First things first:
In what order would you prioritize network management tools / network management software requirements?
- End Point Management (servers most specifically)
- Pipes and Traffic (managing latency issues etc)
- Application Management (Exchange, SQL Server, etc)
- Plumbing (routers, hubs, switches etc)
- Inventory Management
- Software Provisioning
- Remote Office Management
- Help Desk
- Remote Worker Laptops Fleets
- NAC including VPN (and SSL-VPN)
- Virtual Machine Monitoring
- VoIP Monitoring / Management
The beauty and challenge of managing networks is that no two Network Engineers seem to implement the same configuration. A network is a set of LEGO blocks pieced together one by one, usually in a custom configuration. Throw in hundreds of vendors, remote offices, and remote laptop workers, and the Network Engineer of a mid-sized company is up to his eyeballs in muck. But that’s where the beauty takes over. Massaging that network into a humming, efficient productive system is the reason we go to work everyday. The beauty is in the challenge of making this complicated stuff work together. I just wish the CEO understood the complexity of the job!
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