Cisco Cisco MGX-FRSM-HS2 B Serial Frame Service Module Libro blanco
Deployment Guide
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related metrics) and voice quality monitoring (which includes the ability to detect Real-Time Streaming Protocol
[RTP] streams and compute the Mean Opinion Score [MOS], packet loss, and other VoIP metrics).
Intelligent Application Performance Analytics
NAM software offers many useful capabilities for network and application performance management. These features
provide the ability to measure the quality of user experience using various response time measurements. These
measurements are computed by monitoring and time-stamping packets sent from the user to the server providing
services.
Monitoring Cisco WAAS and Measuring Its Impact
Cisco NAM has been enhanced to monitor traffic that is optimized using Cisco WAAS devices. The WAAS solution
requires a pair of devices (WAN Acceleration Engines [WAEs]) that work together to optimize traffic flows. Typically,
a WAE is located in the branch and another in the data center. NAM is able to monitor traffic activity on WAEs and
measure the impact of traffic optimization. Such measurements allow administrators to show the benefits of
implementing WAN optimization, cut unnecessary hardware upgrade costs, and monitor user experience in WAAS
deployments in a granular and proactive manner. Those measurements can now be obtained from the NAM Virtual
Blade that can be installed on Cisco WAVE-574 and WAE-674 appliances.
VoIP and Quality of Service Monitoring
Cisco NAM provides visibility into real-time voice quality of service (QoS), as well as historical reporting and trending
of voice calls. Industry-standard MOS computations are provided through the real-time monitoring screens every
minute. Alarms can be configured to trigger based on voice quality issues.
Triggered Captures, Trend Analysis, and Other Uses
The number of triggered captures has been increased - while only one capture could be triggered automatically in
earlier releases, that limitation has been removed, and multiple automatic captures can be started in parallel. Note
that performance considerations must be taken into account any time multiple captures are started, whether these
captures are triggered or manual. Also, the protocol directory has been expanded to recognize a number of
additional well-known protocols, and the menus have been improved for ease of use and configuration.
Monitoring Cisco Nexus 1000V Switch Deployment
Cisco Nexus 1000V NAM VSB is integrated with the Nexus 1010 Virtual Services Appliance to provide network and
performance visibility into the Nexus 1000V switching deployment. The NAM VSB uses the embedded
instrumentation, such as Encapsulated Remote SPAN (ERSPAN) and NetFlow on the Nexus 1000V switch as the
data source for traffic analysis, application response time, interface statistics, and reporting. All NAM 4.x features are
supported except voice over IP monitoring and packet capture. The 1000V switch can also be monitored by the other
NAM hardware platforms running version 4.2.
Network Performance Management Lifecycle
In any network, the administrator must define “normal” and “abnormal" behavior patterns. Once this is accomplished,
the goal is to maintain the network in its normal state and take any actions needed to prevent it from going into an
abnormal state. When such an abnormal situation occurs, such as an outage, tools must be available to quickly
isolate and fix the problem. Consider Figure 1. The “Operational Network” cycle that is at the center of the picture is
where the network should ideally be at all times. The other two cycles indicate the process of repairing a network
problem and the process of planning a change to the network. The following is a brief outline of the performance
management lifecycle:
1. Recognize and list your network performance goals: This includes setting expected limits for response time,
expected ranges for MOS values, bandwidth usage per application, and utilization on critical WAN links. The