Entuity enhances Eye's network visibility

Network management software maker Entuity this week will preview new features in its flagship software that the company says will help customers better manage fault and performance across MPLS VPNs and wireless nets, among other things.

Eye of the Storm 5.0, or Eye 5.0 for short, will be generally available Nov. 15, with enhancements that tackle monitoring performance on today's advanced IP networks. Eye offers automated network device and topology discovery and management. Entuity software uses data models that can be extended to fit specific customer requirements when needed to address critical new device types.

This version includes new features that detect physical network changes -- for example as MAC or IP addresses that log on and off the network - in real time to allow network managers to decide if the activity is allowed and compliant with pre-set policies.

"Network administrators can find it troubling to notice addressing coming and going on the network," explains Kenneth Klapproth, director of marketing at Entuity. "We've always tracked such activity, but now we make it available in real time and in our configuration management database over time."

In addition to real-time change detection, Eye 5.0 also includes a new application dubbed the Connectivity Viewer, which shows network administrators the impact of detected changes on those IT components related or connected to the changed device. The application, which is part of Eye 5.0 and not a separate add-on, can show details such as network hops between and to and from devices, Klapproth explains.

The next set of add-on modules would be turned on with a licensing key that customers would purchase to get extra insight into their specific networks. Entuity enabled Eye 5.0 to support modules that can discover MPLS VPNs, quality of service technologies and wireless networks. The modules are designed to provide a deeper level of visibility into MPLS VPN configurations, for example. The wireless module could detect unauthorized wireless access points and ensure security is addressed in wireless LANs, Klapproth says.

"These modules are designed to extend the product to provide more granular data on customers' networks," he adds.

Eye 5.0 also includes reports that can range from inventory and asset reports, to capacity and resource utilization reports, to performance and availability reports. The software competes with similar offerings from Concord Communications (now part of CA), Micromuse (acquired by IBM) and InfoVista -- thought company representatives say InfoVista software is complementary to Eye.

Pricing for Eye 5.0 will start at about $50,000 when it becomes available next month.