System information

Troubleshooting Tools 2-11
Using Cisco Network Management Tools
Using Cisco Network Management Tools
Cisco offers several network management products that provide design, monitoring, and
troubleshooting tools to help you manage your internetwork.
The following three internetwork management tools are useful for troubleshooting internetwork
problems:
• CiscoWorks internetwork management software, a set of Simple Network Management Protocol
(SNMP)–based tools.
• The TrafficDirector RMON application, a remote monitoring tool that enables you to gather data,
monitor activity on your network, and find potential problems.
• The VlanDirector switch management application, a management tool that provides an accurate
picture of your VLANs.
CiscoWorks Internetwork Management Software
CiscoWorks is a series of SNMP-based internetwork management software applications.
CiscoWorks applications are integrated on several popular network management platforms and build
on industry-standard platforms to provide applications for monitoring device status, maintaining
configurations, and troubleshooting problems.
Following are some of the applications included in the CiscoWorks product that are useful for
troubleshooting your internetwork:
• Device Monitor—Allows the network manager to specify which network devices to monitor for
information about environmental and interface statistics. The configuration includes settings to
specify how often CiscoWorks should check this information and whether to log it in to the Log
Manager application.
• Health Monitor—Displays information about the status of a device, including buffers, CPU load,
memory available, and protocols and interfaces being used.
• Show Commands—Enable you to view data similar to output from router show exec commands.
• Path Tool—Displays and analyzes the path between two devices to collect utilization and error
data.
• Device Polling—Probes and extracts data about the condition of network devices.
• CiscoView—Provides dynamic monitoring and troubleshooting functions, including a graphical
display of Cisco devices, statistics, and comprehensive configuration information.
• Offline Network Analysis—Collects historical network data for offline analysis of performance
trends and traffic patterns.
• CiscoConnect—Allows you to provide Cisco with debugging information, configurations, and
topology information to speed resolution of network problems.
CiscoWorks implements numerous other applications that are useful for administering, designing,
and monitoring your internetwork. Refer to the Cisco Systems Product Catalog for more
information.
The TrafficDirector RMON Application
The TrafficDirector advanced packet filters let users monitor all seven layers of network traffic.
Using Cisco IOS embedded RMON agents and SwitchProbe standalone probes, managers can view
enterprise-wide network traffic from the link, network, transport, or application layers. The