Solving Network Performance Issues with Network Monitoring Solutions

How can network monitoring solutions help your business solve network performance issues? We discuss what your monitoring tool can bring to the table.

Optimizing network performance is one of the most critical tasks for network engineers and administrators. Businesses need their networks to be operating smoothly in order to satisfy demand from both clients and internal sources. Consequently, it falls on the network team to keep an eye on how the network is running and observe it for any potential performance issues.

However, monitoring your network performance is difficult without the proper knowledge and solutions. With so many network devices to keep track of, knowing how each one of them is performing requires tools that deliver performance statistics and insights into how network performance can be improved.

That’s where network monitoring solutions come in. Network monitoring tools deliver critical information on your network devices so you can observe network and device performance over time. They’re a critical resource for network teams who need to detect and solve performance issues. Below, we discuss how network monitoring solutions can help businesses improve network performance by eliminating common problems.

Device discovery and mapping

The theory is simple: if you can’t see a device on your network, you can’t possibly monitor its performance. Network monitoring solutions constantly observe your network to find devices that are currently connected, providing a full picture of your network at all times. Many modern monitoring solutions also come equipped with dynamic mapping software that draws a visual representation of your network that’s updated in real-time.

High bandwidth usage

Managing your enterprise’s bandwidth usage is a fundamental aspect of network performance monitoring since every user, application, and service needs enough bandwidth to run efficiently. If one user is using too much bandwidth, the rest of your network won’t be able to function adequately. Network monitoring solutions track bandwidth usage across a network, identifying which users are draining bandwidth. If you identify a bandwidth-chewing user or application, your business can take steps to correct the issue.

Device misconfigurations

All the hardware on your network needs to be configured correctly in order for your network to work properly. Whenever you install or reconfigure a device on your network, your team needs to test the device to ensure that it’s been configured correctly. This way, your company can prevent performance issues caused by misconfigurations before they become a major problem. Many network monitoring solutions allow your network to automatically send test data through a recently installed or updated node; this gives your network team an instant confirmation that your configuration is correct.

Shadow IT

Some of your employees might be running devices on your network that your IT team might not be aware of. You need a solid network monitoring solution in place to find hidden devices connected to your network; if a device is hidden from your network team, it could be causing performance problems without your company even realizing it. Shadow IT devices can also become a major security risk, so being able to find unapproved devices is a necessary step for networking teams.

Looking for a solution to help you improve your network performance? Our Network Monitoring Buyer’s Guide contains profiles on the top network performance monitor vendors, as well as questions you should ask providers and yourself before buying.

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