What is a network baseline and why is it important?
A baseline is data collected over time documenting normal network behavior (response times, errors, throughput); it gives you a reference point to compare current performance against.
Network Baseline:
One of the most effective tools for monitoring and troubleshooting network performance is to establish a network baseline.
What is a baseline? A collection of data gathered over time that documents:
- Normal network behavior
- Response times from host to host
- Error messages
- Performance metrics
How to create a baseline:
- Copy and paste results from
ping,traceroute, or other relevant commands into a text file - Time-stamp the text files with the date
- Save into an archive for later retrieval and comparison
Items to document:
- Error messages
- Response times from host to host
- Network throughput at various times
Professional tools: Corporate networks use professional-grade software tools for storing and maintaining baseline information. These are more extensive than can be covered here.
Key insight: Without a baseline, you have no reference point to compare current network behavior against normal operation.
Go deeper:
Wikipedia — Network monitoring — the metrics (response time, availability, throughput) a baseline captures and how monitoring tools track them over time.