Network Assessment | Network Audit Software

Technology for Network Auditing Has Advanced...

Recent technology advancements have broken down the barriers associated with network audits, especially of large networks.

With automation, network audits have become much more affordable
Network assessment is traditionally done manually. Automation technology has significantly lowered the cost.
Network audits can now be done without outside help
New technology makes it simple enough for enterprises to execute network audits themselves.

Check out the following seven (7) technology advancements related to network audits.

Technology Advancement #1

Large-Scale Network Discovery

It has been said that the 1st network management tool is a discovery tool. Indeed it’s hard to find network management software that doesn’t include discovery functionality, but the reality is far from ideal. You still count on manual methods such as “show-commands” to figure out what you have. Network discovery, especially for large networks, has remained an unsolved problem.

New technology is now available to discover large and complex networks – based on a unique neighbor-walking discovery logic that emulates a human being. This algorithm utilizes known network devices as an agent to efficiently walk through the entire network hop-by-hop. The results are:

Discovery accuracy – nearly 99% for very large networks (success includes discovery of 20,000+ device network, excluding end systems).
High speed – up to 3,000 network devices/hour.
Versatile Deployment – discovery can be launched from anywhere in the network and it can discover across MPLS clouds, DMZs, etc...

Traditional Network Discovery Techniques

Ping Scan
SNMP Scan
LLDP, CDP, JDP

Challenges of traditional Network Discovery

Find the "perfect" spot to launch discovery from
Accuracy
Network with MPLS, DMZ…

All three NetBrain product lines include a powerful discovery engine. NetBrain Architect Edition’s discovery engine is designed for portable network discovery, ideal for network consultants; NetBrain Operator Edition’s discovery engine is best for enterprise discovery and re-discovery. The NetBrain Discovery Appliance is designed for network service providers.

Technology Advancement #2

Automate Network Diagramming

Most of us are still using the 1st generation network diagramming tool – Visio. It is easy to use but the process is painstakingly manual. The 2nd generation tools such as Opnet NetMapper and SolarWinds LANsurveyor have introduced a network discovery component to enable automated creation of diagrams. This generation of tools has not enjoyed wide adoption due to technology limitations. These complicated tools require well-trained engineers to operate them and only support the diagramming of manually-defined areas.

Recent advancements have resulted in the introduction of a 3rd generation tool from NetBrain based on Dynamic Network Diagrams. A dynamic network diagram is driven by an underlying data model, and can self-update when network changes occur. Diagram creation is automated based on simple inputs by users in real-time. What’s special is that the tool is still as easy to use as Visio.

NetBrain offers two solutions in support of dynamic network diagrams: stand-alone Architect Edition (for network consultants) and server-based Operator Edition (for enterprises).

Dynamic Network Diagram

Powered by underlying data model, dynamic network diagrams are automatically created and self-updating. They can be converted to static Visio diagrams instantly.

Check out multiple ways to create dynamic network diagrams on-the-fly.

See some examples of dynamic network diagrams below:

Instant Network Diagram of L3 VoIP Path

Instant Network Diagram of L2 VoIP Path

Instant Network Diagram of Data Center after Discovery

Technology Advancement #3

Automate Assessment Documentation

Has technology advanced to the point that you don’t need to write an assessment document? Absolutely not. But new advancements allow you to edit on top of automatically created documents, saving countless hours.

The technology is again based on dynamic network diagrams – sometimes referred to as SmartMaps. Each dynamic network diagram is an instance of a network assessment topic. The built-in documentation engine will extract network design data out of one or more diagrams and create a Word formatted assessment document. Consultants can use the default content template, or write their own. The power lies in SmartMap’s data-driven network model. For example, you can include serial number, routing configuration, and QoS configuration information in the automatically created assessment document. View an example by clicking the icon on the right.

Network Documentation

Sample Pages of an Automated Network Assessment Document

Automated network documents are ideal for security compliance requirements, such as PCI, HIPPA and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.

Technology Advancement #4

0 Touch Network Assessment

As a network expert, you are sometimes asked to audit a customer network with limited network access or no access at all– all you have is a set of configuration files or some show-command text.

Technology advancement has made this task much easier. Simply drag and drop configuration files into NetBrain to produce a network diagram instantly. Because this is a dynamic network diagram, you can execute many network assessment tasks right from the diagram, including generating inventory reports and design assessment documents.

With NetBrain, “show-command” results collected by other means can also be imported to perform deeper network analysis such as assessment of L2 network topology.

Do You Know?

You can import “show-command” data collected else-where into NetBrain and execute a network audit...

You can use NetBrain to automate the execution of “show-commands” across an entire network.

Technology Advancement #5

1-Click Inventory Report

With the investment made to purchase most network management tools, you would think that building a network inventory report would be simple. But in reality it’s not. If you need a list of devices inside one key data center, and would like to have the serial number and IOS version next to the device name and IP, most tools require writing a custom script.

Advanced technology from NetBrain makes tasks like this one, and even more complex ones, easy. After a controlled discovery of a data center, a full-inventory report is only one-click away. Available detail data includes:

Hostname & IP
Interface or Port
Serial Number
IOS version
Port-to-port connectivity
VLAN configuration per port
Routing configuration per interface

Inside NetBrain, an inventory report is associated with a workspace in CSV format.

Technology Advancement #6

Visual Performance Assessment and Capacity Planning

Are there hot spots in your network? Why are certain applications slow? Is the network VoIP ready?

A visual performance assessment tool like NetBrain can help answer these questions much easier than before. It starts with mapping out a network automatically with dynamic network diagrams. From within the dynamic network diagram, you can:

Launch HeatMap to detect performance hotspots

Like an X-ray to doctors, HeatMap allows network professionals to quickly discover over-utilized circuits and devices – right from the map. See an example below.

HeatMap

HeatMap Detects Over-utlized Links or Devices

Launch IPSLA or IP accounting to analyze slow applications or network readiness for VoIP. See an example below.

HeatMap

The IPSLA Toolkit Measures and Assesses Network Readiness for VoIP

Technology Advancement #7

Automated Configuration and Design Assessment

When it comes to hard-core network security or readiness assessments, you will have to look into network configuration files – line by line for tens of thousands of lines. Technology has drastically reduced the difficulty of this process.
NetBrain’s patented design reader technology can help decode network design based on network configuration files, annotate design in a SmartMap, and even run batch analysis across multiple devices for multiple technologies. Network professionals can now spend a fraction of the time analyzing large network’s configuration.

Design Reader contains over 100 built-in design filters – a technology template used to analyze network design. Seasoned engineers are able to write their own design filters to decode any network design, any way they like.

Design Reader Dissect Complex Network Design

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