthy network.

Yet network problems aren't just sourced from the network itself. Every networked device on that network, such as servers and desktops, has network components of its own. This means that a fully-realized network management solution must also look to the endpoints in the environment as well. The Essentials Series: Solving Network Problems Before They Occur discusses common solutions to these very network problems—or really, "environment" problems—before they occur. Relating personal experiences from his long history in IT, author Greg Shields offers a look at network integrations from SNMP to WMI to configuration control and reveals the necessity for a complete solution.

CHAPTER PREVIEWS

Article 1: How to Use SNMP in Network Problem Resolution

First up is the long-lived network monitoring and management protocol SNMP. Using this protocol correctly involves connecting your network devices to the right network management solution. This first article will discuss some of the common problems that get resolved when you do it correctly.

Article 2: How to Use WMI in Network Problem Resolution

Translating between network engineer speak and systems engineer speak is hard to do, even for those technologists that work in the field every day. Leveraging a network management solution that integrates with your Windows systems' and applications' WMI means creating a unified vision into every facet of your environment. This article discusses just the kinds of problems and solution that can be resolved when such integrations are in your environment.

Article 3: How Effective Network Configuration Management Aids in Network Problem Resolution

There's a third benefit you gain from an effective network management solution, one that arrives through the cohesive application of configurations across the devices in your network. Preventing a host of "oops" problems as well as solving the major ones, this article explores how configuration control is a good thing for the business network environment.