Given the limitations discussed with basic Log Checking, vendors came up with programs that initially tackled the issue of consistency when it came to monitoring a network.

So, now instead of checking each individual switch, router, or access point log file, through a single program, a user can see all devices on their network. This eliminates the consistency issue or certain parts of the network being missed.

Most network monitoring programs work by giving organizations a single snapshot view of all devices on their network. This is much easier to use.  It gives a single, easy to use interface to identify which devices are on a network, sometimes the ports that are in use, etc.

These programs are basically a replacement for checking log files because they give a real-time look at who is currently on the network.

However, they still have limitations similar to log checking.

The problems with just monitoring software are

#1.  Frequency – Many, but not all of these programs, are meant to run as a 1 time snapshot of the network.  Although this is visually appealing, it makes them a manual process.  So again, if something happens, someone might run one of these programs, but often an unknown or unexpected device might already be off the network before this scan is run.

#2.  Loss of Information – Again, similar to log checking, a Network Scan that is run on a Monday when something went wrong on a Saturday, doesn’t tell you what the network looked like on Saturday, so that information for analysis is lost to the IT Professional or Business owner.

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