As a case in point, consider the case of a large organization whose firewall segment suffered congestion because more than 5,000 intranet users had downloaded push-based screen savers from the Internet. In a predictable but justifiable step, the network managers closed down access to the push application by disabling its TCP port on the firewall. In this instance, there was no business justification for the screen savers, which displayed stock quotes. Get It Together. The next step is to develop a data-collection strategy.
Many companies think the right time to gather data is during peak periods of network traffic.
But all too often the result is an over-engineered network. This gives a fuller picture of network patterns, showing both the norm and the change between norm and peak. Ultimately, it provides a better understanding of how the network really performs. Web servers often encourage access from totally unexpected places. An accounting department, for example, might put up a Web server, drawing requests to post information on the server from other departments at the same location.