Improved distributed remote monitoring (drmon) for networks

A method and apparatus for the distributed monitoring of network traffic deploys end system agents to collect traffic statistics at distributed points in the network. These statistics are forwarded to collectors which compile the statistics to create higher level pictures of network performance. A collector may act as a proxy for a prior art standalone network probe and may interact with network management software as though it were a standalone network probe. The invention is designed to work in accordance with a variety of standard network management protocols including SNMP, RMON, and RMON2 but is not limited to those environments.