NetQoS this week made available the latest version of its SuperAgent appliance embedded with performance management software. The company says the release will help network managers track events across IT silos and optimize performance enterprise-wide.

SuperAgent 7 includes a feature that will offer network managers a continuous operations view of application performance. The new visibility will help network managers better determine the source of a performance problem across network, server and application environments. Typically, IT managers spot events and then try to determine where the performance problem may have occurred, according to George Hamilton, a senior analyst with Yankee Group. With this type of tool, network managers can see where the performance problem happened and trace back to the cause, he says.

"Most IT departments are set up on faults, then they drive into performance, when performance is really the key indicator they should be looking for," he says. NetQoS as well as vendors such as InfoVista and EMC SMARTS are providing tools to help network managers better locate the cause of performance problems that could impact business services, he says.

SuperAgent appliances attach to a mirror or span port on a switch in the data center to which the application server architecture is connected. The product also includes a central console from which data from distributed data centers is analyzed and used for reports.

SuperAgent monitors TCP packet flow and uses algorithms to inspect the TCP packet. With that information, SuperAgent can determine which applications the packets belong to and how much time they are spending at any given network segment. Once the problem area is identified, network managers can troubleshoot the problem, or if it's not within their segment, pass it along to the servers and applications teams.

SuperAgent 7 is available now and pricing starts at about $40,000, depending on network configuration.

Ann Bednarz is associate news editor at Network World.