ProactiveNet looks to dig deeper into app mgmt.

SANTA CLARA, CALIF. - ProactiveNet this week will unveil the most recent version of its flagship Web application performance management software, which the company improved with new correlation, diagnostics, reporting and user interface features.

ProactiveNet 5.0 now includes features that quicken the software's deployment as well as tools to speed the mean time to repair for Web applications. According to the company, ProactiveNet 5.0 can now correlate data to data, which gives network managers more of a headstart when application performance begins to slow down.

For example, most management software can compare one event to another after they've occurred. And ProactiveNet in previous versions could compare events to data, or performance metrics collected by software agents. But in that scenario, an event occurred that might indicate that performance has already degraded. By comparing data to data, ProactiveNet 5.0 can track the normal behavior of an application and when it momentarily strays into abnormal, the software can correlate the statistics and alert network managers before any pre-set thresholds have been missed.

The company also added advanced diagnostics tools that will give network managers the means to more quickly repair outages, says David Langlais, ProactiveNet vice president of marketing. "We worked to make the software more programmable to help administrators dig deep and solve problems faster," he says.

The advanced diagnostics toolbar is part of the new graphical user interface, which ProactiveNet designed to enable users of all skill sets to access the data collected by the software. The GUI supports a variety of views for a variety of users.

For example, a network administrator might want to see all the statistics involved with an application transaction. An IT manager might not need so much detail. That manager could only need to know if the application is performing in compliance with its pre-defined service level. And a line of business manager needs to know if said application is producing the amount of, say, orders per minute, that he needs it to for the company to generate revenue.

The company says it also improved the ease of deployment in this software version. Network administrators can create templates and work off of those when establishing when, where, what and how the software will monitor the Web applications in their environment.

ProactiveNet's flagship software uses statistical analysis to determine the normal operating behavior of networks, applications and servers, and alerts network managers when abnormal patterns have occurred. This information can help users prevent a problem before it slows network, application and Web site performance, the company says.

ProactiveNet is installed on a dedicated server and communicates with software agents on the servers to be monitored. The agents process no data and sit dormant until ProactiveNet software requests specific performance data. Although ProactiveNet says its software can be used as the main root-cause analysis tool on a network, the software also will work with Hewlett-Packard, Computer Associates, Tivoli and BMC.

Available now, pricing for ProactiveNet 5.0 begins at $25,000.