QuestionQ2
Network Monitoring and AnalysisAs the senior network analyst for a leading fintech organization, you are responsible for ensuring seamless communication among the firm’s global offices. Your network was designed with redundancy in mind, using multiple service providers and a mix of MPLS and public internet connections.
One week after deploying a state-of-the-art Network Performance Monitoring & Diagnostics (NPMD) tool, you observe unusual traffic patterns originating from the European data center and directed to the corporate headquarters in New York. The traffic spikes at intervals, heavily consuming the MPLS link and at times saturating the public internet connection, causing significant data-packet loss and application failures. Your task is to identify the root cause of these traffic anomalies and ensure optimal network performance for all critical business operations. Given this scenario, what might be the primary cause of these traffic spikes, and what should your immediate course of action be?
- A Faulty Network Hardware – The network hardware in the European data center, such as routers or switches, might be malfunctioning, causing inconsistent traffic bursts. Diagnosing the hardware, checking for faults, and replacing the faulty equipment should be the immediate action.
- B MPLS Link Flapping – The MPLS link might be experiencing flapping, leading to inconsistent traffic flow. It is crucial to liaise with the MPLS service provider to inspect the link stability and consider a backup link or an alternate route to reroute the traffic.
- C Unauthorized Application Usage – The European data center staff might be using unauthorized applications or services that are consuming massive bandwidth. You should enforce strict Application and Network Access Control policies, and scrutinize the application traffic to restrict non-business-critical applications.
- D Data Backup and Replication – The European data center might be running data backup or replication processes during peak business hours. You should liaise with the data center team to reschedule backup operations to non-peak hours and ensure that backup processes are bandwidth-aware.
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