If your organization is knee deep in cloud migration, network monitoring tools can step up and play important roles, particularly in integrating applications from data centers to their new role in the cloud-based process.
IT leaders have high-value positions in cloud migrations, with duties that include monitoring the network requirement of applications. In fact, IT leaders that have the most success will check the assessment of every application that is moving to the cloud. Therefore, having the network monitoring tools in place is a critical aspect of any planning around cloud migration.
The adoption of more cloud-based solutions can offer big challenges, particularly in what’s unknown. Enterprises with prior experience in adopting cloud solutions have proven that the process comes with some degree of complexity. For example, how are you planning to change the way you monitor your network and manage it? When you move from your internal data center to the cloud, the picture isn’t always immediately clear.
When jumping to cloud-based solutions, you have to change your approach to application management because, in the cloud, you don’t have assets running 100% of the time anymore. Rather, you’re relying on on-demand processes, which means capacity will vary.
With the right monitoring tools in place, you’re going to be able to reach scalability goals as you’ll have a better picture of a number of parameters through many resources. These tools can be manual or automated, but they should be chosen only if they assist in managing, evaluating, and monitoring your cloud computing architecture and services in a way that speaks to your needs.
You’ll also be more adaptable with the right tools because you’ll be able to know your exact network loads, thereby avoiding disruption of any activity. Monitoring tools can help you self-manage by reacting to unforeseen changes and they can do so without impeding mission-critical activities, regardless of the computational loads.
Every migration is going to differ in certain ways, which means your approach to assessing the network is going to differ from others. Yet, there are similarities; in most situations, planning involves looking at bandwidth utilization, service dependencies, traffic patterns, and peak periods, among others.
By addressing these concerns, the end results are much more successful because you’ll have a better grasp on bandwidth requirements.
Because monitoring data can improve how applications work over a network, IT leaders have looked closely at the device metrics associated with Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and Management Information Bases (MIB). They’re also looking at Application Programming Interfaces (API) for the same reason. They’re finding that SNMP monitoring tools, particularly, are useful in configuring application dependencies and how they relate to the rest of the infrastructure.
Constant monitoring can help establish behaviors, which assists in planning cloud migration more carefully. In fact, most IT leaders run assessments for days at a time, sometimes up to a two-week span. It’s also not unheard of for an organization to analyze a full month of assessed data. These assessments, though thorough, are inherently non-invasive, as any disruption would be antithetical.
Figuring out which applications to monitor, assess, and analyze can be a stumbling block for some enterprises. It might seem obvious that critical applications should be included, but according to EMA’s “Networking Engineering and Operations in the Multi-Cloud Era” report, only 10% of network teams involved in planning cloud migrations and identifying the right network monitoring tools perform assessments on critical applications.
EMA says that’s a mistake because their report shows that 99% of successes that go to the cloud involve teams that look at the requirements of every application. The teams that have less success are those who will let some of their applications migrate without any analysis.
According to the report, most teams feel a need to make improvements in how they are to support their move to the cloud, including network security and gaining a better understanding of how traffic moves in relation to each application.
In this age of digitization and progressive cloud computing, it’s no longer enough to monitor on-premise applications physical servers — you have to take a more comprehensive approach. At Tailwind, we specialize in streamlining multi-location businesses’ networking, infrastructure, hardware, and Internet needs (circuits). With a focus on enterprise-size companies, we have established an impressive list of nationwide businesses that rely on our services to install networking to support technologies such as unified communications.
We offer certified on-site technician support, asset management of customer premises equipment, and high-speed broadband connectivity. Furthermore, our broadband aggregation service bundles internet and circuits for businesses that have locations all over the map, which means we’re streamlining the management of these connections through a single invoice. Contact us and let’s talk about our methods for helping you achieve growth and location movements.