What Is Network Management?

Your network is central to your business. As such, for your business to remain healthy, you need to effectively manage and maintain your digital networks. But what is network management, and what does it encompass? And perhaps most importantly, how can you make network management work for your business?

Your business is much more than just a machine that dispenses products or services in exchange for money. It’s akin to a living and breathing thing. Just as with the human body, in a business all the parts are interconnected and work together to move things forward.

If a company’s management is the brain, then its employees are the muscles. Muscles don’t work without the oxygen carried to them by the blood. Blood doesn’t pump through the body without the heart and circulatory system.

Data moves through your network like blood through veins, delivering vital information to employees who need it to do their jobs. In a business sense, the digital network is the heart and circulatory system. Without a properly functioning network, the entire business collapses. That’s why keeping networks healthy is vitally important. Just as keeping the heart healthy is critical to living a healthy life, a healthy network is key to a thriving business. It starts with IT network management.

What Is Network Management?

So, what is network management? Network management refers to the processes, tools, and applications used to administer, operate, and maintain network infrastructure. Performance management and fault analysis are also included in network management. To put it simply, network management is the process of keeping your network healthy, which keeps your business healthy.

What Are the Components of Network Management?

The definition of network management is often broad, as network management involves several different components. Here are some of the terms you’ll often hear when network management or network management systems are talked about:

• Network administration
• Network maintenance
• Network operation
• Network provisioning
• Network security

Network Management Protocols

Additionally, to manage networks properly, there need to be certain protocols in place. These protocols help managers view and acquire network information to make informed decisions regarding availability, latency, losses, and errors. Computer networking management protocol examples include:

• Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
• Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)
• Streaming telemetry

Why Is Network Management so Important When It Comes to Network Infrastructure?

The whole point of IT network management is to keep the network infrastructure and network management system running smoothly and efficiently. Network management helps you:

• Avoid costly network disruptions
• Improve IT productivity
• Improve network security
• Gain a holistic view of network performance

Avoid Costly Network Disruptions

Network downtime can be very costly. In fact, industry research shows the cost can be up to $5,600 per minute or more than $300K per hour. Network disruptions take more than just a financial toll; they also have a negative impact on customer relationships. Slow and unresponsive corporate networks make it harder for employees to effectively address customer needs and concerns. And customers who feel this lack of service could be quick to leave. Network management helps avoid those costly network disruptions to help save your company money and customer relationships.

Improve IT Productivity

By monitoring and learning every aspect of the network management service, an effective network management system does many jobs at once. IT network management frees up IT staff to focus on other things.

Improve Network Security

With a focus on network management, it’s easy to identify and respond to threats before they propagate and impact end users. A network management system also aims to ensure regulatory and compliance requirements are met. Improved network security also leads to greater network privacy, giving the user more freedom when using their device.

Gain a Holistic View of Network Performance

Network management gives you a complete view of how your network is performing. It enables you to identify issues and fix them quickly within your network management system.

What Are the Challenges of Maintaining Effective Network Management and Network Infrastructure?

Network infrastructures can be complex. Because of that complexity, maintaining effective network management is difficult. Advances in technology and the cloud have increased user expectations for faster network speeds and network availability. On top of that, security threats are becoming ever more advanced, varied, and numerous. And if you have a large network, it incorporates several devices, systems, and tools that all need to work together seamlessly. As your network scales and your company grows, new potential points of failure are introduced. Increased costs also come into play.

In short, the list of challenges surrounding network management is a long one. Fortunately, there are solutions. Look no further than network management systems.

How Can Gigamon Facilitate Effective Network Management for Infrastructure of Any Size?

The face of network management is constantly evolving. Fault and configuration management, security management, and performance management are all crucial. But one of the most critical components of any network management system is traffic visibility. It’s hard to manage what you can’t see. Gigamon network management solutions help you see all sources of network traffic. This allows you to ensure the right data is flowing to the right tool, keeping your network infrastructure running clean. Gigamon scales with your network, so as your company grows, your network management systems can grow with it. Working with Gigamon is like working with your own personal network management company, ensuring that you have the visibility you need to properly manage your network from your computer.

Keep Your Business Healthy with Network Management

Just as you need regular check-ups to stay healthy, so does your business. Your digital network is the circulatory system that channels data to all parts of the business. Just as you need to care for your heart to keep your body healthy, you need to monitor your network infrastructure to ensure your business is well and thriving. The right network management system is what will keep your infrastructure sound and your business healthy.

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Further Reading:

• “How Pervasive Visibility Reduces Network Downtime in the New Tomorrow”
• “How Do You Run Cryptography Faster and Stay Secure Without Tripping Over Hackers?“
• “The Art of Scrying — How Network Visibility Helps Enterprises ‘See’”