A comprehensive understanding of the computers, servers, routers, switches, and other devices that form the foundation of your IT environment is critical to mitigate the risk of downtime and security vulnerabilities. Let’s explore some key factors to remember when choosing the right solution to monitor your network devices.
Make Sure It Has Automated Network Device Discovery
Manual device discovery can be time-consuming and error-prone. But in 2025, dealing with complex scripts or manual configurations should be a thing of the past. Forward-thinking organizations will leverage a solution with automated scanning capabilities that allow you to identify and classify network devices quickly. Find a solution that classifies devices by type, vendor, and role. Automated device discovery streamlines the process of setting up monitoring policies and thresholds, reduces setup times, and minimizes errors, all while freeing up your IT teams to focus on strategic initiatives.
Choose A Solution That Measures What Matters
Make sure your solution provides access to the data you need. You'll want to look for features that allow for detailed insights into key metrics such as:
- Device availability
- CPU utilization
- Memory utilization
- Interface statistics
The ability to drill down into individual devices can significantly enhance your capacity to swiftly identify underperforming or overloaded components. Additionally, consider tools that enable straightforward comparisons of metrics over time, as this can facilitate quick anomaly detection and support effective troubleshooting.
Go Beyond the Basics With a Solution that Supports Advanced Devices
For optimum visibility, choose a network monitoring solution that supports a broad range of devices. Most solutions can provide insight into basic equipment like routers and switches. However, to take your IT management to the next level, ensure your solution covers more advanced systems:
- SD-WAN Monitoring: Monitoring SD-WAN devices can help you see WAN health and link usage, improving connectivity and user experience.
- Wireless Network Insights: Surfacing critical information for monitoring signal strength, user connections, and access point health can help you identify potential issues affecting wireless performance.
- Firewall Analytics: The ability to monitor site-to-site and remote access VPNs provides your network administrators with essential insights about firewalls, including connected devices, any failures, tunnel status, and VPN client connections.
Insight into the health and performance of these more complex systems will provide you with a complete picture of your network environment.
Bonus Tip: Pick A Vendor With a Vibrant User Community
Choosing a network monitoring solution from a vendor with a vibrant online user community offers several advantages. IT departments can share knowledge and best practices, helping users optimize the product and troubleshoot effectively. Access to real-world reviews provides insights into the solution’s performance in various environments. Community members often create and share valuable resources, like tutorials and configuration guides. This enhances the learning curve and speeds up proficiency. An engaged community gives feedback to vendors, potentially leading to quicker updates and improvements.
Ready for a deeper dive? Head over to the SolarWinds user community, THWACK®, to check out this step-by-step guide on using SolarWinds® Observability SaaS to achieve superb network device coverage.
