[PLUG] Speaking of network monitoring......

[jeff <jeffv@op.net>]

I just got one of the Network World emails which stated that network 
pros spend an inordinate amount of time troubleshooting network 
problems.  This goes against the data that shows spending increasing for 
monitoring tools.

Funny, that.
I think the article parallels some of my research, in that people either 
aren't using the right tools or aren't using the tools right.  Or something.

If this is something we can get into here, what do YOU use?  What do you 
recommend?  What are the above-referenced folks missing?



I set up MRTG a while back.  It seems to be good for baseline and 
historical data.  In addition, there's a bit of freeware (Win/lin) 
called The Dude, which does everything from discovery to graphical ping 
and snmp.  I have the output splayed across a 2x2 matrix of 22" monitors 
so the gang can see the status of the network at any time.  It never 
fails to impress the hell out of people who are brave enough to enter 
Area 51 (where MIS lives).

I'm short one log viewer/analyzer.  As the servers are Windows, I'm 
having a bit of difficulty finding acceptable solutions.  I'm looking at 
either platform for the monitor, but prefer linux.  The Win solutions 
start around $2k, which seems silly.  The lin programs seem to want to 
convert to syslog and go from there.

Is there a less complex solution?

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