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2022/03/10

How to easily monitor network traffic

Manage systems and machines

Insights overview

Remote Management Spotlight

Network Traffic Monitoring: Smart software solutions for companies

Monitoring a network is an important step in keeping an eye on network traffic. With the common methods for network-monitoring you have the possibility to detect numerous problems in your IT landscape at an early stage. The result: By monitoring your network traffic you can control and coordinate time, money and resources.

Benefits of Network Traffic Monitoring: Statistics and Troubleshooting

The first question you should ask yourself when monitoring network traffic is: What is your goal? This question refers to current problems, but it can also refer to an improved awareness of this comprehensive topic. Once you have defined a clear goal, monitoring of network traffic (no matter if under Windows or Mac) can support the process. Monitoring of network traffic focuses on the evaluation of used resources in the form of statistics as well as the solution of current problems. The procedure offers the following advantages:

  1. When you monitor your network traffic you learn where potential bottlenecks are hidden.
  2. At the same time, you diagnose the weak points of your IT landscape.
  3. Sophisticated tools make monitoring particularly easy.

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The basis of effective network traffic monitoring: Analysis of data sources

To reliably monitor network traffic, you need a variety of different data. The larger the amount of data, the more reliable will be the information provided by the network traffic analyzer. However, this does not mean that common tools are reserved only for large organizations: Even in a small company, you can accomplish a lot by monitoring network traffic. After all, a small-scale environment also has its advantages – especially because it is easier to perform a network traffic check. The following data will help you to get a comprehensive view of your network traffic.

1. Network data sources

Such data sources are the first step to effectively monitor network traffic. The goal here is to achieve the highest possible transparency. This first data source almost always requires you to unify data from different sources. Therefore, it makes sense to rely on professional network traffic monitoring tools at this point.

2. Flowdata

Analyzing moving data gives you a comprehensive insight into your network’s performance. If you are working with many domains or different providers, this analysis is especially important.

3. Packet data

For forensic analysis, you need not only bandwidth monitoring, but also packet data. They give you information about problems concerning your data transmission. As part of this analysis, it also makes sense to extend the monitoring of network traffic to remote sites, data centers or WAN edges.

4. WIFI data

In addition to monitoring local network traffic, another approach is useful – examining data that is transported via WIFI. In some cases, a simple performance analysis is enough to provide you with insightful information about your network traffic.

5. Device data

Monitoring devices on a network is a complex, but reliable monitoring approach. With the help of SNMP or API data, you can pinpoint network problems and quickly track down devices within your company.

Network Traffic Monitoring: The right tools and techniques

Monitoring the traffic on a network always goes hand in hand with an effective remote management. For both remote and local management, you should rely on the right network traffic monitoring techniques. Which tools are best suited for monitoring depends on what data you want to analyze when monitoring network traffic:

  • Individual tools to analyze flow data or the packet analyzer will help you to detect bottlenecks in your network. The analyzed network traffic can refer to individual devices or different locations. In any case, you benefit from the professional state-of-the-art technology that is used thanks to continuous further development.
  • A network performance dashboard visualizes the results provided by monitor network traffic between two computers. Using the data on the performance dashboard, it becomes much easier to detect and resolve bottlenecks in your IT environment.
  • Reporting tools are also useful to monitor network traffic. This is because you can get valuable information from both real-time and historical reports. In particular, historical reports help you to plan effectively for future settings and define update cycles. This makes it easier for you to troubleshoot in case of any unwanted network incidents.
  • Proactive alerts: Alerts in general are an important tool for thoughtfully monitoring network traffic. Proactive alerts are just as valuable. They inform you when a problem requires your immediate attention. In this way, you can separate the relevant problems from the noise that is always present. AI and machine learning are particularly useful in this regard, as both approaches reliably detect anomalies.

Optimization: How to improve your network

Within the framework of network traffic monitoring – portable or local, you gain important insights. These insights provide you with numerous opportunities for improvement, allowing you to exploit the existing potential. The following 3 optimization measures will help you to improve your network traffic.

1. Overall optimization

To optimize your entire network environment, you need network data from a variety of sources. Visual analytics, alerts, reports and dashboards will help you locate and fix existing bottlenecks. For example, applications that are consuming too much bandwidth.

2. Forensic analysis

When monitoring network traffic, you need to isolate difficult problems so you can identify them. This includes mainly flow and packet data. Through detailed analysis, you can troubleshoot common or specific application problems.

3. Optimize communication

Monitoring network traffic does not only refer to static data. There is a great need for optimization especially in the collaborative context. This includes all voice, video and communications applications. If poor video or voice quality occurs frequently, it is a sure sign that monitoring network traffic is needed.