KEEP ON ALERT FROM AFAR
Given the far-flung networks and tight information technology budgets increasingly common today, the availability of network technicians can sometimes seem reminiscent of the old line about cops: There's never one around when you need one. Few organizations can afford to have a skilled technician always available at every location.
By Barry NanceSpecial to GCNGiven the far-flung networks and tight information technology budgets increasingly common today, the availability of network technicians can sometimes seem reminiscent of the old line about cops: There's never one around when you need one. Few organizations can afford to have a skilled technician always available at every location.Fortunately, a variety of remote-monitoring tools exists to help a technician at a central site be everywhere at once, detecting and correcting problems over the network. The tools can increase network availability and technician productivity, resulting in fewer unplanned visits to remote sites by technicians or network administrators.Some of the tools listed in this buying guide identify network connectivity and traffic problems, while others focus on the network traffic generated by specific applications. Some help identify the different devices and components on the network, others decode network packets to help a network administrator troubleshoot.In every case, however, the tools require a good deal of expertise on the part of the network technician or administrator. In a frame relay environment, for example, understanding terms such as latency'the time it takes a packet to travel to or from a remote network segment'and committed information rate'the bandwidth guaranteed by the telephone company, beyond which the communications vendor need only make a best-effort attempt to supply'is a prerequisite.Remote-monitoring software products help network managers, administrators and technicians keep track of network components, diagnose network problems, display a map of the network components, verify that a network is functioning correctly and measure network traffic levels'all from a remote site.A product might additionally require the presence of a network hardware device, such as an RMON probe.The accompanying chart lists 18 remote monitoring software products. The most common platform for running the monitoring software is Microsoft Windows NT, but that doesn't mean the entire network must run NT.Other computers on the monitored network can be running any operating system.Many of the products also run on various flavors of Unix, while one, Statscout Pty. Ltd.'s Enterprise Network Monitoring Suite, comes with its own operating system. Candle Corp.'s Command Center is so platform-neutral it even runs on MVS.Most of the products monitor remote networks via RMON probes you install at each remote site. Such a probe collects network statistics, device identification and connectivity information at that site, then transmits the information to the central site when the monitoring tool requests it.RMON probes typically cost between $1,000 and $3,000, and you generally need one for each remote network segment. Some of the vendors listed in the chart, including 3Com Corp., Bay Networks Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Netscout Systems Inc., manufacture RMON probes in addition to network monitoring software.The protocols and network topologies a product supports must match the ones your network uses. As the chart makes evident, TCP/IP support is pervasive, as is IPX/SPX support. All of the products work on Ethernet, and most support other types of physical network connectivity.A key consideration in deciding which product to buy is whether it recognizes only low-level network activity, such as the number of Ethernet packets transmitted in a given time period, or can discern network information flow at higher layers, such as the number of Ethernet packets containing database requests destined for a particular Oracle server.The chart contains typical pricing for each product, but be aware that each vendor bases the actual price on the size of the network and the number of remote sites, or network segments. XXXSPLITXXX-
Remote-monitoring tools require some expertise, but they greatly extend the reach of network technicians and managers
Remote help
Barry Nance, a computer analyst and consultant for 28 years, writes from Wethersfield, Conn., about information technology. E-mail him at barryn@erols.com.
Remote-monitoring tools require some expertise, but they greatly extend the reach of network technicians and managers
Remote help
Barry Nance, a computer analyst and consultant for 28 years, writes from Wethersfield, Conn., about information technology. E-mail him at barryn@erols.com.
| Vendor | Product | Platforms | What it monitors | Protocols | Topologies | Price |
| Bay Networks Inc. Santa Clara, Calif. 408-988-2400 www.baynetworks.com | Optivity Analysis | Windows NT | RMON and RMON-2 probes | IPX/SPX, SNA, TCP/IP, SNMP | Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI | $5,995 |
| Callisto Software Inc. Wheaton, Ill. 630-682-8200 www.callisto.com | Orbiter | NT | Mobile (dial-up) notebook computers | TCP/IP, Exchange Server, Lotus Notes | Dial-up (PPP) | $5,000 server; $150 client |
| Candle Corp. Santa Monica, Calif. 310-829-5800 www.candle.com | Candle Command Center | AIX, Solaris, HP-UX, OS/2, NT, MVS, OS/400 | Application network traffic | IPX/SPX, SNA, TCP/IP, Transparent Network Substrate, Tabular Data Language, Exchange Server | Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI | $15,000 |
| Compuware Corp. Farmington Hills, Mich. 248-737-7300 www.compuware.com | EcoScope | Win9x, NT | Application network traffic | TCP/IP, SNA, IPX/SPX, NetBEUI, AppleTalk, others | Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI | $36,000 |
| Concord Communications Inc. Marlborough, Mass. 508-460-4646 www.concord.com | Network Health Traffic Accountant | Solaris, HP-UX, NT | RMON and RMON-2 probes | IPX/SPX, SNA, TCP/IP, SNMP | Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI | $10,000 up |
| Desktalk Systems Inc. Torrance, Calif. 310-323-5998 www.desktalk.com | Trend | Solaris, AIX, HP-UX, NT | RMON and RMON-2 probes | IPX/SPX, SNA, TCP/IP, SNMP | Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI | $25,000 |
| Fluke Corp. Everett, Wash. 425-347-6100 www.fluke.com | Network Inspector | Win9x, NT | Network traffic and devices | TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, NetBEUI | Ethernet | $395 console; $495 for 100 clients |
| Hewlett-Packard Co. Palo Alto, Calif. www.hp.com | Internet Advisor | Win9x | Network traffic (decodes packets) 719-531-4400 | TCP/IP, SNA, IPX/SPX, NetBEUI, AppleTalk, others | Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI | $14,000 |
| Infovista Corp. Columbia, Md. 410-997-4470 | Infovista SLA Conformance Manager | NT, Unix | RMON and RMON-2 probes Token Ring, FDDI | IPX/SPX, SNA, TCP/IP, SNMP www.infovista.com | Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, | $19,995 |
| International Network Services, Inc. Sunnyvale, Calif. 650-318-1000 epro.ins.com | EnterprisePRO | NT | RMON and RMON-2 probes | IPX/SPX, SNA, TCP/IP, SNMP | Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI | $10,000 per month for 1,500 devices |
| Micromuse Inc. San Francisco 415-538-9090 www.micromuse. com | NetCool | NT, Unix, Java | RMON and RMON-2 probes | IPX/SPX, SNA, TCP/IP, SNMP | Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI | $20,000 |
| Mission Critical ''Software Inc. Houston 713-548-1700 www.missioncritical. com | OnePoint EA Event Manager | NT | NT domains, shared resources, Exchange Server | TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, NetBEUI | Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI | $995 server; $50 client |
| Netscout Systems Inc. Chelmsford, Mass. 508-244-4000 www.netscout.com | Netscout Manager Plus | NT, Unix | RMON and RMON-2 probes | IPX/SPX, SNA, TCP/IP, SNMP | Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI | $8,995 |
| Network Associates Inc. Santa Clara, Calif. 408-988-3832 www.networkgeneral. com | Sniffer Portable Analysis Suite | Win9x | Network traffic (decodes packets) | TCP/IP, SNA, IPX/SPX, NetBEUI, AppleTalk, others | Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI | $23,050 |
| Novell Inc. Provo, Utah 801-429-3343 www.novell.com | LANanalyzer | Win3.1, Win95 | Network traffic (decodes packets) | TCP/IP, SNA, IPX/SPX, NetBEUI, AppleTalk, others | Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI | $1,495 |
| Quallaby Corp. Woburn, Mass. 781-935-4700 www.quallaby.com | Proviso | NT, Unix | RMON and RMON-2 probes | IPX/SPX, SNA, TCP/IP, SNMP | Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI | $15,000 |
| Statscout Software Proprietary Ltd. New York 212-321-9281 www.statscout.com | Enterprise Network Monitoring Suite | Intel CPU (includes operating system) | Network traffic, connectivity and device errors | IPX/SPX, TCP/IP | Ethernet | $26,408 for 50 devices and 3,000 ports |
| 3Com Corp. Santa Clara, Calif. 408-764-5000 www.3com.com | Transcend Traffix Manager | Solaris, AIX, HP-UX, NT | RMON and RMON-2 probes | IPX/SPX, SNA, TCP/IP, SNMP | Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI | $7,995 |