In 2017, I have encountered lots of request to do bandwidth monitoring. When the network is slow or congested, IT managers would usually look to monitor the bandwidth.
Bandwidth monitoring can be done in two ways.
1. Via SNMP
SNMP, or Simple Network Management Protocol, allows IT manager to monitor bandwidth consumption of devices at port level.
The pros of this method is that it is easy to setup.
The cons is that what is seen is bandwidth utilisation out of the port only. IT managers won't be able to identify where it is going or coming from.
2. Via Flow technology
Some switches and routers have Flow technology installed.
Flow technology allows to identify more details of the bandwidth consumption. IT managers can see which application is using the bandwidth, Top Talkers (Uploaders), Top Listeners (Downloaders), etc.
Depending on the brand, Flow technology comes in different names, ie Cisco - netFlow, HP - sFlow, Juniper - jFlow, Huawei - hFlow.
Pros - Provides more detailed information of bandwidth consumption.
Cons - Configuration can be a challenge as IT managers need to know how to configure to point the flow information from the device to the flow analyser.
IT vendors in Singapore love to target the SMEs (Small Medium Enterprise) in Singapore due to the sheer volume of SMEs here. I learned that targeting SMEs here require a special understanding of the environment, especially when it comes to IT solutions SMEs are defined as enterprise with less than 200 staff and annual revenue of not more than SGD2 million dollars. The sheer number of Singapore makes the industry a "honey pot" for any IT vendors. Source: http://www.singstat.gov.sg There are 216,900 enterprises in Singapore and 99% are made up of SMES and they contribute close to half of the S$367.00 billion nominal value created. While targeting SMEs is a must, I have experienced some the challenges around the way and look to share with readers here. Challenge 1: SMEs may not have a dedicated IT person It is impossible for SMEs to avoid having any IT today as the Internet has made IT a must have. In my discussions with SMEs, it came to a surprise that most SM...
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