Ganymede offers net performance monitoring tool

A new software tool from Ganymede Software, Inc. should help users quickly and more easily spot network performance problems.

The company last week announced Pegasus, a software package that lets users monitor the end-to-end response-time performance of devices linked to SNA, TCP/IP and IPX networks. Pegasus is Ganymede's first response-time tool, but the company's Chariot network test package already is widely deployed in customer sites. Chariot is a software-based performance measurement tool that lets users simulate the traffic generated by new client/server applications and predict the impact those applications will have on enterprise network performance before they are widely deployed. Expanding upon Chariot, Pegasus can isolate problems and help network managers ensure that service-level agreements are being met.

By getting response time data, network administrators have all they need to know to ensure the net is performing properly, said Steve Joyce, vice president of marketing for Ganymede. Pegasus provides real- time monitoring of the network, rather than the passive, historical device reporting typical of most Remote Monitoring (RMON)-based probes in the market. But Pegasus can be used in conjunction with RMON tools, Joyce said. For example, administrators can take Pegasus reports and use them for trend analysis, performance forecasting and historical tracking. Pegasus consists of two components: server software, and agents that are called Network Performance Endpoints (NPE). The server runs on a Microsoft Corp. Windows NT server and gathers data reported by the agents. One server can handle up to 2,000 connections. The agents run on a variety of operating systems, from MVS on an IBM mainframe to Windows 3.1 and Novell, Inc. NetWare servers.

NPEs compile and measure response time and throughput of the network between the agent and the server. The measurement takes into account any net devices - such as routers or switches - that are between those agents and the server. The statistics are then formulated into a management report for easy review. They also can be accessed from any Java-enabled Web server in the network. The company plans to roll out Pegasus in the second quarter of 1998. The server will cost $7,500 per license; NPEs are licensed by operating system with the cost varying from $2,000 to $8,000. Endpoints can be installed on an unlimited number of machines. Ganymede: (919) 469-0997