Network management vendor NetScout last week released a product that would in essence preserve performance management data in the case of a power outage or other network failure due to a disaster.

While the company is selling the software with a disaster-recovery angle, NetScout also is providing a tool that could help network and application managers maintain a network architecture that complies with regulatory demands for business continuity.

Considering the damage a natural disaster such as Hurricane Katrina can wreak on a country, maintaining network performance data may not seem the most pressing concern in the moment. Yet, the data collected is still critical.

"As recent natural disasters unequivocally pointed out, enterprises must be vigilant in preparing cohesive business continuity plans that incorporate network and application performance management, which are even more crucial to assure IT services continuity during such disruptions," said Jeffrey Nudler, senior analyst with Enterprise Management Associates, in a NetScout press release.

NetScout says its software can help retain pertinent data even during more minor network mishaps.

"There are a number of companies that have become dependent on application performance management data such as ours," says Eileen Haggarty, a product manager at NetScout. "We wanted to provide a way for our customers when faced with a disaster to ensure the availability of customer services and revenue-generating applications."

The nGenius Performance Manager Standby Server is a software product that can back up customers' central nGenius management server. The Standby Server maintains a frequently updated and replicated copy of the data collected by NetScout probes and aggregated into its performance management software.

The software can be installed in several different scenarios. For instance, for use at an off-site redundant data center the server would be installed there to maintain operations in the event of a failure at the primary network operations location. The Standby Server could also be installed with a hosted third-party vendor, such as SunGard, for disaster-recovery purposes. And the server can be installed next to the primary server for redundancy purposes and for use in the event of a database or hardware failure.

Ann Bednarz is associate news editor at Network World.