Neon’s CyberGauge

Neon Software says you can use CyberGauge to monitor Internet connections, but we found it also can keep an eye on private WAN links.

CyberGauge is well suited to small networks and Apple Macintosh-based networks. Using SNMP, CyberGauge queries an IP address (a router, for example) at the other end of a WAN link as often as every second, and collects MIB II data.

However, we found setting the interval rate to 10 or 15 seconds let CyberGauge gather useful statistics. It reported uptime and downtime in terms of the number of intervals the link was active, and showed uptime as a percentage.

It showed total bytes inbound and total outbound, as well as utilization billing information expressed as average traffic levels for 5-minute periods. CyberGauge also displayed bandwidth utilization for the reporting period in percentage ranges.

The CyberGauge interface defines simplicity. Entering device data involves choosing an interface type from a list (including frame relay, Ethernet, and serial) that CyberGauge detects on the router you point at.

CyberGauge then lets you configure interface preferences and parameters, and how you want to display statistics. After you select one or more interfaces on a target router, clicking the Begin Monitoring button puts CyberGauge to work.

Entering details about each WAN link isn’t a task you need to do every day, fortunately. You have to explicitly tell CyberGauge about each IP-addressed device at either end of a WAN link.

For the full report, go to https://www.nwfusion.com/reviews/2003/1006rev.html