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While researching a network monitoring solution for your business, a number of items are of particular importance when narrowing down your choices. Reliability, performance, ease of use and cost are all critical factors that will affect your decision.

However, an additional primary concern to which you may not have given much thought is the need for a solution that operates using a 100% web-based interface instead of a proprietary client/server or even a partial web-based interface.

Fully web-based network monitoring solutions are:

• Accessible from anywhere, at any time. System administrators often find themselves working irregular hours from a variety of locations. The ability to access the secure web interface from any location, 24 hours a day, is of critical importance.
• Secure. SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption methods provide secure login and communication over non-secure channels such as the Internet. Thus, logging in from a remote location does not subject the network to the same security concerns that could result when attempting to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to access your client/server monitoring solution through a public telecommunication infrastructure.
• Easy to install and upgrade. With a web-based interface, you have the ability to update and maintain the network monitoring software without having to distribute and install new versions on potentially dozens of systems.
• Simple to use. HTML interfaces don't require extensive training and a lengthy learning curve to get up to speed with the software. Most are intuitive, and come with built-in help to guide you as you familiarize yourself with the software.
• Comprehensive. Web-based network monitoring solutions allow you to configure and administrate the software from a fully-integrated interface. In addition, you can also view real-time statistics and reports from the same convenient location.
• Lightweight. Web-based interfaces don't leave behind heavy footprints on the systems used to access them. Therefore, system performance degradation issues will not be observed when using a web-based network monitoring solution.
• Non-restrictive. The web browser acts as a universal client, thus very few limits are placed on client functionality. Users are able to choose to access the web interface using any of the major browsers available, based on individual preferences and corporate policy.
• Flexible. Individual browser preferences can be used to further customize the display settings of the interface. For example, users may adjust the font size, screen size, and other aspects of their browser windows.

Ultimately, the network monitoring solution you select for your corporation should be 100% web-based and browser independent. This will ensure that your network monitoring tool will provide the greatest amount of flexibility, efficiency and accessibility possible.

For information on other features and concepts related to those discussed in this article, refer to the following ipMonitor resources:

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Last Updated: November 14, 2006 | What did you think of this topic?