Real Time Monitoring Software
Given the limitations seen by basic Log Checking and standard single snapshot Network Monitoring Software, a new class of Network Monitoring Software started to emerge.
We call this Real Time Network Monitoring Software or Point in Time Network Monitoring Software.
Essentially it address the remaining 2 primary concerns from Log Checking and the old 1 time Monitoring Software.
Point in Time Network Monitoring Software takes consistent snapshots of which devices are on a network, and it does this with a consistent frequency, such as every 5 minutes, every 10 minutes, every 30 minutes, or longer. Programs like this then store this information either into a log file, a database, or some other permanent storage medium.
There are several different applications for using Point in Time Network Monitoring Software, and we’ll discuss a few of these later.
The important thing to remember about Real Time Network Monitoring Software is how it addresses the 3 original issues with monitoring a network based on logs
#1. Consistency – Because these types of programs are software based, they are vendor agnostic and work to monitor all networks in an organization without needing to know hardware vendor specific interfaces.
#2. Frequency – These types of programs are built to run every few minutes, instead of being run in a 1 time, ad-hoc manner.
#3. Retention of Information – Because these types of programs are usually built with storage or a database in mind, the information about which devices were on a network at what time is available to the end user in some manner.