Deciding if we should go with MARS

da.beaver · ‎07-07-2009

We have a fairly large network and have come to the point where we are thinking about using MARS to manage things. I have a couple of questions concerning MARS:

1) How many here have installed MARS and are using it to manage every port in their network?

2) We are a healthcare facility and wonder if anyone else here is a healthcare facility that I could communicate with as we make this decision?

3) What high level things should I lookout for when thinking about going this direction?

I know these are global questions, but I wanted some opinions other than that of a Cisco SE or AM. I wanted to see the success of users in real-world scenarios.

Thanks for your time in advance.

Collin Clark · ‎07-14-2009

David-

We use MARS, however we only use it around untrusted networks (internet, B2B, etc). Management wanted the smallest box possible even though we fought for a larger box so we could send more info to it. Part of your question is curious to me, "manage every port in your network". Can you elaborate what you mean by that?

We're kinda of in the Health Care industry, we do claims processing for providers.

I don't think it's possible to get a box that is too big. If you'll be dumping syslogs from EVERY device in your network, make sure you properly size it. If you're sending netflow, account for that as well. Feel free to ask any other questions.

Farrukh Haroon · ‎07-15-2009

What do you mean by 'every port', you mean port-security, dot1x?

You have to realize MARS is neither a management nor monitor tool (for ports).

Use Ciscoworks LMS for that :)

Regards

Farrukh