• What is network monitoring?
• How important is network monitoring?
• What can network monitoring systems monitor?
• What kind of networks can they monitor?
• What strategic tasks can network monitoring systems do?
• What questions can network monitoring answer?
• What can network monitoring do for me?
• What tools will I find in network monitoring systems?
• What kinds of network monitoring systems are available?
• What do they cost?

Network monitoring solutions can be totally free or they can be extremely expensive. Most open-source tools are free, as are tools that may have been bundled with infrastructure purchases. Appliances, software-only solutions and services range from $50 on into five figures.

With service vendors, you're likely to be able to choose from a buffet-style menu of monitoring services; these may tally up to a savings over device purchases depending on network priorities. There are other trade-offs. Purchasing services may give you the advantage of rubbing elbows with the latest monitoring technologies; in contrast, purchasing appliances can provide more control.

One thing's a certainty when it comes to network monitoring. The cost of not using these technologies can be greater than you think, if you're not getting the performance and availability you're paying for and if you're not willing to spend sufficiently to ensure that your network is healthy and secure. What's it really worth? It could be worth your job.

Additional Reading on CIO.com

• Mobile Tools Blog
• ABC: An Introduction to Mobile Security
• An Introduction to VoIP
• Data Leaks: What You Don't Know Will Hurt You
• How to Monitor Workers' Use of IT Without Becoming Big Brother
• How One CIO Escaped E-Mail Attachment Hell
• ABC: An Introduction to Service-Level Agreements (SLAs)
• Five Enterprise Content Monitoring Tools

Kim S. Nash is an award-winning reporter who writes about how the people at big organizations move information to fix critical strategy problems. Sometimes they do it well, sometimes not. Tell her a good business tale here.

Alyson Behr is a Los Angeles, Calif.-based technology journalist and business communications consultant. Formerly director of technical marketing with Spirent Communications, she has served as a product test and reviews contributing editor for InfoWorld and Information Week, and senior contributing editor with Internet Week and SD Times. Behr edited PlanetIT's networking and advanced IP portals and also served as a judge for several N+I Best of Show and SIIA Codie Awards. She currently covers networking, emerging technologies, and test and measurement issues.