solarwinds network performance monitor key

Monitoring Network Performance with SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor

As a network administrator, it's essential to have a clear understanding of your network's performance and identify any potential issues before they impact your users. One of the most popular network monitoring tools is SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM), which provides real-time insights into your network's health and performance.

In this article, we will explore how to install and configure SolarWinds NPM to monitor a Windows Server 2012 and two Cisco routers in a lab environment. For those who are new to network monitoring or have limited experience with SolarWinds products, this guide is designed to help you get started quickly.

To begin, let's take a look at the configuration of our R1 router. As shown below, the hostname is set to R1, and we have configured IP addresses, EIGRP, and SNMP community strings:

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hostname R1

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For those who are using older versions of Windows, don't worry - this article will provide guidance on how to create a loopback interface.

To connect our Windows Server 2012 R2 (which is supported by SolarWinds NPM) to the GNS3 lab environment, we created a loopback interface on the server and connected one of the routers to this loopback interface. This allows us to simulate a network between the Windows Server and the GNS3 lab.

In this evaluation, we launched an AWS EC2 instance where SolarWinds NPM will be installed. For those who are interested in exploring other SolarWinds products that complement NPM, such as Network Configuration Manager (NCM) and NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA), we recommend checking out their respective features.

SolarWinds NPM offers several key features that make it an excellent choice for network monitoring, including:

* Network discovery

* Availability monitoring (e.g., interface bandwidth utilization)

* Real-time performance monitoring

To set up a lab environment and install SolarWinds NPM, follow these steps:

1. Launch the AWS EC2 instance and install SolarWinds NPM.

2. Configure your Windows Server 2012 R2 with the necessary IP addresses, EIGRP, and SNMP community strings.

3. Create a loopback interface on the Windows Server and connect one of the routers to this loopback interface.

By following these steps, you can create a lab environment that simulates real-world network scenarios and monitor your devices using SolarWinds NPM.

In this article, we have provided an overview of the SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) and how it can be used to monitor network performance. With its intuitive interface and powerful features, SolarWinds NPM is an excellent choice for any network administrator looking to improve their network's performance and availability.

Solarwinds network performance monitor key