LAN Management

LAN monitoring; desktop, server, mobile-device management; remote-control tools

By Christine Burns and Keith Shaw, Network World, 02/23/04

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Winning company: Opnet Technologies
Winning product: IT Guru, Version 9.0

In the constant battle between developers and network managers regarding who's to blame when something goes wrong with an application, a tool that measures application performance from the network's perspective is a great weapon. That's just what you get with Opnet Technologies' IT Guru, a sophisticated network analysis and network performance software package (see review).

With the software, you can view network and application performance side by side in a graphical format that eases the pinpointing of performance issues and delays. The software's AppDoctor module offers a spreadsheet-style diagnostic and statistics presentation that helps determine whether delays are in the application or the network. AppDoctor analyzes different parameters, including average packet size, retransmissions and errors. Advanced features let you add variables that can help predict the effects of network changes. These include changing the bandwidth, latency, link optimization, packet loss, payload size and TCP window size. We love software that lets you create "what-if" scenarios, especially helpful in determining the affect of multimedia applications on the network.

"We found ourselves addicted to the more advanced features," writes Jeffrey Fritz, the Lab Alliance member who tested this software. "A network technician could find the product very useful in evaluating the effects of new applications and network changes without harming the production network."

While the product as tested was expensive ($40,000 to $100,000 based on modules and customized models purchased), the value to a company with thousands of dollars in revenue per minute would find this package priceless.

In August 2003, Opnet released Version 10.0 of its suite of products, including IT Guru. New features include enhancements to troubleshoot performance of Citrix decodes, multi-tier transaction correlation and the ability to rapidly predict the affect of large-scale application deployments, the company says. The new product also includes simulations for large wireless network models, and enhancements for troubleshooting and validating device configurations.