Cisco switches: Monitor uptime,
traffic, and ports with PRTG
Cisco switch uptime monitoring
Cisco switch traffic monitoring
Cisco switch port monitoring
Network monitoring with SNMP, NetFlow, and IPFIX
100 free sensors for life – including Cisco sensors
Cisco switch monitoring
Jump to the topic of your choice
- Cisco switch monitoring: 3 common questions
- Cisco Switch Monitoring: These sensors help immediately
- Practical tip: What to look for in Cisco switch monitoring?
- How to monitor Cisco switches: Tips from our knowledge base
- Cisco device monitoring with PRTG: 3 case studies
- Cisco switch monitoring: Which tool is best?
- PRTG is more than just a Cisco switch monitoring tool
Cisco switch monitoring: 3 common questions
How do I troubleshoot Cisco switches?
Cisco switches are known for their failsafe design and stability. But that doesn’t mean they can’t cause problems! A faulty Cisco switch can lead to countless network issues, including damaged CPUs and connection problems. If a malfunction occurs, administrators must be able to step in at once. Cisco switch monitoring allows you to promptly identify errors. It shows you which Cisco switch is to blame so you can immediately take action and prevent more serious problems from arising.
How do I set up Cisco switch monitoring?
Many sysadmins use the command line for quick queries such as whether or not a specific network device (e.g., a Cisco switch) is available. However, professional monitoring goes much further. A professional monitoring tool uses protocols such as SNMP, NetFlow, and IPFIX to keep a constant eye on all your most important network devices. PRTG comes with several SNMP sensors as well as native Cisco sensors. As a result, you can get started with your monitoring at once.
What are the benefits of Cisco switch monitoring?
Among other things, Cisco switch monitoring with PRTG lets you monitor CPU, temperature, uptime, traffic, and ports. With PRTG, you'll monitor all your network devices – regardless of the manufacturer – from one central dashboard. PRTG also comes with a customizable notification system that immediately sounds the alarm in the event of problems.
These sensors help immediately
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.
Cisco switch traffic monitoring
The SNMP Traffic Sensor monitors the incoming and outgoing traffic on your Cisco switch. This sensor lets you keep a constant eye on your traffic.
Cisco switch uptime monitoring
The SNMP System Uptime Sensor monitors the uptime of your Cisco switch. Our Ping Sensor is also useful for monitoring the uptime of network devices.
Cisco switch port monitoring
PRTG comes with NetFlow sensors for monitoring the traffic that flows through individual ports. Simply verify the NetFlow version supported by your Cisco switch and choose the appropriate sensor.
Your switch monitoring at a glance – even while on the go
PRTG is set up in a matter of minutes and can be used on a wide variety of mobile devices.
“If you use lots of Cisco switches, then you’ll have to monitor lots of ports. For large networks, I recommend creating at least one active sensor per port for each of your primary switches. This will allow you to monitor all the active ports of a switch, as well as its CPU and RAM. On the other hand, for those network components which are not so important, you can usually get away with using paused sensors instead of actively monitoring each and every port.” Daniel Elsner, PRTG Product Development
Practical tip: “Hey Daniel, I want to monitor the ports of my Cisco switches. Got any suggestions?”
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“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.”
How to monitor Cisco switches: Tips from our knowledge base
You’ll find the answers to thousands of questions in our PRTG Knowledge Base. Some of these questions deal directly with Cisco monitoring. Here are a few of the best:
- Should I use SNMP, Flow (IPFIX, NetFlow, sFlow), or packet sniffing for my monitoring? Click here for our comparison of the various protocols.
- Does my Cisco switch support NetFlow export? And if so, which NetFlow version? It all depends on the series. Click here to learn more.
- Ingress vs. Egress? What are the right NetFlow settings? Click here for a comparison.
Cisco device monitoring with PRTG: 3 case studies
“Intuitive software”
“Our biggest concern is network availability. I’ve been using PRTG for almost 10 years, in three different locations. For each location, PRTG is the first software I install. PRTG is intuitive and easy to use. Like all monitoring software, it needs constant fine-tuning. But customizing PRTG is a breeze. And because PRTG is programmable, you can use the software to draw conclusions on any data at your disposal.”
“Mobile monitoring”
“With Solarwinds, Cacti, and SNMPC, we needed three different monitoring systems to create an overview of all our devices and systems. None of the tools offered a mobile app, which ultimately led us to switch to PRTG. We were thrilled to learn PRTG Network Monitor could replace all three tools, and subsequently were able to save lots of time and money.”
“Powerful data”
“We were searching for a dashboard with a great visual layout that provided meaningful data. Students need to get used to the software they will encounter during their IT careers.”
Cisco switch monitoring: Which tool is best?
Initial questions
Are you looking for a monitoring tool that only monitors Cisco switches? Or do you want a monitoring tool that can monitor Cisco switches as well as the switches of other manufacturers? Are you only interested in monitoring hardware parameters, or additional parameters such as performance and traffic?
Comparison
Cisco hardware is used in professional settings. PRTG is used by more than 500,000 system administrators worldwide. Comparisons are a good way to learn more about tools such as PRTG, SolarWinds, and Nagios. Click here for our comparison of these tools.
Free trial
We let you try PRTG for free with no strings attached. You get access to all the software’s features for 30 full days. After this time, 100 sensors remain free for life. If you have a small network or simply wish to monitor a few Cisco devices, 100 sensors are usually sufficient. For each device, you’ll need around 10 sensors. If you opt for a license, you can upgrade at any time.
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
PRTG is more than just a Cisco switch monitoring tool
Cisco router monitoring
The sensors mentioned on this page can also be used to monitor Cisco routers and other Cisco devices. Learn more about Cisco router monitoring here.
Port monitoring
Open ports put your network at risk. PRTG helps ensure the security of your entire IT infrastructure. Click here for more information on port monitoring.
Uptime monitoring
Looking to improve the availability of your network? Uptime monitoring can help. By monitoring uptime, you’ll make sure your devices, cloud applications, and website are available around the clock.
PRTG makes your job easier
Our monitoring software frees you to focus on other tasks by promptly notifying you of potential issues.
Save effort
PRTG gives you one central monitoring tool for your servers and entire network. Enjoy a quick overview of your whole infrastructure via our dashboard and app.
Save time
Getting started with PRTG is a breeze. Setting up or switching from another network monitoring tool is easy thanks to the auto-discovery and pre-configured device templates.
Save money
80% of our customers report substantial cost savings with network monitoring. Your costs of licenses will likely pay for themselves within weeks.
“Easy to implement and configure with good technical support.”
R. v. S., ICT Manager at Heinen & Hopman Eng BV
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?
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Bandwidth, servers, virtual environments, websites, VoIP services – PRTG keeps an eye on your entire network.
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PRTG |
Network Monitoring Software - Version 23.3.88.1421 (October 2nd, 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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