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NETROAD TRAFFICWARE--ENABLING POLICY-BASED TRAFFIC
MANAGEMENT
A new class of network management products has recently appeared: bandwidth managers. A
few companies offer bandwidth managers that allow you to manage traffic flow on Internet and
intranet connections. However, only Ukiah Software offers a bandwidth manager that is fully
integrated with a directory service.
Ukiah Software's NetRoad TrafficWARE is a software-based bandwidth manager that runs on
a Windows NT 4.0 server or workstation. With NetRoad TrafficWARE, you can manage
TCP/IP traffic and eliminate bandwidth bottlenecks on Internet and intranet connections. You
can integrate NetRoad TrafficWARE with any directory service that supports Lightweight
Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) version 3--including, of course, NDS.
NetRoad TrafficWARE uses NDS to store traffic-management policies. To create these
policies, you use TrafficWARE Administrator, client software that provides a GUI for managing
NetRoad TrafficWARE. (TrafficWARE Administrator runs on a Windows NT 4.0 server or
workstation or on a Windows 95 workstation.)
In addition to using NDS as a repository for policies, NetRoad TrafficWARE extracts
information about NDS User and Group objects, so you can integrate these objects with the
policies you create. For example, you could create a policy dictating that members of the
Marketing group are guaranteed at least 10 percent of bandwidth when the network is
congested.
The policies you create using TrafficWARE Administrator can apply to either inbound or
outbound traffic. To create a policy, you simply point and click in various dialog boxes that
appear when you double-click the spreadsheet-style cells in TrafficWARE Administrator. The
top of each spreadsheet displays eight headings:
Rule
Sender
Receiver
Service
Time
Bandwidth Guaranteed
Priority
Admission Control
When you create a policy, double-clicking a cell under the Rule heading opens a dialog box that
enables you to specify whether this policy applies to inbound or outbound traffic. You can also
name the policy in this dialog box.
Double-clicking cells under the Sender, Receiver, and Service headings opens dialog boxes that
enable you to define the class of traffic to which the policy applies. The class of traffic might be
a specific User or Group object; Internet or intranet host; URL; file type (such as .EXE or .GIF
files); TCP/IP service (such as FTP or HTTP); or application (such as GroupWise or Citrix
WinFrame). Many applications, including GroupWise, are predefined in TrafficWARE's list of
supported services. You can also add applications to this list.
As you would expect, double-clicking the cell in the Time column opens a dialog box that
enables you to specify the time during which the policy applies. For example, you could specify
that a policy should be enforced all of the time, only during work hours, or only after work hours.
You can also define the timeframe during which this policy applies based on days of the week
or days of the month. For example, you could grant high priority and guarantee bandwidth for
the Order Entry department during the last week of the month.
Double-clicking cells under the Bandwidth Guaranteed, Priority, and Admission Control headings
opens dialog boxes that enable you to clarify the policy in the following ways:
The Bandwidth Guaranteed dialog box enables you to allocate maximum bandwidth limits
and minimum bandwidth guarantees.
The Priority dialog box enables you to select Low, Medium, or High priority. (See Figure
3.)
The Admission Control dialog box enables you to specify under what circumstances the
policy applies. For example, you could specify that when the network load exceeds 50
percent, the policy restricting video conferencing sessions should be enforced.
Using the dialog boxes as a guide, you can create many types of policies for managing traffic
flow. For example, you might create a policy dictating that members of the Accounting group
who are using Citrix WinFrame during work hours should receive high priority. You might also
create a policy for your company's CEO or for yourself, giving the specified User object high
priority and guaranteeing 10 percent of bandwidth if the network is congested.
You can download an interactive demonstration version of NetRoad TrafficWARE from
ukiahsoft.com. This demonstration version includes a full working copy of
TrafficWARE Administrator.
For more information about NetRoad TrafficWARE, visit Ukiah Software's web site
(http://www.ukiahsoft.com). You can also call 1-800-988-5424 or 1-408-369-2890. |
