Routers. Servers. Switches. These devices formed the core of the IT network infrastructure 20 years ago. Today's networks are a whole new animal. You've got traditional devices like servers and endpoints, but you’ve also got mobile devices, virtual and cloud applications, VoIP equipment… plus a whole slew of non-traditional items like your HVAC or door alarms.
Two important things to know:
- Most of these items have an IP address.
- If an item has an IP address, Intermapper can monitor it.
My guess is that you’re dutifully keeping tabs on your standard routers and switches (as a good network professional should), but you’re likely leaving dozens of items un-monitored that you could (and should) be monitoring.
A lot of people say, "I've got 100 main routers, switches, and workstations, so I'll just need a 100-device license." You've covered the basics, but what about the rest of your network? Modern, distributed networks encompass a veritable technology buffet, and Intermapper can monitor more than you think.
Related Content: Monitor Anything with an IP Address with Intermapper
What Exactly Counts as a "Device"?
We often talk about monitoring our network "devices." What does that mean, exactly? As more technology connects to the internet, the definition of a “device” is quickly expanding to be more than just standard servers and endpoints. In the new world of the Internet of Things (IoT), a network “device” could be anything with an IP address that, if it went off the grid, could affect your business operations.
Would you consider a smart thermometer a network device? Let’s say you have one set up to monitor your data center temperature. One afternoon, the temperature rises to dangerously high levels, but you don’t catch it in time. Your equipment could fail and even be ruined. Without monitoring that smart thermometer and receiving an alert when it goes off-line, you wouldn’t know what happened until it is too late, costing your business thousands of dollars in new equipment.
Maybe you don’t have smart thermometers, but what about door alarms? An HVAC system? Security cameras? All of these items are devices that network monitoring software like Intermapper can monitor.
Related Content: How Do Device-Based and Sensor-Based Licensing Compare?
What Can Intermapper Monitor?
Standard Network Devices
These devices form the core of your network infrastructure and should always be monitored.
- Servers
- Endpoints
- Switches, firewalls, routers
- Workstations
- Printers
- Firewalls
Non-Standard Network Devices
Have you ever thought of monitoring any of these items?
- Software applications
- Virtual and cloud applications
- Wireless devices
- Mobile devices
- Video-conferencing/VoIP equipment
- Multi-media-enabled classrooms
- Cameras
- Manufacturing/industrial equipment
- Facilities systems (e.g. HVAC)
- Gas pumps
- Refrigeration devices
- Radio equipment
- In-vehicle laptops
- Door alarms or locks
- Thermometers
- Clinical equipment
This is not a definitive list. You can monitor so much more. Get creative and you’ll come up with dozens of additional devices in your own environment that could be beneficial to keep tabs on.
How Does Intermapper Monitor IP-Enabled Equipment?
1. Finds it via autodiscovery.
Through a process called autodiscovery, Intermapper automatically finds all the devices within your network that are IP-enabled. If the device is enabled with SNMP, Intermapper will by default assign a SNMP traffic probe for monitoring traffic on interfaces. If the device is not enabled with SNMP, a Ping/Echo probe will be assigned to monitor availability.
Scheduled device detection (new in Intermapper 6.1!) will continue to alert you whenever new devices connect to your network.
Autodiscovery saves you from manually recording IP addresses and updating maps, and it ensures your network inventory is always up to date.
2. Uses SNMP to poll it.
While some network monitoring products rely on cumbersome agents to gather data, Intermapper uses lightweight, fast protocols like SNMP to poll network equipment. Intermapper can query any device using SNMP, HTTP, TCP, and command line access and bring back any data the vendor makes available. The nice thing is, because Intermapper is vendor-agnostic, it can collect data from your network regardless of technology vendor.
3. Uses probes to poll it.
Intermapper comes with over 100 built-in probes to get you started monitoring common devices. Alternatively, you can design and build your own probes so you can monitor less common devices or metrics. Creating probes is straightforward; just start with a simple text file, tweak it for what you want to monitor, and attach it to a device to gather the data you need.
Join your IT peers and add your custom probe to our growing library of downloadable user-contributed probes, which are available to the whole Intermapper community. The collaboration contributes to more robust, comprehensive network performance monitoring for everyone.
Get the Answers You Need
What kind of data can you get from technology you’re monitoring with Intermapper? Here are some examples:
- Servers: Monitor the disk space, memory, utilization, or hardware health on IBM, HP, Dell, or other servers.
- Switches, firewalls, and routers: Monitor session status, CPU utilization, resource usage, and more.
- Printers: Input/output trays, and toner and ink levels can be monitored on internet-enabled printers from vendors like HP, Epson, and others.
- Applications: Use Intermapper probes to monitor user access, services, and processes on MS SQL, Oracle, SMTP Queue, and other networked applications.
- Telecommunications devices: Monitor metrics like signal status, signal-to-noise ratio, and AFC level on telecommunications equipment.
- UPS devices: Use Intermapper to monitor status conditions such as voltage, capacity, current output load, alarm status, and load on all your UPS devices.
- Wireless devices: Track metrics for wireless devices like access points and mobile handheld devices. Monitor signal strength, up/down status, active connections, quality of connections, and more.
- Environmental sensors: Keep track of temperature, humidity, power, door contact, dry contact, and more on environmental devices.
- Facilities systems: Monitor the temperature, pressure, or compressor power on heating and cooling equipment, appliances, security systems, and fire suppression systems.
- Industrial equipment: Monitor fuel levels, power levels, traps for manufacturing tools and robotics, irrigation systems, solar arrays, or fuel tanks.
Technology professionals want to collect important data from all kinds of devices. With Intermapper, you’re not limited to traditional network equipment. Any IP address can be queried in real-time to provide a diagnostic update of its status, and critical performance insights that can lead to better network performance.
More Intermapper Resources:
Monitor it All with Intermapper
From routers and switches to your HVAC or hospital equipment, you can monitor it with Intermapper.
