Thanks to the rapid development of technology, network monitoring has evolved from its humble beginnings as a basic troubleshooting tool utilizing Internet Protocol (IP) to a sophisticated system capable of maintaining optimal network conditions and performance. 

Understanding and managing network complexity is becoming increasingly important due to the complexity of digital transformation, IoT, cloud migration, and software. To understand how network monitoring ensures the availability of IT services, see the explanation below.  

What is Network Monitoring?

Network monitoring is the systematic monitoring of the health and performance of computer networks. Using specialized software or services, network monitoring proactively detects problems such as slow traffic and component failures. Analyzing network data in real-time helps administrators pinpoint potential problems, ensuring the network is operating optimally. 

In addition to offering immediate alerts, comprehensive network monitoring tools provide an overview of the network topology and interconnected components. These visualizations, including packet flow and NetFlow data, help network administrators make real-time interventions and data-driven decisions to improve network reliability and efficiency. 

Evolution of Network Monitoring

The concept of network monitoring is actually not new. Early networks used basic tools such as the ping command, which operates on the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), to check device reachability. However, as networks grew in size and complexity, so did the tools designed to monitor them, incorporating Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), NetFlow, and IPFIX technologies. 

The advent of the internet, TCP connections, and cloud computing brought new challenges. Traditional networks, which were limited to a company’s physical location, are expanding to include multiple locations, cloud environments, container networks, and even global infrastructure. This expansion requires more sophisticated monitoring methods to understand these complex environments. 

Modern network performance monitoring metrics go beyond simple up-and-down performance checks. They include granular performance details, ensuring that every aspect of the network is performing at its best, from bandwidth to latency. 

3 Pillars of Modern Network Monitoring

Network monitoring is a complex and evolving field, and today’s modern network monitoring tools can be grouped into 3 pillars, namely traffic analysis, synthetic testing, and network infrastructure metrics. 

In a holistic approach to network monitoring, each of these three monitoring technologies offers specialized capabilities to ensure the health, performance, security, and reliability of modern networks. The following describes the three pillars of modern network monitoring:

1. Network Traffic Analysis (Flow Analysis)

The first pillar, network traffic analysis (also known as NTA or flow analysis), involves passively monitoring network traffic, which is typically represented by network flow data. This approach offers detailed insight into real-world network usage and is essential for understanding network dynamics. 

Network traffic analysis details include:

• Data Sources: network traffic analysis are flow recordings such as from the NetFlow protocol, VPC flow logs from cloud services, and packet traces via Deep packet Inspection (DPI). 
• Event Analysis: NTA captures and analyzes events and disk changes through log recordings. 
• Pros of Network Traffic Analysis: 

• provides a detailed view of actual network usage
• provides insight into network performance user behavior
• ability to detect anomalies and potential security threats, such as growing DDoS attacks. 
• Disadvantages of Network Traffic Analysis:

• primarily limited to existing traffic flows
• may not provide live, real-time data
• can be intensive, requiring effective data management strategies if implemented on-site. 

2. Synthetic Testing (Digital Experience Monitoring)

The second pillar of modern network monitoring is synthetic testing, which is a proactive approach that tests network functions to mimic the actual user experience. The primary goal of synthetic testing is to anticipate and mitigate performance issues before they affect actual users. 

Synthetic testing is part of the broader discipline of Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM). The details of synthetic testing are as follows:

• Testing and Data: synthetic testing involves creating scenarios that mimic user actions to collect data on network response and performance. Testing is usually done automatically and at regular intervals. 
• User-Centered Focus: this technology aims to predict how the network will perform under various user conditions. 
• Pros of Synthetic Testing: 

• mengidentifikasi potensi masalah dari perspektif pengguna akhir sebelum memenagruhi identifies potential problems from an end-user perspective before affecting actual users
• enables frequent, regular, and automated testing, improving readiness
• helps in capacity planning and optimizes user experience. 
• Disadvantages of Synthetic Testing: 

• limited to specific targets and scenarios set up for testing
• may not cover all spontaneous or anomalous network conditions
• requires careful scenario design to ensure the relevance and accuracy of each test. 

3. Network Infrastructure Metrics (Network Monitoring System – NMS)

The last pillar in modern network monitoring is network infrastructure metrics which are often managed through an NMS. This is the maintenance and optimization of physical and virtual devices in a network. 

Here are the details in network infrastructure metrics:

• Monitoring Tools: NMS tools use protocols such as SNMP, Streaming Telemetry, and other advanced monitoring technologies to collect network device health metrics such as up or down status, bandwidth usage, memory consumption, and CPU usage. 
• Event Handling: includes mechanisms such as SNMP Traps for real-time alerts on network conditions. 
• Pros of Network Infrastructure Metrics:

• provides immediate insight into the health and status of network devices
• preventive maintenance and quick resolution of issues, thanks to proactive event handling
• facilitates strategic planning for network upgrades and expansion.
• Cons of Network Infrastructure Metrics:

• likely only offers limited context regarding end-user experience or performance of specific applications
• requires integration of various monitoring tools for a comprehensive view in most cases
• protocols such as SNMP require polling and not all network monitoring systems are capable of polling at high frequency or offer alternatives such as streaming telemetry.

Modern enterprises need to maintain the availability of IT services so that there are no constraints when serving customers 24 hours a day. Highly complex networks need to be monitored at all times for smooth performance, with no downtime.Use a reliable network monitoring tool like Netmonk, which has been proven to comprehensively monitor networks at all times. Already trusted by more than 1000 companies in Indonesia, find out more services on the Netmonk web now!