Simple network troubleshooting

Sakura Information Systems’ virtualization hosting service is based on “partitioning” a virtual machine for each communication infrastructure. The service provider is not involved in the network design or operation method of the usage environment; users can freely design networks by placing them on the Internet or building closed networks. This type of service is convenient for users but presents a considerable challenge for the provider, as it is difficult to understand the overall picture when a problem occurs in a shared network.

In the event of an overload or an attack, Sakura Information Systems, too, would find themselves lacking relevant information on a per user basis, which made it impossible to resolve issues in the expected quality and timeframe. These recurring situations lead to investigation of tools that would make it possible to visualize events occurring in the company's network center.

Before opting for a more advanced solution, Sakura Information Systems were using conventional SNMP monitoring, which allowed seeing the load of a network device since it was shared, however, there was no way to determine which user's load was the cause of the reported issue. Even when inquiries came from individual customers due to “a sudden heavy load”, there was no way to identify the cause (except for hardware failure). It was becoming clear that the inability to resolve issues effectively would eventually jeopardize the company’s performance and reputation: Customers’ needs and expectations would not be met, operation costs would rise, and competition would get a jump.

At the end of 2017, the company decided that a renewal of the virtualization hosting hardware was in order, and a suitable visualization solution for the shared network was needed as well. The task was outsourced to Kanematsu Electronics, who recommended Flowmon as the best vendor based on their proven track record. Comparing Flowmon with other companies' products confirmed that Flowmon was the most optimal:

• Licensing was the most important deciding factor. As the license system of the Flowmon Collector is based on disk capacity for storing flow data, the number of monitored interfaces does not affect the budget. More interfaces and VLANs can be added whenever needed without any extra costs.
• Flowmon’s ADS (Anomaly Detection System) is an optional feature for intelligent detection of anomalies within a network. It complements the Flowmon Collector function by detecting threats, including unknown and undescribed, that bypass traditional protection measures.
• Smooth deployment allowed the company to introduce Flowmon under normal daily operation. No impact on network configuration or other systems in use meant that the ICT teams could proceed with the moving of virtual machines without Flowmon getting in the way.
• Ease of use was a welcome bonus. Monitoring customer data exactly as required was perceived as very easy and intuitive.