Switch monitoring - The new generation of monitoring for local area networks

Network performance monitoring is an important part of effective network management. In a traditional shared-media local area network (LAN), probes connected to the network's segments perform the tasks of network monitoring. The control of such probes in the network-management framework based on simple network management protocol (SNMP) is specified in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) remote monitoring (RMON) standards. In modern LANs, the shared-media infrastructure has been replaced by switches. Standard RMON probes are insufficient to monitor switched LANs. Thus, we have developed new methods to perform switch monitoring (SMON). SMON provides views of the traffic flowing through a switch, views of specific switch-related entities such as virtual LANs, and control of monitoring-related switch functions. SMON has recently been transformed into an IETF standard. Work on improving SMON has continued. A method to organize data-collection reports in switches is proposed, as well as extensions to handle statistics from Layer 3 and above at the switch level. The enterprise SMON application provides a way to monitor multiple switches simultaneously. This paper reviews the development of current and future standards in the area of LAN switch monitoring.