* An ASP alternative to in-house net monitoring
You’re doomed if you don’t and broke if you do – that’s the truth about network monitoring for networks bigger than a handful of machines. The problem is that a package that can monitor any reasonably large number of devices is usually quite complicated and if it is any good, quite expensive. Add to that the additional cost of setting up the monitoring system and you have a significant investment to make.
A fascinating ASP-based alternative to in-house network monitoring is Klir from Klir Technologies (see editorial links below).
Klir’s system requires a secure VPN connection to your network. Once that is established the KlirCollect Polling Engine routinely polls each SNMP device that you want Klir to monitor. Cleverly, Klir allows you to set an upper limit for bandwidth use of each of your connections to ensure that they don’t cause overloading.
The data is stored in Klir’s Repository and standard or customized reports are extracted and e-mailed to you as well as being presented on a secured Web server as Klir Ops Center, which provides monitoring, alerting, and analytics. Klir Exec Center merges financial costing and business performance indicators with operational data.
Klir’s reports are highly detailed and in combination with hierarchical alerts provides all of the most useful features found in much larger and far more expensive in-house network monitoring and management packages. Pricing is based on the number of monitored devices and works out to about $15 per device.
Klir’s Web site is a little disappointing as it shows very little in the way of screenshots of reports and really doesn’t “sell” its services very effectively. That said, I took a brief look at its demo at Interop a few weeks ago and was very impressed. Klir offers a great network monitoring solution that is not only more-or-less painless to get up and running but is also much less painful on the wallet.
Klir’s services are primarily sold through independent software vendors, solution providers, managed service providers and business consultants.
