NetVision providing Y2K watch for NDS users

OREM, UTAH - Companies concerned that Y2K problems within their enterprise directories could have a ripple effect across their networks now have a new tool to put them more at ease.

NetVision last week began shipping Directory Alert, a real-time monitoring and alerting tool for Novell Directory Services (NDS). The tool monitors every object in the directory and reports on changes made to those objects. NetVision officials have tuned those features to uncover and address Y2K-related problems.

Key to Directory Alert is that it monitors events that happen without administrator intervention, such as automatic updates made by NetWare or changes based on rules set within the directory.

"The concern here is with complex systems that make changes based on dates," says Rick Villars, an analyst with International Data Corp., a market research firm in Framingham, Mass. "The directory is a particularly sensitive system because it has password and security information. There is no indication, however, that directories are more Y2K-vulnerable than other systems, but Directory Alert is another safety measure to build confidence."

Directory Alert's key to correcting Y2K issues is that it provides a detailed log of changes, including a record of what data was changed and what the data was before the change was made. The historical logging of data is designed to allow administrators to easily reverse alterations to the directory.

"This sounds like a good tool for tracking changes, especially in a large enterprise," says Harold Valenzuela, network administrator and NDS architect for Children's Home Society of California in Santa Ana. "We've been running a server a year ahead of current time, and we find NDS is operating fine, but we are not letting down our guard."

Directory Alert uses NetVision's Global Event Services (GES) technology, which monitors activity in NDS. GES is installed on every directory replica server that has read/ write capability. The monitoring console, which reads the data collected from the GES, runs on a Windows NT workstation.

The data can be exported to a text file or database for analysis, but Directory Alert also can contact administrators in real time using e-mail or pagers.

Directory Alert is now shipping and is priced at $28 per user.

NetVision: www.netvision. com