Fault and performance monitoring are the two components that every IT company must have. While they seem to be similar, there is a difference between them. Performance monitoring is essentially used when a network is slow, while fault monitoring is used when a network isn't working. 

But, how do you know that your network has a fault or performance issue? Which tools can you use, and what are their pros and cons? Read on as we unravel the mystery behind network monitoring and how it can make your IT administrative journey more flawless. 

Network Fault Monitoring

Network fault monitoring is the process of identifying a network malfunction, isolating and potentially solving the problem. Some of the most common maintenances in fault monitoring include diagnostic tests, firewall errors, login errors and IP address issues. 

Network fault monitoring can be done as either active or passive. 

● Passive Network Fault Monitoring: This type of fault monitoring work by gathering error alerts sent by Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) traps which indicate an abnormality in the network. It works by collecting data from the network devices and transmitting all faults to a central network monitoring system. However, its main shortcoming is that if a device has a complete failure, no alerts can be sent, and the errors may take time to be detected. 

● Active Network Fault Monitoring: This type of network fault monitoring comes in place to solve the problems of passive network fault monitoring problems. Instead of depending on the device for information about errors, it actively monitors the devices. 

Pros of Network Fault Monitoring 

● Easy to set up

● Uses auto-discovery technique to scan errors on devices

● It can automatically relay information from different IP addresses as long as you feed them in. 

Cons of Network Fault Monitoring 

● Passive Network Fault Monitoring is more complex because every device must be set to send individual alerts to the monitoring system. 

● Not all devices can send alerts. 

Network Performance Monitoring 

Network Performance monitoring is the process of collecting, measuring, troubleshooting and optimizing the metrics of a network. It helps network admins manage network data, measure performance variability, and identify errors and risks. 

Essentially, network performance monitoring keeps track of latency, bandwidth, errors and throughput.  

Pros of Network Performance Monitoring

● It helps detect and eliminate any unusual behavior in a system before it translates to a bigger problem. 

● It offers a better user experience by reducing errors and latency in network traffic.

● It helps identify network problem areas and shows data about performance. 

● The system helps identify malicious activity and security threats. 

Cons of Network Performance Monitoring 

● Some tools may be complex to set up as they can't access visualized layers. 

● Network admins need to monitor the automated systems to ensure it is running efficiently and constantly. Sometimes this can be a daunting task. 

● At times virtual machines may not communicate necessary data, which means monitoring should be done. 

Network performance monitoring can be more complex and challenging than network fault monitoring, but its difficulty in setting up makes it better and more sophisticated. Network fault monitoring also comes in handy for identifying errors and threats that may cause problems in a system.