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NetScout Systems introduces industry's first standards-based application monitoring system for Frame Relay Networks
Business Wire - June 02, 1997 09:02
FINANCIAL NETSCOUT-SYSTEMS MASSACHUSETTS COMED COMPUTERS ELECTRONICS PRODUCT V%BW P%BW
CHELMSFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 2, 1997--
NetScout Manager 5.0 Delivers Extended Application Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting for Frame Relay Networks
NetScout Systems, Inc. (formerly Frontier Software Development) today introduced NetScout Manager 5.0 to meet the network management needs of the fast-growing Frame Relay market.
With this announcement, NetScout Systems becomes the first company to provide standards-based integrated tools for monitoring, analysis, and reporting on application traffic down to individual DLCIs (Data Link Connection Identifiers). NetScout Manager 5.0's new capabilities deliver unprecedented end-to-end information on application traffic based upon the SNMP, RMON1, and RMON2 standards. This new functionality makes it possible to monitor and analyze the traffic generated by over 100 standard applications and thousands of custom applications. These capabilities give network administrators the most comprehensive tools to maximize the quality of service of their applications on Frame Relay networks and measure the performance of their Service Level Agreements.
"Maintaining high quality of service for Frame Relay Links is crucial to delivering mission-critical applications throughout the enterprise," said John McConnell, president of McConnell Consulting. "Proactive monitoring and reporting tools for application traffic are essential to maintaining high network availability while optimizing the financial resources needed to effectively deliver these applications. NetScout Manager 5.0 has correctly targeted their tools where it is needed most at the application layer."
Frame Relay Growth Drives the Need for Better Network Management
According to a 1996 Yankee Group report, the Frame Relay market anticipates an 80% growth between 1996 and 1998, from $1.2 billion to $2.2 billion, largely because Frame Relay links can be economically deployed for "bursty" LAN-based traffic. Frame Relay links often represent the most expensive part of an enterprise network and they carry mission-critical applications and information. It is essential that they perform reliably and that the applications they carry be available when needed. For network managers, it is equally important to determine whether current bandwidth requirements are adequate, to plan for future needs, and to determine whether the carrier is meeting its commitments.
"These unparalleled monitoring and analysis tools enable companies to manage for the first time their end-to-end application traffic down to the Frame Relay DLCI," said Narendra Popat, president of Netscout Systems. "NetScout Manager 5.0 provides the information needed to minimize network application response time and improve the overall efficiency of network assets."
Companies deploying Frame Relay networks need information that allows them to optimize the performance of their contracted CIR and ensure that the bandwidth is used effectively. With this information, administrators can control network availability and audit their Service Level Agreement with the service provider. To date, the only information available for Frame Relay has been based on SNMP and proprietary WAN devices that supply only basic physical layer metrics. Even RMON2 has not, until now, monitored application layer traffic for WAN links or for individual DLCIs. To deliver the maximum quality of service for each application, network administrators need detailed information specific to that application. NetScout Manager 5.0 is the only tool that enables managers to proactively monitor and report on any application traffic so they can truly perform daily operations, policy administration and capacity planning.
Standards-Based EnterpriseRMON Architecture Supports Application Monitoring for Frame Relay
Netscout Manager 5.0, like all NetScout products, is based upon EnterpriseRMON. This industry-leading architecture has been significantly enhanced to apply all 19 groups of RMON1 and RMON2 to individual Frame Relay DLCIs. EnterpriseRMON supports application traffic running on all major protocol stacks (e.g. IP, IPX, OSI, DECnet, Appletalk, and Vines). It supports over 100 standard applications and the user can build thousands of custom, application-traffic monitoring domains with NetScout Manager's convenient extendible tools. Within EnterpriseRMON, each DLCI is treated as a virtual agent which allows Netscout to proactively monitor, log and capture data for each Frame Relay private virtual circuit. By applying all of RMON1 and RMON2 to each DLCI, each PVC can be monitored as an individual segment. Because EnterpriseRMON supports multisite and multisegment traffic, it can monitor multiple DLCIs on one or more WAN links. This provides the administrator with an end-to-end view of a Frame Relay network across the enterprise. Unlike other Frame Relay monitoring implementations, NetScout monitors the inbound and outbound traffic for each DLCI from a single device. A centrally-located probe can monitor application traffic for each remote site, eliminating the need for remote probes. In addition to Netscout Manager's reporting and analysis tools, companies such as BGS, CACI, Concord, Desktalk, INS, Network General, and Netsys (Cisco) can integrate this application traffic information with their own unique reporting and analysis tools.
Netscout Manager Delivers Comprehensive Frame Relay Monitoring and Reporting Tools for any Application Traffic
Netscout Manager provides extensive tools for proactive monitoring, real-time analysis and historical reporting of MAC, network, and application traffic for all LAN, Switched LAN, and WAN/Frame Relay networks. Version 5.0 has been enhanced to support key Frame Relay metrics for over 100 standard applications and thousands of user customizable filters for any application traffic on any DLCIs.
Network Administrators need to keep their frame relay networks running 7x24. Netscout automatically alarms for over 20 different standard network attributes and any number of custom attributes for any applications running over any protocol stack. For Frame Relay, these include sudden changes in configuration such as CIR changes, LinkUp/LinkDown, PVC deleted, and high error rates. It notifies the administrator when application traffic such as Web, Notes, e-mail, Oracle and SAP, approaches capacity or exceeds CIR for long periods of time. It also exposes large file transfers that occur during prime time when critical applications can be affected. Once these problems have been identified, drill- down diagnostics within Netscout Manager 5.0 resolve them quickly based upon the specific applications and their users.
NetScout Manager 5.0 also presents extensive trend analysis tools through its Trend Reporter application. An integrated SQL database supplies over 120 standard reports for more than 100 standard applications and each report can be customized to fit specific network criteria. Summary and detail reports provide historical information on one or many DLCIs for any application layer traffic. In addition, billing reports provide charge-back accounting information on WAN costs of application usage for groups of users or departments. These reports can be delivered automatically on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Reports can be presented in hard copy format or accessed though a Web browser.
"NetScout Manager 5.0 has delivered to us a very powerful monitoring and analysis capability for our Frame Relay network," said Vernon Jackson, Corporate Telecommunications Specialist of Rayonier. "For instance, NetScout automatically alerts us to any recurring problems that are directly related to a particular application, and then provides drill provides drill down tools to help bring a quick resolution to each problem. This has allowed us to maintain the highest quality of service for our international and domestic network."
Pricing and Availability
NetScout Manager 5.0 and Netscout Manager Plus 5.0 will be available on June 20, 1997. Prices range from $3,495 to $8,995, depending on type of platform. Netscout Manager runs on Windows, NT, and Unix-based platforms from Sun, HP, IBM, DEC, and Cabletron. Free upgrades will be available to current NetScout customers under warranty or support contract.
About NetScout Systems, Inc.
NetScout Systems, Inc. (formerly Frontier Software) is the industry leader in offering powerful, proactive solutions for network operations, particularly application traffic monitoring, diagnosis and reporting, that allow network managers to optimize quality of service and deliver on service level agreements. NetScout's award-winning NetScout probes and NetScout Manager applications are based on EnterpriseRMON, a compliant superset of RMON1 and RMON2. The NetScout product family provides unique solutions beyond RMON2 by supporting all LAN/WAN topologies including switched LANs, VLANs and Frame Relay. In addition, NetScout Systems provides end-to-end standard or custom application monitoring for distributed enterprise networks.
NetScout Systems is headquartered in Chelmsford, Mass. Company news, product and service information is available on NetScout's Web site: netscout.com .
NetScout is a registered trademark and EnterpriseRMON is a trademark of NetScout Systems, Inc. All other trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks or service marks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
CONTACT: NetScout Systems, Inc. KHJ Public Relations
Aline Kaplan Paul Kidwell
(508) 244-4000 x1424 (617) 241-8000 x116
kaplana@netscout.com pkidwell@khj.com |
