ATLANTA - Network management software maker NetMon2 next month will debut two products the company says will help small and midsize corporations enjoy some features of a high-end management system without paying high-end prices.
The company will introduce NetMonView and VirusMon2 to attendees at NetWorld+Interop and Comdex show in Atlanta. The tools collect and correlate network alarms and security events, respectively, letting users manage network devices and track virus software across their networks from a single console. The company says the tools give network managers a less-expensive option for performing these tasks.
NetMonView captures and correlates events and alarms from network devices and applications. It provides customers with a single view of network device status via a single Web-based console.
VirusMon2 lets network managers configure security to forward virus alarm information to a centralized management console. The virus event display shows security information such as entry points, location and host name.
The difference between NetMonView and competitive tools such as Micromuse's Netcool/Omnibus, Hewlett-Packard's OpenView and Computer Associates' Unicenter is NetMon2 designed its software specifically for small and midsize networks, says Allan Woolway, NetMon2's vice president of business development. Woolway says NetMonView does not include all the features of the larger network management software products, but he says it lets users manage several disparate devices from one console.
One beta-version customer, BrightNetwork, a small technology consulting firm in Princeton, N.J., uses NetMonView to manage a variety of networks. BrightNetwork President Ray D'Andrade says NetMonView offers the most features for the price.
NetMonView costs about $5,000 for a small-network configuration. Software from vendors such as Micromuse, HP and CA start in the $50,000 range and scale to more than $1 million. D'Andrade considered Netcool/Omnibus and HP OpenView software before working as a beta customer with NetMon2.
He says the lesser feature set offered in NetMonView could meet his company's needs, and the software's price better suited the company's budget.
"A lot of tools on the market are extremely expensive, and a smaller company like us can't afford them," D'Andrade says. "NetMonView gives us a lot of functionality without costing us a lot. It really is the most bang for our buck."
NetMonView is a Java-based application that runs on a Unix, Linux, Windows 2000, NT or XP operating system. The software pulls management information from packet sniffers, syslog, network equipment and any other SNMP systems. Alarms flow into NetMon2 products via SNMP, syslog and direct calls to databases and applications.
VirusMon2, a virus-management engine that works with virus-detection applications from McAfee and Norton, is a Windows-based application that runs under Win 2000, NT or XP operating environments.
Upon installation, customers configure the software to query the networked devices based on user requirements. The software duplicates events from devices to only show users those events leading to a failure or performance problem. Users also can configure the software to take automated actions. For example, a network administrator can configure the software to send an e-mail alert when server utilization reaches a threshold that might affect performance.
NetMon2 says NetMonView and VirusMon2 will be available mostly through resellers beginning next month. NetMon2 says it will sell directly to customers in the future.
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