SolarWinds offers free Cisco IP SLA monitoring tool

Industry analysis by Beth Schultz, plus the latest news headlines.

Lacking budget dollars for new network management tools? SolarWinds says its technology can help.

The network monitoring company added to its freeware arsenal with a tool that helps network managers troubleshoot performance problems via a user interface that configures to Cisco routers, switches and other IP devices.

See a slideshow of 20 free software favorites

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Lacking budget dollars for new network management tools? SolarWinds says its technology can help.

The network monitoring company added to its freeware arsenal with a tool that helps network managers troubleshoot performance problems via a user interface that configures to Cisco routers, switches and other IP devices.

See a slideshow of 20 free software favorites

SolarWinds Cisco IP SLA (service-level agreement) Monitor measures network performance and allows network managers to analyze specific transport metrics from a Cisco IP SLA-capable device to another Cisco router or other IP device, SolarWinds says. Historically such monitoring would require administrators to use a command line interface (CLI) to configure and read results, the company says, but this free download enables engineers to tap a graphical user interface for the task.

According to SolarWinds, the tool allows IP SLA on a Cisco router or switch, configures path-specific details and displays the performance data in a dashboard. The free application also monitors common IP SLA operations, exports data to SolarWinds' Orion Network Performance Monitor and allows network managers to view details such as frequency, source, target, operation type and Type of Service (ToS) settings.

To further explain Cisco IP SLA and SolarWinds' free tool to monitor it, the company's "resident Head Geek" Josh Stephens will host a Webcast on Thursday, Feb. 26 in which he'll provide an in-depth look at IP SLA for network performance management. More information about the online event is available here.

"The biggest complaint that network engineers hear on a daily basis is 'the network is too slow' and yet very few deploy IP SLA technology, which is already built into their Cisco devices, to streamline troubleshooting those performance issues," Stephens said in a company statement.

SolarWinds Cisco IP SLA Monitor is available free for download here. 

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Schultz is a longtime IT journalist. You can email her or find her here.