By installing sensors on Windows-based systems, we are able to capture packet-level data across your environment. Sensors come in two flavors- the "Server" sensor that is installed on a server involved in a transaction- for example, directly on your exchange server, and also the "Network" sensor, which is installed on a dedicated system attached to a tap or mirror port. Both sensors may be deployed directly from the settings grid.
A step-by-step wizard makes it quick and easy to deploy sensors and select pre-configured or customized applications to monitor. To access sensor settings, visit, "Settings" , "QoE Settings" then "Manage Packet Analysis Sensors." To deploy a new sensor, simply "Add Packet Analysis Sensor".
Let's start by deploying a server packet analysis sensor. First, select the server to deploy to. Keep in mind when deploying sensors to a server that the server must first be a managed device within NPM. Note the list is pre-filtered for Windows servers already managed by Network Performance Monitor. Assign and test credentials, then deploy away. It's that easy!
Next, we will deploy a network packet analysis sensor. Network sensors are used to monitor packet traffic using a SPAN / mirror port and a dedicated sensor installed on a Windows Server. Before deploying a network sensor, your network switch must have a configured SPAN or mirror port that is physically connected to the Windows server on which the sensor is installed. Different vendors have varying implementations of port mirroring, so please consult with your vendor documentation for best practices. If you happen to have in-line taps available in your environment, they would also be another possible data source.
The packet analysis sensor is then deployed on the Windows server using the same steps as previously demonstrated.
Once Sensor deployment is complete, you will receive notice in the message bar, and see the updated agent status in the management grid. The final step is to tell the sensor which applications it should be looking for. By default, a sensor will filter for HTTP. Click the "pencil icon" to the right to add additional applications.
To perform bulk application assignments, visit the "Manage QoE Applications" settings page. Here, you can select an application, change the application classifications, and bulk assign the application to existing sensors.
To create your own custom HTTP application, select "Create New HTTP application" in the new application wizard. After providing details on the classification of the app, define the filter. There are a variety of filter options available to fit your unique requirements. From there, simply define where to detect the applications.
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