A Complete Guide to Network Performance Management (NPM)

The idea of network performance management (NPM) is related to application performance management (APM). While APM monitors the performance of critical applications to maintain service levels, NPM monitors the network performance to provide reduced downtime and high quality of network service.

Simply put, network performance management includes systems, tools, and processes that monitor, manage, and optimize a computer network’s performance to ensure seamless network operations.

NPM has gained relevance in tackling the complexity found in modern IT infrastructure, with dense technology stacks and third-party integrations. Effective NPMs can help a network in supporting the demands placed by the myriad applications, services, and users.

Differentiating Network Performance Management (NPM) and Network Performance Monitoring

Network performance monitoring is a subset of network performance management.

Monitoring involves the continuous observation and measurement of traffic and performance metrics to ensure that the network is operating within expected parameters.

On the other hand, performance management is a broader approach to optimizing and maintaining the network performance over time.

Along with monitoring, NPM also includes planning, analysis, and optimization of network resources. From a business standpoint, NPM aims to manage and improve performance to meet both current and future demand. It is more than a reactive approach, also proactively planning and optimizing the network to support business goals.

The Network Performance Management Roadmap

NPM is about establishing the right mix of network policies, operations and workflows to optimize network performance. The approach is decided considering the context in which an organization operates, in order to meet business criteria. Discussed below are a few levers which can be adjusted to achieve said optimal balance as per an organization’s requirements.

Effective Data Acquisition for Actionable Metrics

Networks today are vastly complex, with a variety of devices, applications, and services interacting simultaneously. This gives way to enormous volumes of data generated, ranging from latency and throughput statistics to errors and activity logs.

Hence identifying the most relevant performance cues allows network administrators to focus on the most significant indicators of network health and performance. Here are a few metrics to consider:

Network Traffic Analysis:

This refers to keeping an eye on the data packets that pass through a network. It gives insight into the patterns, anomalies, and data flow within the network, enabling performance and security improvements, troubleshooting, and capacity planning.

Monitoring Bandwidth Usage:

This allows admins to get a handle on resource consumption, potential bottlenecks, traffic prioritization, and accommodating future bandwidth needs. These are factors that directly impact the network’s efficiency and scalability.

SNMP Performance:

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) provides critical data about network devices. As SNMP queries contribute significantly to the amount of traffic, managing SNMP leads to reduced overhead and timely issue detection.

Understanding where to Automate for Maximum Benefit

Automation can be applied to various aspects of NPM, allowing for real-time insights as well as proactive management of resources. However, it is not always beneficial to automate every process. It must bring efficiency to the existing processes and workflows, not hinder them. Let us look at the various facets that can be automated:

Real-Time Monitoring and Alerts:

The main benefit here is that the performance metrics we discussed earlier can be tracked 24/7 with regards to the established baselines. In case of a threshold breach instant alerts are triggered, leading to immediate response and minimized downtime.

Proactive Resolution:

There are two components to this: predictive analytics and automated troubleshooting. The former can forecast potential network issues before they occur, allowing the latter to initial troubleshooting procedures without manual intervention.

Optimized Resource Allocation and Capacity Planning:

As discussed earlier, monitoring bandwidth usage is essential. Automation brings in dynamic bandwidth allocation and load balancing, making real-time adjustments to bandwidth. This results in more even distribution of traffic, leading to smoother network operations.

Enhanced Security and Compliance:

Automated data collection on security parameters leads to immediate detection and response. Speaking of compliance, automated report generation proves useful in industries which require regular reporting, network performance testing, and security.

Automating these aspects of performance management leads to an optimized network with reduced, manual intervention, downtime, and failures, hence leading to long-term cost efficiency.

Managing Security Impact on Network Performance

Security threats can hinder network performance. Ensuring a robust security posture is necessary to maintain optimal network performance. Here we discuss a few safeguards which help in achieving a strong security stance:

• Strong protocol implementation will ward off DDoS attacks, while SNMPs manage access and authorization. On the data front, VPNs will help with encryption and secure communication.
• Regular software and firmware updates ensure protection against known vulnerabilities.
• Network segmentation can limit the spread of attacks and reduce the impact on network performance.
• Intrusion detection and prevention systems automatically block or alert admins to potential threats.

These safeguards, along with many other systems such as EDR, Intrusion detection, zero trust, and others ensure that external agents do not hamper network performance.

Managed Network Services for Enabling High Performance Network

Now, let’s understand how performance management is beneficial as a managed service, by highlighting scenarios when outsourcing provides more value when compared to handling NPM internally.

In the context of managed services, NPM would typically be offered under the umbrella of a network operations center (NOC). Lets see how NPM integrates into NOC operations to deliver comprehensive network management.

Proactive Monitoring and Management

Network performance monitoring tools allow NOC teams to go beyond simple monitoring by using advanced analytics to predict potential issues. This reduces the risk of downtime or degraded performance.

Incident Detection and Response

By monitoring network performance within the NOC, issues like network bottlenecks, excessive latency, or configuration errors are flagged immediately.

Continuous Network Optimization

Managed NPM helps NOC engineers continuously adjust configurations, allocate resources, and reroute traffic  for network performance optimization in real time.

Network Performance Reporting

Network performance monitoring software provides comprehensive reporting on network metrics such as application performance, throughput, and capacity trends.

Security and Compliance

Managed NPM solutions can be integrated with security monitoring tools, helping NOC teams detect performance degradation due to cyber threats or misconfigurations. Additionally, managed NPM ensures compliance with SLAs, ensuring the network meets required benchmarks.

Who Would Benefit Most from Managed Network Operations Center (MNOC)?

Organizations with complex, dynamic, or high-stakes network environments where performance is critical to business success. These organizations would benefit from the expertise, tools, and scalability that a managed services provider (MSP) such as HSC offers. This would allow them to focus on their core competencies while ensuring their network operates at peak efficiency.

Here are some scenarios for which managed services make the most sense:

Businesses with Highly Distributed Networks

• Who they are: Organizations with a multi-site network infrastructure such as retail chains or global enterprises with numerous branch offices.
• The Challenge: As each site may have varying network demands, managing performance across multiple locations is a challenge.
• The Value: MSPs offer centralized monitoring and optimization, ensuring uniform resolution of issues throughout the network

Organizations Undergoing Rapid Growth or Transformation

• Who they are: Fast growing companies such as tech startups or those undergoing digital transformation.
• The Challenge: Quick shift in digital landscape result in constantly changing network demands, needing big investments in tools and expertise to maintain performance.
• The Value: An MSP can provide the agility needed to support growth without the overhead of building an in-house NPM team.

Companies with Limited IT Resources or Expertise

• Who they are: Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or businesses in non-tech industries where IT is not a core competency.
• The Challenge: The internal resources or expertise to manage NPM effectively may be a challenge.
• The Value: An MSP would bring specialized skills and advanced tools without the need for significant upfront investment.

Firms with Critical, Real-Time Network Performance Needs

• Who they are: Companies in industries like fintech, telecommunications, or e-commerce where network performance directly impacts revenue or customer experience.
• The Challenge: For such businesses, even minor network performance issues can have significant financial consequences.
• The Value: MSPs can ensure continuous monitoring and rapid response to performance issues, strictly adhering to their SLAs.

Companies Facing Scalability Challenges

• Who they are: Companies that are facing increased demand in network traffic, such as online gaming platforms, streaming services, or cloud service providers.
• The Challenge: Adding bandwidth, optimizing traffic flow, managing latency, and preventing bottlenecks are challenges to overcome.
• The Value: An MSP can ensure that the network can handle increased traffic while being able to adapt to future growth.

To summarize, a reliable and high-performance network is necessary for sustaining business operations and accounting for growth. Network performance management can ensure that your network remains resilient, scalable and efficient.

As a network gains complexity, managed NOC services can provide the flexibility and scalability needed. Whether its to prevent network bottlenecks, improve efficiency, or enhance security, NOC integration will provide that competitive edge.

With managed NPM, you’re not just maintaining your network, you’re future-proofing it for long-term success.