NetUnity  Network Audit 

A network audit concentrates on the inspection and calibration of network performance. The primary deliverable is a detailed report describing traffic bottlenecks, suboptimal routing, link degradation, and underperforming active devices and infrastructure. The Audit delivers the basis for remedial design engineering work. 

Understanding the location of problems in the complex environment of a network is the essential first step to remedy performance issues, but it is not a task to be undertaken by Operations staff. Vital though Audit can be, it demands a thorough understanding of testing procedures which could be dangerous in the hands of staff who do not have specific training and experience in the field.

Two major tools employed in a Network audit are:

1.Load Testing:
Load Testing examines network carrying capacity (maximum performance, path failures, link throttling, etc). It is generally employed to allow test loads to be imposed on a network to ensure there is sufficient load "headroom" prior to increasing demand upon the network by, for instance, the introduction of a new or changed application. During load testing ,  traffic generation tools are used to deliver high loads on a network for short periods of time, during which time  throughput, response time, etc are measured. 

Because of the effect that load testing has on user traffic, this process is normally performed out of prime shift when no user activities will be affected by the test. It is also possible to perform load tests on the network during normal working hours, when a detailed picture of actual utilization is gathered. This tells us more about what is happening, and less about what will happen as load is increased, but can be useful if carefully used.

Load Testing is intended to give an external view of the network. It is based upon input and output, but does not examine the internal function of the network 

 
2.Network Performance Baselining.

This technique is most often used to record the performance of a network immediately prior to upgrade project, and repeated after the project is complete. This will allow the network designer and operations staff to ensure that network upgrades deliver the expected result.

When generating a Network Performance Baseline, data is collected to show how the network is responding to the load imposed upon it. Techniques used include:

a. Traffic Analysis – Based on  data collected from SNMP-capable devices and agents (utilization, number of errors, used protocols, etc).

b. Server Analysis – Uses Server-oriented statistics, including cache, memory and processor utilization.

c. Application Analysis – Examines the response times and performance of network-centric applications (SQL queries, ftp transfer times, etc) simultaneously with statistical data collection.

Network Performance Baselining is concerned primarily with the effect that imposed loads have on the internal function of the network. It therefore delivers a more "granular" view of network operation