Rmon and Rmon Probes

RMON and RMON Probes in Network Management

A Remote Monitoring Network (RMON) is a standard monitoring specification that enables various network monitors and console systems to exchange network-monitoring data. (Cisco) It gives essential information that network administrators use to monitor, analyze and troubleshoot LANS and interconnecting WANS. Information collected by the RMON from a device includes bytes sent, packets sent, packets dropped and LAN statistics. It gives detailed information about the number of packets (including size), broadcasts network utilization, errors and conditions, like Ethernet collisions and Statistics for hosts, including errors generated by hosts. This includes the busiest hosts, and/or which hosts are communicating with each other. RMON’s specifically define the information any network monitoring system provides.

Network devices such as routers, servers and switches serve as agents on the RMON. The RMON maintains virtual control of the network by using these devices and their corresponding applications at the same time. When packets are sent out over the network the RMON allows the packet status to be viewed. It also provides information on blocked or lost packets.

There are two versions of RMON. The RMON-1 version focuses on layer 2 of the OSI model. It provides layer 2 statistics summed up in multiple ways. It also provides the group of alarms when thresholds are crossed, filtering capability and the ability to capture the contents of a packet. The RMON-1components consist of the following groups: Ethernet statistics, history control, Ethernet history, alarms, hosts, hosttopn, matrix, filter, packet capture and events.( Waldbusser, Cole, Kalbfleisch & Romascanu, 2003)

RMON-2 is an extension of RMON-1. It extends RMON analysis up to the application layer. It also allows management applications to monitor packets on all layers of the network. Monitoring is only allowed at MAC layer 2 or below. The RMON-2 components consist...