The Network Monitor

Taiwan-based KHS is one of the world's largest manufacturers of musical instruments with popular brands like Walden Guitars and Mapex Drums. The company's five business subsidiaries used to operate independently, each with its own IT team. KHS decided to centralize all IT operations at its headquarters which led to sorting out system integration and network troubleshooting. This major IT initiative included a data center virtualization project to standardize all Point of Sale (PoS) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems.

My name is Jason Alberino and I am a senior engineer in our professional services group and a first-time blogger here on the Network Monitor. I interact with a good number of Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold customers every month and you may see me here from time to time offering advice to those of you using our network monitoring products.

Unfortunately, no one template can guarantee 100-percent system stability. There are, however, guidelines any sysadmin can follow to define policies and procedures that proactively ensure your network doesn't have a random fire drill.

When it comes to network performance, the 5 “Ps” rule helps guarantee uptime and speed: Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. In today’s non-stop world, IT pros are tasked with the increasingly difficult job of keeping their organization’s network running effectively and efficiently. In support, we’ve identified three critical focus areas and solutions to ensure poor network performance doesn’t have you playing the blues in your server closet.

Many health care IT organizations create service-level agreements (SLAs) for new applications and infrastructure projects. It's important to collect metrics related to SLA line items and review your metrics on a regular basis.

The IT department of the Freehold Regional High School District (FRHSD) provides network management and support services to six different high schools located in New Jersey. Its network spans across over 200 square miles and is trusted to aid in the education of more than 11,000 students.

Who among us can argue that automated network monitoring isn't necessary when you consider how much the role of IT has expanded in recent years? Uptime on workstations and servers has been relegated to a secondary role and is considered the norm. While enhancing business processes and functions has become more of a primary focus.

Today in my first blog for Ipswitch I'll take you down network management memory lane to demonstrate how far we've come from the days of nascent networks - and where we are heading.

Ever think you have an issue with the interface active monitor in WhatsUp Gold being added back to devices after being removed? This is in fact, working as intended. Let me explain why!

It's that time of the year where analysts, vendors and other prognosticators share their IT trends for 2017. But do these IT trends actually mean anything to IT pros?

How did web automation help a self-described “chief cook and bottle washer” spend a lot less time on repetitive tasks?

I had recently become a substitute teacher at a Boston-area high school and one morning not a single sophomore showed up for my sociology class. The French teacher in the classroom next to mine explained that MCAS season was upon us and educators in non-essential subjects are effectively ignored for the next three weeks while the students crammed like mad.

The final months of the year are often a time for housecleaning in IT which includes tasks like taking network inventory, confirming installed software is properly licensed, and prepping for compliance audits. Fortunately, these tasks are something a network monitoring solution can easily handle by gathering data and creating reports. Even better, you don't necessarily have to pay to get these tasks done.

Selecting a network monitor solution should come down to value for most IT teams.

The computer security world uses a lot of military language and concepts. This is not just because it "sounds good" but because there are many useful analogies to be found.

When an operating system crashes, a server stops responding to ping, or a simple PowerShell DSC configuration needs to be debugged, where's the first place a sysadmin goes? The event log. The Windows event log records a wealth of information. Let's see how we can automate log reviews.

Wireless networks have become a requirement for most K-12 schools, and that presents a challenge for IT teams who need to maintain consistent access and performance for students and teachers alike.

Panama is known for its sloths, but we can all agree no one likes slothy Internet and shoddy cable service.

Until a few years ago, most people thought of hackers as bright but maladjusted teenagers who mainly broke into networks for the fun of it. But now that hacking has gone big time, you're more likely to associate hacking with organized crime groups or "state actors."

In my opinion, geolocation or location-based data (call it what you will) is the most frustrating aspect of mobile device usage. Although I was unable to obtain prompt expert insights to aid story credibility, surely I can't be the only one that thinks in this manner?