MRTG and SNMP network baseline research

I have had the opportunity to work on three major networks in the last 18 months and network bandwidth analysis and management has been beyond my scope and control yet within my wheelhouse of concern.

 

For two businesses with whom I consult, the adjustment of their network from asymmetric bandwidth to symmetric bandwidth was achieved from their network provider, going from 80/20 to 200/40 to 300/300 to 600/600. All of this was done over 45 days with no network hardware change outs, yet the SonicWall network configuration IDS/IPS had to monitored and adjusted accordingly. Daily monitoring of performance of traffic was significantly improved and monitored on the client side with positive results.

 

The odd part is 3rd party providers do not offer much guidance and support on congestion and packet drop issues other than to say it's not their fault. I find that an easy out for no investigation on their part. Remember the days when NOCs and ISPs cared about the client experience? It appears no one cares unless you find someone old enough who works both in sales and engineering to have line of sight and is curious and cares about customer retention and continuous improvement.

 

Remember maintain your baseline dashboard of traffic analysis with your existing network before any major and even minor changes. When one set of services drop off and another comes onboard be sure you know the before, during and after impact. It's helpful even if not reported and not a concern given big pipes both ingress and egress. For me, it's about knowing and monitoring even when no one else cares. I care. When the question pops up at a C-level meeting when a network is crushed or DDOS occurs, one with authority and technical prowess can report back, yes, we were and are proactive in advance and ongoing in our support and response to performance and availability.

 

Today, I find most don't know or don't care, and don't get paid to know nor care. That is the lazy part of IT, yet I strive to encourage others to be proactive and explore and be curious both in production and research.

 

Find a hypothesis, test it, have the trust of production in isolated instances, and continuously improve and seek reward and compensation all the while. For me, a great project and challenge is just that. The reward is improving the lives and activities of others in our realm; industry and sector.

 

Passion about the usefulness of technology is my cause. It's not to be wasted or squandered. Time is very precious in our lives, and the waste of it because of IT hiccups by 3rd parties or self lack of due diligence and trust of others is negligence and sage.

 

Let's be positive and bolster a world where the IT lethargic types start to pay attention; even a little bit.

 

 

more to come...