Network Uptime

Welcome to Uptime-Update, the newsletter from the folks that bring you <http://www.NetworkUptime.com>. Thanks for joining us! As always, you can subscribe to Uptime Update or view this issue on the web at <http://www.NetworkUptime.com/newsletter>.

You may have noticed a few changes in our web site over the past few weeks. We've been adding a number of network tools to our library for both Windows and Unix. See our growing collection at <http://www.NetworkUptime.com/tools>.

Thanks for your email messages. We're glad that you're enjoying the web page! Be sure to email me if you have any comments or questions. Thanks again for your ongoing support!

- James Messer, Team Uptime
Editor, Uptime Update
James@NetworkUptime.com

==== - Starting Delimiter - Professional Finger Pointing ====

It's not enough to know how it works, you also have to know what to do when it breaks. If you wear a mobile phone or a pager, you know how network outages create pain.

As network managers, we used to spend most of our time troubleshooting random or spurious problems. Now that we've upgraded our wiring plants and our network hardware, the number of fires has diminished. Unfortunately, the complexity of the fires has risen dramatically.

This complexity has also created a new method of product support; the professional finger pointing. If the problem is too complex to troubleshoot, then it must be the fault of something _else_ in the network. One of a network manager's goals should be the implementation of a management concept that applies to their individual (and unique) network. In most cases, these management goals use pieces of many software and hardware tools, not a single product that claims to fix every network ill. Each network is different, and the management goals of one network may not apply to another.

* Goals and Objectives - Before installing software packages and evaluating hardware, make a list of the goals for the management system. Should the system provide real-time analysis of system availability? What kinds of systems should be managed? Will data be stored for trend analysis? What kind of reporting is expected from the network management system?

These answers should be detailed, and not answered with a simple yes or no. To build a comprehensive system, build on a firm foundation. You don't have to accomplish all of these goals at once, but you must have a clear idea of what the final accomplishment should provide.

* The Monitoring System - Network management takes many forms, but most network managers are familiar with the typical network map with red and green lights. Simply providing a value of 'up' or 'down' doesn't work well in today's networking environments. The network manager needs to have detailed status information on components, services/daemons, and any other specifics that help answer the tough questions when an outage occurs.

* Trend Analysis - A management system also needs a way to store information over time and provide reports of past history. Trend analysis has always been a balancing act, since too much information uses excessive storage space and CPU cycles, and too little information doesn't provide enough information to make decisions. I've yet to find a trend analysis tool that provides sufficient control over the storage of the data and adequate control over the types of data stored in the database. In an effort to keep things 'simple', many companies make their products too 'dumb.'

* The Toolkit - When you're working on a technological engine, you need to have plenty of torque wrenches. Preparing for a major outage can help to identify some shortcomings in the visibility of a network. If there are network segments that are 'mysteries' or appear to be undefined, you've got your starting point for documentation and network management coverage.

Make sure you have the proper arsenal of network management software and hardware to help answer the tough questions. If you need help getting started, look at the Network Uptime tools library, or visit one of the large search engines for help.

* The Plan - The network team needs to be prepared for any contingency. If the WAN links are down, then the proper people and tools need to be dispatched to help repair the outage. Once onsite, the network team needs to be familiar with the specifics of the circuit or network, and have a document that details the technical configuration of the communications link. Too many networks operate without proper documentation, even if it's a simple configuration file from each router in the organization.

The key to avoiding professional finger pointing is to know more about your network than anyone else. Technical support people on the other end of an 800 number are only as good as the people in front of the problem. If your teams are prepared, your network is ready for anything!

==== Free/Shareware Pick of the Moment ====

What's the first statistic you check on your daily, weekly, or monthly reports? If you're like most of us, you want to know about the utilization of your resources. After the utilization statistic is understood, there are thousands of other network values that help to tell the story behind the network.

There's a trend analysis tool available on the Internet that provides a powerful web-based view of your network resources over time, and it works with any SNMP-based hardware. The Multi Router Traffic Grapher, or MRTG, is a well-known trend analysis tool that will run in Unix or Windows NT. MRTG is well supported, and it's available under the GNU General Public License!

If you've never seen MRTG before, you should visit their web site to view some sample reports. MRTG does more for free than many commercial applications accomplish for thousands of dollars! We've used MRTG for years, and have always been impressed with the product and the ongoing support from Internet volunteers.

You can get the MRTG web site address, product information, and download the application from NetworkUptime.com. For the Unix flavor of MRTG, visit:

http://www.NetworkUptime.com/tools/unix/mgmt/trend

For Windows NT, visit:

http://www.NetworkUptime.com/tools/winnt/mgmt/trend

Do you use a network tool that makes your life easier? Tell us about it at
James@NetworkUptime.com!

====
Network Uptime Surf Report
====

Do you have a SNMP-based management station? How about a program that constantly checks your network for servers and routers that aren't responding? If you have any management station that reports outages with audible feedback, then we've got a web page for you!

The propeller-heads at AT&T Labs-Research have been working for years to improve the naturalness of synthetic speech. On their web page, you can input your own phrases, and the AT&T speech generator will output a realistic sounding audio file in various popular formats.

Imagine having a specialized phase for every device, and each error!"Router Four is not responding" or "File Server 11 is out of disk space on drive 1" can replace the 'ding' noise that used to identify a network problem.

Check out the AT&T Labs research at:

http://www.research.att.com/projects/tts/

Do you know of a web site that helps keep your network in peak condition? Send the link to us at James@NetworkUptime.com, and we'll include it in a future Surf Report!

====
Network Uptime Tip of the Month
====

Switched networks are notorious for broadcast storms. To spot broadcast storms without using an analyzer, step back from your switch and concentrate on the data lights. If all of the lights flash at the same time and the frequency occurs at regular intervals, you may be experiencing broadcast storms.

To prove this theory, connect a protocol analyzer to an unused port and examine the number of packets per second. Unless the switch is segmented into separate VLANs, every port will be a member of same broadcast domain. The packet counter on the analyzer will be counting broadcasts and multicasts, which may lead you to investigate other devices on your network. It also demonstrates how a free status light on your switch can be almost as
powerful as your expensive network analyzer!

Send us your tips, and we'll tell the world! Email us at James@NetworkUptime.com, and we'll add your name and ideas to a future Uptime Update.

====
Ending Delimiter
====

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