In the world of network monitoring, it is important to have visibility into your environment. You want to know if there are any performance issues and understand the impact they will have on your users. To do this, you need a constant stream of information about how your different devices are performing. It’s also crucial to be able to look back over time and see trends in performance levels.
Network devices give you this information through their various reporting functions. But when it comes to creating advanced reports for your network devices, things get a little tricky. Unless you know where to find this information and how to analyze it correctly, that is. In this blog post we’ll walk you through what network monitoring solutions like SolarWinds NPM can offer you and give some pointers on how to create advanced reports for network devices using SolarWinds NPM:
What is SolarWinds NPM?
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) is one of the most well-known network monitoring solutions on the market. It allows you to monitor your entire network and see exactly what is happening on each device. You can find out about availability issues, monitor changes to your environment, and see network performance levels.
You will have a constant stream of information that you can use to identify and resolve issues. But one of the most important functions of this software is its ability to create advanced reports. This lets you dive deep into the data you are collecting and pull out valuable information that you can use to make better decisions.
Which Network Devices Can Benefit From Advanced Reporting?
Advanced reporting is mainly used to analyze and gain insight into device-level data. This is where you will find the most useful information. You can use these reports to identify trends in performance levels. This will help you plan for future changes and replace devices before they become an issue. There are a number of network devices that can benefit from advanced reporting. This includes firewalls, routers, switches, and load balancers. These devices collect data by default and let you view it in a variety of ways. However, if you want to go deeper and create more advanced reports, then you will need a network monitoring solution like SolarWinds NPM.
Create An Inventory Report for Network Devices
An inventory report will show you exactly what is connected to your network. This will include devices such as printers, VoIP phones, IP cameras, and virtual machines. With this information, you can make sure that everything is connected and working correctly. It will also allow you to plan for the future.
If you have a VoIP system and IP phones are being used, you can see that you have a certain amount of bandwidth being consumed. This will let you see if you need to look at increasing your bandwidth or replacing your phone system. If you are monitoring a switch that is connected to these devices, you can see all the traffic being passed through the devices. This will let you see which devices are consuming the most bandwidth. You can then use this information to make decisions about where to invest your time and money.
Create a Change Event Report for Network Devices
A change event report will show you any changes made to a device. This could be anything from a configuration change to someone plugging in an unapproved device. By seeing these changes, you can identify any changes made by mistake. You can also identify when someone has made a change that may cause a network-wide issue.
This will help you identify potential areas where you need to provide training. This report will let you know when a change has happened and who made the change. It will also tell you what was changed and the impact it had. If the change was more serious, you may even be able to take action to stop the problem. This can save you a lot of time and money.
Create an Availability Report for Network Devices
An availability report will show you the availability for each device. This means that you will see if a device is down or struggling to keep up with the workload. This will help you identify and resolve issues before they have a major impact on your network. You can see when a device was last working correctly and when it stopped.
This will help you identify how long it has been offline and whether it is likely to come back online. It will also let you know what the reason for the downtime was. This will help you address the issue and keep it from happening again. This report will also let you look at availability over time. This means that you can see how your devices have been performing over the past few months. This will let you see any trends in performance and see which devices may need replacing. This can save you a lot of time since you won’t have to go back through logs to find out when something went wrong.
Create a Bandwidth Usage Report for Network Devices
A bandwidth usage report will show you how much bandwidth each device is consuming. This will let you know if one device is using way more bandwidth than it should be. It will also show you if a device is being throttled because of another device’s excessive bandwidth usage. This will allow you to make informed decisions about where to invest your time and money. You can see if certain devices are being used more than they should and need to be upgraded. You can also see if devices are being throttled and need to be reconfigured.
This will help you keep your network running smoothly and efficiently. It will also save you time and money in the long run. This report will let you see how much bandwidth each device has been using over time. This will let you see any trends in bandwidth usage and identify any devices that need your attention. It will also let you see which devices would benefit from a bandwidth upgrade. This can help you avoid investing in bandwidth when it isn’t needed.
Conclusion
When it comes to creating advanced reports for network devices, it’s important to take your time and understand what you’re looking at. Once you know what data is being collected and how to analyze it, then you can create the reports you need to better manage your network. SolarWinds NPM is a top network monitoring solution that can help you create advanced network reports.
These will give you valuable information about your network devices and allow you to see what is happening in real time. This will let you make informed decisions and see where you need to make improvements.
