Specifications

© 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Product Features 2-30
NAM / Traffic Analyzer v3.5 Tutorial
© 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Product Features 2-30
NAM / Traffic Analyzer v3.5 Tutorial
Planning for NAM Deployment
Performance Monitoring
Planning for NAM Deployment
Performance Monitoring
Access
Distribution
Core
Internet
servers
servers
Deploy NAMs at
critical or
aggregation points in
your network as well
as near server farms.
Deploy NAMs at
critical or
aggregation points in
your network as well
as near server farms.
NAM
NAM
NAM
NAM
NetFlow Data Export
to remote NAM
NAM
NAMs could be either NAM-
1/2 or NM-NAM depending on
network equipment
NAMs could be either NAM-
1/2 or NM-NAM depending on
network equipment
Deployment for Performance Monitoring
As mentioned earlier, the NAM offers network managers a wealth of data because of the MIBs that the NAM
supports. You can collect utilization, error, Media Access Control (NAM-1/2 only), network and application
layer host and conversation statistics in real time. You can also extend monitoring by creating thresholds for
data stored in the MIBs to notify you when performance on your network degrades. So, in addition, to having
a passive monitor that provides you visibility about network performance, you can configure the NAM to
proactively notify you when conditions change.
The NAM also provides the ability to determine trends of your network performance over time (historical
reporting) for a 100 day interval (data source must remain fixed for reporting duration).
You can also use the NAM alarm features to notify you when conditions on your network fall below your
expectations. For example, you could set alarms using thresholds for port utilization, broadcast traffic, errors,
or host or conversation pair traffic volumes.
To use the NAM for real-time monitoring of your network and determining trends over time, NAMs should be
deployed in server farms located in the distribution and core layers. You may also consider deploying NAMs
at LAN aggregation points, or in routers that provide building-to-building connectivity. Consider spanning
trunk ports for resource usage and distribution patterns of potential network bottlenecks. You can also gather
layer 2 statistics for every port on the switch (NAM-1/2) or interface (NM-NAM) without impacting the NAM
performance because these statistics are pulled directly from MIBs on the NAM host.
With different hardware versions of the NAM available, deployment choices can be based on both
performance and economic requirements. The NAM-2 has higher monitoring capacity, as well as two data
ports for Spanning and VACLs, and is best suited for deployment in large core or distribution layer switches
with highly used gigabit links. The NAM-1 is a more effective and economical solution at branch offices,
smaller core, distribution, and access layer switches. The NM-NAM allows for direct WAN monitoring in
branch routers and can also be used to monitor LAN links as well.