A majority of network managers spend at least 25 days per year troubleshooting network and application performance problems, eating up time that most would agree could be better spent on other projects.

Network Instruments discovered for more than two-thirds (70%) of some 600 CIOs, network managers and IT managers polled that on average 25 days per year is spent on troubleshooting performance problems. The figure is just one among many results that would cause concern for most network managers looking to optimize network uptime and reduce the chance of application performance problems.

The network management vendor's State of the Network Global Study annual survey also revealed that 75% of network professionals continue to cite "identifying the source of the problem" as their primary troubleshooting concern.

Thirty percent of survey respondents said they spend between 26 and 50 days each year replicating network issues, while 41% spend up to 25 days doing the same. Another 41% calculated that they spend more than 50 days per year determining the source of performance issues. The survey results don't synch with the fact that customers have been buying more commercial tools to speed troubleshooting, Network Instruments officials say.

"Over the last two years, while IT staffs purchased new tools to optimize applications and traffic, the amount of time spent troubleshooting performance problems increased," said Charles Thompson, manager of systems engineering for Network Instruments. "It's clear that relying on new tools or increasing bandwidth doesn't address the performance problems."

Network managers polled said they continue to face several challenges in managing application performance and ensuring optimal service delivery. More than 30% said their major concern is the continued lack of troubleshooting information, and one-fourth said their greatest challenge is ensuring application delivery. One-third said bandwidth consumption issues as their biggest challenge, and 32% said "they felt their organization needed to improve its ability to troubleshoot sporadic performance errors."

"These problems will continue to grow as companies implement new technologies and applications on their networks. Without visibility into these applications, performance will continue to suffer," Thompson said in a company press release.

Denise Dubie is senior editor with Network World.