Apparent Networks upgrades route diagnostics software

Apparent Networks last week announced that its flagship software is now available in different flavors, can work to proactively detect network bottlenecks and includes round-the-clock support to help customers more quickly diagnose the source of network performance problems.

The company’s flagship software AppareNet sends packets across the network and analyzes the returning data to determine router configurations, network latency and application delivery times. The product includes software installed on a dedicated server as well as software agents – what Apparent Networks calls “sequencers” – installed on servers in key data centers. The server software manages the distributed agents, analyzes data collected by the agents, and presents the results in a user interface, which can be access by a desktop or laptop.

Version 2.0 can now be used proactively. The company says former versions were run in a more reactive setting, meaning an application or service problem was reported and the network engineer would send a test out across network pipes to determine the cause of the slowdown or failure. Now the software can be in an always-on state, continually running and alerting network managers when a misconfigured router is spotted or when bandwidth consumption is causing slowdowns in application traffic.

The technology in AppareNet 2.0 is now available in three versions. AppareNet 2.0 Support is designed for service providers or support organizations that need to get visibility onto networks they don’t own. AppareNet 2.0 Enterprise is for large companies working to proactively detect network problems that could cause application performance problems on LANs and across WANs. And AppareNet 2.0 Professional is a stand-alone diagnostics tool that can be installed on a laptop to troubleshoot problems areas on corporate nets.

All three versions of AppareNet 2.0 are available for purchase immediately. Pricing for AppareNet 2.0 Support is starts at $500 per month per user. AppareNet 2.0 Enterprise pricing is based on usage throughout the organization, and starts at $45,000 for a base platform. AppareNet 2.0 Professional is available for $10,000 per named user. Both AppareNet 2.0 Support and AppareNet 2.0 Professional are available as a hosted service.