RMON - Remote Network Monitoring

What is RMON?

RMON (Remote Monitoring) is a network monitoring standard defined by the IETF that enables monitoring of network operational data and traffic without constant interaction from a central network management system.

Why is RMON useful?

RMON is useful because it allows decentralized, autonomous network monitoring. Devices equipped with RMON agents can collect, analyze, and send statistics and alerts, reducing the need for constant polling from a central SNMP manager.

How it works?

RMON works through agents embedded in network devices (like switches or routers) that collect data such as traffic statistics, errors, and events. These agents report to a network management system using SNMP, often only when thresholds are crossed or on request.

Where is RMON used?

RMON is used in enterprise networks and service provider environments for performance monitoring, fault detection, and capacity planning across LANs and WANs.

Which OSI layer does this protocol belong to?

RMON primarily operates at the Application Layer (Layer 7) but collects data related to both Layer 1 and Layer 2 (e.g., Ethernet traffic) and Layer 3 (IP-level) metrics, especially in RMON2.

Is RMON Windows specific?

No, RMON is not Windows specific. It is a protocol implemented on network devices like switches and routers, regardless of the operating system used on the monitoring system.

Is RMON Linux specific?

No, RMON is not Linux specific. While many open-source SNMP tools that support RMON run on Linux, the protocol itself is OS-independent and implemented in network hardware.

Which Transport Protocol is used by RMON?

RMON uses UDP, as it relies on SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) for communication between agents and managers.

Which Port is used by RMON?

RMON uses UDP port 161 (the standard SNMP port) for agent communication and UDP port 162 for traps or alerts sent from the agent to the manager.

Is RMON using client-server model?

Yes, RMON follows a client-server model, where the client is the SNMP manager querying or receiving data, and the server is the RMON agent embedded in the network device.

Topics in this section,

  • In this section, you are going to learn

  • Terminology

  • Version Info

  • rfc details

  • setup

  • setup

  • packet details

  • usecases

  • features

  • Reference links