Network Infrastructure Management

Optimize your network with network infrastructure management

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Automate Processes

Reduce Downtime

Demonstrate Compliance

Track Router Changes

Gain Greater Visibility

Automate challenging network infrastructure management processes with an enterprise-grade tool

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SolarWinds^® Network Configuration Manager (NCM) is designed to help you manage networks by automating the most time-consuming processes. NCM can make it easier to keep up with configuration changes, while automated configuration backup and restore can help ensure you never lose a previous configuration. Also, NCM can automatically scan iOS devices for vulnerabilities to help you proactively troubleshoot issues. These capabilities can save time and increase network reliability.

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Reduce downtime by managing and monitoring devices within your network

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As your business scales, it can be tricky to keep all devices on the network running smoothly. NCM features out-of-the-box support for some of the most popular network device vendors, including Cisco, HP, Juniper, and more. Instead of configuring all your devices individually, NCM lets you bulk deploy standardized device configurations both on-premises and in the cloud. These successful configurations are stored and can be used to replace failed devices, which can help reduce downtime and improve user experience.

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Use automatically generated reports to demonstrate compliance and increase security

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NCM is a network infrastructure system with enhanced security and compliance capabilities. NCM helps you manage unauthorized configuration changes by constantly monitoring devices and automatically keeping track of changes. The comprehensive alerting system in NCM is designed to help ensure you never miss an issue. You can also speed up compliance reporting with out-of-the-box compliance assessments for HIPAA, NIST FISMA, PCI DSS, and more. Find a violation? Automated remediation scripts can help you fix it.

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Keep track of changes made to routers with network infrastructure management software

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NCM allows you to easily make enterprise-wide changes to routers with the help of configuration templates. These templates are device-neutral and let you define what changes must be made, and you only have to do so once. NCM then takes these directives, creates device-specific sets of commands, and schedules them for deployment on routers throughout the enterprise. This can help save time, reduce errors, and keep routers properly configured and running smoothly.

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Gain greater visibility into network infrastructure management by drilling down on switches

The Network Insight™ feature in NCM can help you drill down on complex devices like Cisco Nexus switches. This network infrastructure management tool helps reveal performance issues like failed switches, which NCM can also help you resolve.

Sometimes, the quickest way to repair a failed switch is to replace it. NCM can take a replacement configuration from a repository of successful configs and upload it to the new device. All changes can then be easily verified by comparing the new config to the established baseline.

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Get More on Network Infrastructure Management

Do you find yourself asking…

What is network infrastructure management?
Why is network infrastructure management important?
Is network infrastructure management the same as network monitoring?
Are there different types of network infrastructure management?
How to perform network infrastructure management

The term “network infrastructure” refers to the hardware and software resources comprising an enterprise’s network, plus the network’s services. Having an organized network infrastructure enables network connectivity and increases operational efficiency. Since the network infrastructure is interconnected, it also provides a stable communication network between users, applications, servers, processes, services, data centers, external networks, service providers, and the internet. It supports both self-hosted and cloud services.

The standard network infrastructure has three tiers:

Network hardware, including routers, switches, and cables
Network software, including firewalls and operating systems
Network services, including wireless protocols and IP addressing

According to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), network infrastructure management can be broken down into five major functions. They are referred to as “FCAPS.”

These categories are essential for delivering reliable IT services across an organization:

Fault management: Finding, analyzing, and troubleshooting errors within the network infrastructure
Configuration management: Tracking, managing, and making changes to all the components within your network, specifically routers, switches, servers, and firewalls
Accounting management: Uncovering information about how well resources are being used in your network to make smarter capacity planning decisions
Performance management: Establishing performance baselines, reacting to trends, and analyzing the overall performance of components on your network
Security management: Identifying and troubleshooting security vulnerabilities within your network to enhance access control and cybersecurity.

There are many ways to go about accomplishing these goals, depending on the size and complexity of your network. You can start by following these network infrastructure management best practices:

Align with business needs: Ensure all network planning and configuration decisions directly support current and anticipated business operations, prioritizing infrastructure that drives growth and critical service delivery.
Establish baselines: If you have a clear understanding of how your network normally behaves, it’s easier to spot network infrastructure performance issues. Set alerts for when something exceeds a certain threshold for normal behavior.
Troubleshoot layer by layer: Don’t try to tackle troubleshooting all at once, especially in a large network. Systematically address issues at each layer of the network.
Plan for growth: It’s always better to assume your network infrastructure will grow than to assume it won’t. Supplement network infrastructure management software with network monitoring software to ensure all components are running well within capacity.
Include a failover protection plan: Since network infrastructure management software will have to be installed on the network you are managing, it may go down if the network goes down. To account for this, structure your network so the network infrastructure management system can still be accessed in the event of a major network failure, and enables disaster recovery.
Set escalation protocols: To speed up resolution and ensure the right people are notified of network issues, dedicate one person on your IT team to each major sector, including security, firewalls, and servers.

Network infrastructure management might sound daunting at first, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. An enterprise-grade network infrastructure management system like SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager can help automate time-consuming processes and improve control over your network configurations and metrics. The software can enhance business continuity by providing a resilient, highly available foundation.

The term “network infrastructure” refers to the hardware and software resources comprising an enterprise’s network, plus the network’s services. Having an organized network infrastructure enables network connectivity and increases operational efficiency. Since the network infrastructure is interconnected, it also provides a stable communication network between users, applications, servers, processes, services, data centers, external networks, service providers, and the internet. It supports both self-hosted and cloud services.
The standard network infrastructure has three tiers:
Network hardware, including routers, switches, and cables
Network software, including firewalls and operating systems
Network services, including wireless protocols and IP addressing
According to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), network infrastructure management can be broken down into five major functions. They are referred to as “FCAPS.”
These categories are essential for delivering reliable IT services across an organization:
Fault management: Finding, analyzing, and troubleshooting errors within the network infrastructure
Configuration management: Tracking, managing, and making changes to all the components within your network, specifically routers, switches, servers, and firewalls
Accounting management: Uncovering information about how well resources are being used in your network to make smarter capacity planning decisions
Performance management: Establishing performance baselines, reacting to trends, and analyzing the overall performance of components on your network
Security management: Identifying and troubleshooting security vulnerabilities within your network to enhance access control and cybersecurity.
Network infrastructure management is the process of managing an enterprise’s infrastructure and the essential operations performed by it to ensure optimal performance.
Other goals of network infrastructure management include:
Setting up, administering, and troubleshooting a network
Optimizing workflows by reducing duplicative actions across the enterprise
Improve adherence to security and compliance standards
Automate the time-consuming processes involved in IT infrastructure management
Facilitate and maintain effective change management strategies
Manage and mitigate performance issues
Minimize service disruptions
Support scalability
There are many ways to go about accomplishing these goals, depending on the size and complexity of your network. You can start by following these network infrastructure management best practices:
Align with business needs: Ensure all network planning and configuration decisions directly support current and anticipated business operations, prioritizing infrastructure that drives growth and critical service delivery.
Establish baselines: If you have a clear understanding of how your network normally behaves, it’s easier to spot network infrastructure performance issues. Set alerts for when something exceeds a certain threshold for normal behavior.
Troubleshoot layer by layer: Don’t try to tackle troubleshooting all at once, especially in a large network. Systematically address issues at each layer of the network.
Plan for growth: It’s always better to assume your network infrastructure will grow than to assume it won’t. Supplement network infrastructure management software with network monitoring software to ensure all components are running well within capacity.
Include a failover protection plan: Since network infrastructure management software will have to be installed on the network you are managing, it may go down if the network goes down. To account for this, structure your network so the network infrastructure management system can still be accessed in the event of a major network failure, and enables disaster recovery.
Set escalation protocols: To speed up resolution and ensure the right people are notified of network issues, dedicate one person on your IT team to each major sector, including security, firewalls, and servers.
Network infrastructure management might sound daunting at first, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. An enterprise-grade network infrastructure management system like SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager can help automate time-consuming processes and improve control over your network configurations and metrics. The software can enhance business continuity by providing a resilient, highly available foundation.

“I use NCM daily, and it's reduced my workload, improved my company's security posture (with just a single click it fixes problems and vulnerabilities across hundreds of switches and routers), and given me time to focus on other tasks, while leaving the tedious tasks to automation through NCM.”

Richard Schroeder

Network Analyst

Essentia Health

Streamline and optimize network infrastructure management

Network Configuration Manager

Use automated configuration backup and restore to help ensure you never lose a previous configuration.
Manage unauthorized configuration changes by real-time monitoring of network infrastructure.
Speed up compliance reporting with out-of-the-box assessments.

Download Free Trial Email Link to Trial

Fully functional for 30 days

Learn More

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