Remote Monitoring (RMON) is a standard monitoring specification that enables various network monitors and console systems to exchange network-monitoring data. RMON provides network administrators with more freedom in selecting network-monitoring probes and consoles with features that meet their particular networking needs.
RMON was originally developed to address the problem of managing LAN segments and remote sites from a central location.
The RMON specification, which is an extension of the SNMP MIB, is a standard monitoring specification. Within an RMON network monitoring data is defined by a set of statistics and functions and exchanged between various different monitors and console systems. Resultant data is used to monitor network utilization for network planning and performance-tuning, as well as assisting in network fault diagnosis.
RMON solutions are comprised of two components: a probe (or an agent or a monitor), and a client, usually a management station. Agents store network information within their RMON MIB and are normally found as embedded software on network hardware such as routers and switches although they can be a program running on a PC. Agents can only see the traffic that flows through them so they must be placed on each LAN segment or WAN link that is to be monitored. Clients, or management stations, communicate with the RMON agent or probe, using SNMP to obtain and correlate RMON data.
Protocol Structure - RMON: Remote Monitoring MIBs(RMON1 and RMON2)
The RMON1 and RMON2 are focused at different network layers:
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SNMP: Simple Network Management Protocol
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is the protocol developed to manage nodes (servers, workstations, routers, switches and hubs etc.) on an IP network. SNMP enables network administrators to manage network performance, find and solve network problems, and plan for network growth. Network management systems learn of problems by receiving traps or change notices from network devices implementing SNMP.
An SNMP managed network consists of three key components: managed devices, agents, and network-management systems (NMSs). A managed device is a network node that contains an SNMP agent and that resides on a managed network. Managed devices collect and store management information and make this information available to NMSs using SNMP. Managed devices, sometimes called network elements, can be routers and access servers, switches and bridges, hubs, computer hosts, or printers. An agent is a network management software module that resides in a managed device. An agent has local knowledge of management information and translates that information into a form compatible with SNMP. An NMS executes applications that monitor and control managed devices.
The following picture illustrates the SNMP architecture:
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