Cisco network monitoring –
fully integrated with PRTG
PRTG monitors your Cisco
devices out of the box
PRTG features special sensors designed just for Cisco devices
PRTG integrates other technologies such as SNMP
PRTG increases the security of your network and the quality
of your service
PRTG: An easy-to-use Cisco monitoring tool
Jump to the topic of your choice
- Look inside your Cisco network with PRTG sensors
- We expect only the best – and are therefore a Cisco Solution Partner
- Cisco performance monitoring: Keep an eye on routers, switches, and ports
- Get started at once: Many Cisco sensors are predefined in PRTG
- Cisco monitoring: Why PRTG is the right choice!
- This is how Cisco monitoring with PRTG works
- Cisco network monitoring tools: 3 short comparisons
- FAQ: Cisco monitoring
Look inside your Cisco network with PRTG sensors
How PRTG defines sensors
In PRTG, “sensors” are the basic monitoring elements. One sensor usually monitors one measured value in your network, e.g. the traffic of a switch port, the CPU load of a server, the free space of a disk drive. On average you need about 5-10 sensors per device or one sensor per switch port.
Specially designed sensors for a better look inside your Cisco network
Cisco offers powerful solutions in several areas, from network management and unified communication to routing and switching management. By professionally monitoring Cisco-related parameters, you can exhaust all its possibilities. We have also provided access to all Cisco sensors in the PRTG freeware version. Simply activate the sensors and get started with monitoring Cisco devices
Effortlessly obtain an overview of the system status, find out all there is to know about a device status and your network hardware like routers or switches, gain valuable information on traffic, connections, and users, and get help making service management decisions. With PRTG, you’ll guarantee system health, high performance, connection stability, and application security in your Cisco networks.
Part of the Cisco ecosystem, Paessler has developed sensors especially for Cisco devices. Additional sensors use Cisco-specific NetFlow technology for traffic monitoring. From ADSL to VPN connections, all the way to Voice over IP applications: PRTG ensures the quality of your service.
With PRTG, everyone can work with peace of mind.
We expect only the best – and are therefore a Cisco Development Select Partner
We’re a registered Cisco Development Select Partner. According to Cisco,
“Paessler simplifies the overall Cisco technology portfolio with products
that are proven compatible with Cisco and share Cisco’s high customer service expectations.”
Cisco performance monitoring: Keep an eye on routers, switches, and ports
Cisco router monitoring
Cisco routers are extremely stable and offer high levels of security. No wonder so many sysadmins like to use Cisco routers for their networks. These devices are primarily used at companies. With PRTG, you can easily monitor your Cisco routers with NetFlow or SNMP.
Cisco switch monitoring
Also extremely popular: Cisco switches. Switches, however, are often the bottlenecks in a network. If a Cisco switch malfunctions or becomes overloaded, the entire network can suffer. Professional switch monitoring is therefore a vital part of network monitoring. If problems arise, you’ll be alerted automatically.
Cisco port monitoring
Many sysadmins search for a monitoring tool just for their Cisco ports. They want to find out if their Cisco ports are working properly, as well as determine how much (and which) traffic is flowing through the ports. PRTG uses NetFlow, SNMP, and packet sniffers to monitor open and closed Cisco ports.
Cisco QoS at a glance
Looking to monitor the quality of service of your Cisco devices? PRTG has developed a sensor that can do so. The SNMP Cisco CBQoS Sensor uses data from Cisco’s Class-Based Quality of Service.
Cisco IP SLA Monitoring
If you have a Cisco device that supports IP SLA, then you can use a preconfigured PRTG sensor for your Cisco IP SLA monitoring. As a result, you can monitor your service level agreements and in turn, your quality of service.
A quick introduction to PRTG: Cisco monitoring
Cisco IP SLA Sensor
NetFlow analysis with PRTG works primarily with Cisco devices
PRTG Sunburst - Great overview over your Cisco network
Get started at once: Many Cisco sensors are predefined in PRTG
PRTG lets you take advantage of a wide variety of predefined Cisco sensors which means less time for configuration.
You can also create individual Cisco sensors with just a few clicks. Some examples:
Cisco IP SLA
Sensor
Quality of service monitoring, e.g. the monitoring of VoIP applications, which are especially prone to data delays and losses
SNMP Cisco CBQoS
Sensor
Data monitoring according to categories of traffic before and after the introduction of new rules for improving the quality of service
SNMP Cisco ASA VPN Traffic/
Connections/User
Monitor Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Virtual Private Network (VPN) connections
IPFIX, NetFlow 9, and
NetFlow 5 Sensors
Sensors for traffic monitoring in networks with Cisco’s NetFlow technology
Discover more predefined sensors for monitoring your network devices, performance, and uptime here.
Your Cisco network at a glance – even on the go
PRTG is set up in a matter of minutes and can be used on a wide variety of mobile devices.
Cisco Monitoring: Why PRTG is the right choice!
Quality enhanced by membership in a developer network
Member of the Cisco Developer Network, PRTG provides custom-fit sensors for your Cisco network so you can always be on the safe side.
Easy VoIP benchmarking
Because they are especially prone to data delays and losses, certain parameters are pre-calculated right from the analysis stage (e.g. ICPIF, MOS). This makes it possible for benchmarking to be performed directly, without additional calculations.
Complete quality assurance monitoring
By merging all relevant parameters in just a few sensors, you can easily measure the service quality of your Cisco network and use your findings to make sound decisions.
High-performance monitoring via SNMP
Using SNMP technology (if possible and if it makes sense to do so), parameters can be gathered such as statistics on CPU usage and the ADSL connections of your Cisco router under minimal bandwidth consumption.
Overview of all IPsec VPN connections
For those Cisco devices with Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA), you get an easy-to-read overview of traffic, users, and IPsec-secured VPN connections. Which users are online and offline? Finding out is a cinch with the PRTG sensors.
Quick creation of multiple sensors for VPN connections
By activating the ASA VPN sensors, you can quickly set up additional VPN connections for monitoring. This frees you up from having to create a separate sensor for each individual connection.
System health at a glance
With PRTG you get a clear and reliable overview of all necessary values, including temperature, CPU load, power supply, and available memory.
Perfect compatibility with Cisco NetFlow technology
Six sensors help high-traffic networks monitor their data traffic and ensure high network performance. The sensors, both in their standard and customizable versions, are compatible with NetFlow protocols IPFIX, NetFlow 9, and NetFlow 5.
Automatic notifications
Should an error occur or one of your self-defined thresholds be exceeded, you’ll be notified immediately, wherever you happen to be.
Automation for a lighter workload
With the sensors and notifications of PRTG, you no longer need to take the time to check each and every device manually.
Better network security
Thanks to our Cisco-specific sensors and extremely clear-cut monitoring, you’ll be quicker to spot security loopholes in your Cisco devices.
An IT infrastructure for 5,000 students:
Bauhaus University in Weimar monitors its Cisco hardware with PRTG
“Soon after implementing PRTG, we were able to identify and eliminate load problems in our network and performance bottlenecks in our VMware environment. PRTG also notified us of a malfunctioning hard drive on a Cisco UCS blade server.”
Steffen Ille, Director of the IT Infrastructure Department To case study (German)
Trusted by 500,000 users and recognized
by industry analysts as a leader
“Fantastic network and infrastructure monitoring solution that is easy to deploy and easier still to use. Simply the best available.”
“Software is absolutely perfect, Support is superior. Meets all needs and requirements, this is a must have solution if you are needing any form of monitoring.”
“The tool excels at its primary focus of being a unified infrastructure management and network monitoring service.”
This is how Cisco monitoring with PRTG works
Bandwidth is measured as the amount of data that can be transferred from one point to another within a network in a specific amount of time. Typically, bandwidth is expressed as a bitrate and measured in bits per second (bps). It refers to the transmission capacity of a connection and is an important factor when determining the quality and speed of a network.
Read more
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is the easiest way to monitor your network. Network and CPU loads are minimal; an analysis with regard to protocol or an IP address however is impossible. We use this protocol whenever we can to enjoy the most efficient of monitoring.
NetFlow is a Cisco technology in which bandwidth usage is determined within a device and collectively transmitted to PRTG. Bandwidth consumption, therefore, is minimized. NetFlow offers a higher degree of detail (e.g. per network protocol/IP address) than SNMP, and because of its low consumption is ideal for cisco networks with a large amount of traffic.
Cisco network monitoring tools: 3 short comparisons
Comparison I:
PRTG vs. Cisco Prime
PRTG vs. Cisco Prime
Cisco offers its own monitoring software called “Cisco Prime Network Analysis Module.” But many sysadmins manage IT infrastructures that have developed over several years and contain hardware from a variety of manufacturers. PRTG incorporates the technology you’ll need to monitor the hardware of several different manufacturers. All monitoring data comes together on an easy-to-read dashboard.
Comparison II:
PRTG vs. Nagios
PRTG vs. Nagios
A variety of open-source software (such as Nagios) is available for Cisco monitoring (see in-depth comparison). Open-source software is usually cheaper in the short run. But its setup can be considerably more difficult. And more often than not, open-source software lacks important functions that you’ll have to integrate later. PRTG is easy to set up and even comes with a fantastic technical support team who usually answer your inquiries within 24 hours on weekdays.
Comparison III:
PRTG vs. SolarWinds
PRTG vs. SolarWinds
PRTG comes with over 250 pre-configured sensors. Among these are sensors for your hardware, bandwidth, website, and server. Check out our sensor list page for details. Sensors make getting started with PRTG - or switching from other monitoring software, such as Solarwinds - both easy and convenient. And in general, setup takes no time at all - even for complex infrastructures. Our Smart Setup scans your network during the installation process and configures some initial monitoring as a starting point. Whether you want to monitor IP addresses or your complete network - PRTG is the tool of your choice.
FAQ: Cisco monitoring
When do I use SNMP, Flow, or packet sniffing? Which filter rules can I apply? How should I configure my Cisco devices to provide for the smoothest possible monitoring? Find the answers to these and other questions in our knowledge base. While there, why not have a look around?
Create innovative solutions with Paessler’s IT partners
Partnering with innovative IT vendors, Paessler unleashes synergies to create
new and additional benefits for joined customers.
With the combination of PRTG and Insys, the monitoring specialist Paessler and the industrial gateway manufacturer INSYS icom offer a practical possibility to merge IT and OT.
INSYS icom
Also interesting:
Cisco Network Monitoring Tools like Cisco Network Assistant can often only monitor either a specific part of the network or specific devices. PRTG is an all-in-one monitoring tool with lots of other features like:
Fortinet Monitoring: Check the status of your Fortinet products and get alerts as soon as your Fortinet solution identifies a security risk.
Storage Monitoring: PRTG checks your hard disks and displays all memory capacities on one dashboard. Monitoring of NAS devices or Storage Area Networks (SAN) is also possible.
Data Center Monitoring: Data centers are the heart of every IT infrastructure. PRTG monitors your data center 24/7, ensures high performance and avoids bottlenecks and outages.
PRTG: The multi-tool for sysadmins
Adapt PRTG individually and dynamically to your needs and rely on a strong API:- HTTP API: Access monitoring data and manipulate monitoring objects via HTTP requests
- Custom sensors: Create your own PRTG sensors for customized monitoring
- Custom notifications: Create your own notifications and send action triggers to external systems
- REST Custom sensor: Monitor almost everything that provides data in XML or JSON format
Still not convinced?
More than 500,000 sysadmins love PRTG
Paessler PRTG is used by companies of all sizes. Sysadmins love PRTG because it makes their job a whole lot easier.
Still not convinced?
Monitor your entire IT infrastructure
Bandwidth, servers, virtual environments, websites, VoIP services – PRTG keeps an eye on your entire network.
Try Paessler PRTG for free
Everyone has different monitoring needs. That’s why we let you try PRTG for free. Start now with your trial.
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PRTG |
Network Monitoring Software - Version 23.3.88.1393 (September 20th, 2023) |
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Hosting |
Download for Windows and cloud-based version PRTG Hosted Monitor available |
Languages |
English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese |
Pricing |
Up to 100 sensors for free (Price List) |
Unified Monitoring |
Network devices, bandwidth, servers, applications, virtual environments, remote systems, IoT, and more |
Supported Vendors & Applications |
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