Network management tools enable network administrators to monitor and control the entire network (on-premises or cloud) to address service needs and business objectives. A network is created when two or more devices communicate with each other through the transfer of data. Devices come in many forms but the important network devices are clients, servers, switches, routers, firewalls, and access points. These network devices above allow common devices such as computers, phones, smart watches, IoT, and others to connect to each other. Devices can be connected physically, virtually, and wirelessly via LAN, WAN, VPN, and different types of networks.
All of these connections and devices are complex to manage manually. With network management software, IT managers can track what devices are connected and how they connect. Network management tools use network topology to visually lay out device connections. With this map, users can provision the network system by changing device configuration, resource allocation, and security settings to meet their IT objectives. Different network management solutions may have other network management protocols but most use simple network management protocol (SNMP).
Good network management software also allows IT teams to automate manual network management tasks, such as inventory assessments, device discovery and mapping, system backups, remote access, etc. The goal is to let the network management software automate these traditionally time-consuming tasks so users can focus on other things, like winning new customers and working on new business objectives.
What Types of Network Management Tools Exist?
Free or open-source software
Free network management tools perform simple internet protocols and provide basic network performance data. Since many of them require manually loading the device, free tools are perfect for small networks with fewer devices. A good rule of thumb is that if the user can map all of their devices’ topologies on a whiteboard, they should try these free tools before the paid software. Small companies or individual users are the perfect fit for this type of software.
Specialized network management software
Specialized network management software is good at doing one job—network management. This software can manage a range of functional areas: auto-discovery, inventory, performance, reliability, and security. It provides technical reports and graphs of the network system. Some more advanced tools can offer root cause analysis and machine learning to solve specific problems. These tools are excellent for organizations with other existing monitoring and management tools for their website, database, hardware, etc.
One-for-all software
Top vendors provide comprehensive network management solutions for enterprises. These tools not only do everything that a specialized network management software ca do, alsothey have additional capabilities that manage cloud infrastructure, web network traffic, and IT assets. Some even cover container management, Kubernetes control, and application monitoring. Since they are designed for enterprise-size networks, there is no limit to the scalability of the number of devices. An experienced user can automate a significant amount of manual tasks with this type of software on numerous devices. This type of software is a great fit for large organizations that have their IT infrastructure in multiple locations.
