Network Plan

Instrumenting Airowire Network Assets
SOP — Instrumenting Airowire Network Assets
(Network Monitoring using Datadog SNMP Integration)
1. Purpose

This SOP defines the process for instrumenting Airowire network devices using Datadog to enable centralized monitoring, network visibility, and proactive alerting.

2. Scope

This procedure applies to all Airowire network infrastructure including:

  • Routers
  • Switches
  • Firewalls
  • Access Points
  • Network Gateways

These devices will be monitored using SNMP telemetry integrated with Datadog.

3. Prerequisites

Before starting instrumentation, ensure the following:

  • Access to network devices (SSH or management interface)
  • SNMP supported on devices
  • Datadog account access
  • Monitoring server available to run Datadog Agent
  • Network connectivity between monitoring server and devices
4. Architecture Overview

Network Devices ↓ SNMP Telemetry Datadog Agent with SNMP Integration ↓ Datadog Platform ↓ Dashboards and Alerts

Network devices expose telemetry via SNMP. The Datadog agent collects telemetry and sends it to the Datadog platform for monitoring, visualization, and alerting.

5. Procedure

Step 1 — Identify Network Assets

Create a network asset inventory including:

  • Device hostname
  • IP address
  • Device type
  • Location
  • SNMP version

Store this information in a centralized inventory document.

Step 2 — Enable SNMP on Network Devices

Configure SNMP on each network device.

Recommended configuration:

  • Use SNMPv3 for enhanced security
  • Configure authentication and encryption
  • Restrict SNMP access to the monitoring server

Test SNMP connectivity using:

snmpwalk

Step 3 — Install Datadog Agent

Install the Datadog Agent on the monitoring server.

DD_API_KEY=<DATADOG_API_KEY> \ DD_SITE="datadoghq.com" \ bash -c "$(curl -L https://s3.amazonaws.com/dd-agent/scripts/install_script.sh)"

Verify that the Datadog agent is running successfully.

Step 4 — Configure SNMP Integration

Configure SNMP monitoring in the Datadog agent configuration.

snmp: - ip_address: <DEVICE_IP> community_string: <COMMUNITY_STRING>

Restart the Datadog agent after updating the configuration.

Step 5 — Verify Metrics Collection

Check the Datadog dashboard to verify that network metrics are being collected.

Expected metrics include:

  • Interface traffic
  • Interface errors
  • Packet drops
  • Device uptime
  • Interface status

Step 6 — Create Network Monitoring Dashboards

Create dashboards to monitor network performance including:

  • Device availability
  • Interface bandwidth usage
  • Traffic patterns
  • Packet errors

These dashboards provide visibility into the overall health of the network.

Step 7 — Configure Alerts

Create alerts for critical network conditions.

Event Alert Condition
Device Down SNMP unreachable
Interface Down Interface status change
High Bandwidth Utilization above threshold
Packet Errors Error threshold exceeded

Alerts should notify the Network Operations team immediately.

6. Validation

Confirm that instrumentation is successful by verifying:

  • SNMP connectivity to devices
  • Metrics visible in Datadog
  • Dashboards displaying network data
  • Alerts triggering correctly
7. Roles and Responsibilities
Role Responsibility
Network Team Enable SNMP on devices
DevOps / Monitoring Team Configure Datadog monitoring
Operations Team Monitor dashboards and alerts
8. Expected Outcome
  • All Airowire network devices will be monitored centrally
  • Network performance will be visible in real time
  • Network failures will trigger alerts automatically
  • Troubleshooting will become faster and more efficient