Managing IP Network Unpredictability with Route Analytics

Why IP is Unpredictable and What to Do About It
By Packet Design
Published 2007, Posted August 2007

Abstract:

IP networks are handling higher volumes than ever before of sensitive and distributed applications. Much attention has been paid to the way network infrastructure must evolve to meet the challenges of delivering high quality of experience for VoIP, video, and the emerging Service Oriented Architecture. But the pressures of these sensitive new applications underline a major challenge in network management - how to meet the need for more predictable application delivery despite the fact that IP is simply not predictable. This challenge can’t be met by having incrementally more sophisticated ways to understand the flood of existing SNMP management data collected from your network devices. Rather, it requires an expanded network management paradigm that moves from relying only on “point-based” SNMP data to including path and flow awareness through routing and traffic-flow analysis. IT organizations that grasp this shift will have the visibility they need to ensure the success of their inexorable march to a converged network reality.