Observer 13 provides IT managers with complete network
visibility and the tools needed to identify, investigate,
and resolve problems from a single solution. Troubleshooting
can be done in real-time or retrospectively to reduce
mean time to resolution (MTTR) and increase network
performance.
Observer 13 features include:
- New real time TopN enterprise-wide visibility through
ORS NetLive
- Single-click root cause analysis from application-level
ORS reports
- Nanosecond visibility and support for key financial
protocols
- New GigaStor file structure optimized for faster
data mining and RNA
- New GigaStor active reporting speeds problem resolution
through immediate processing and extensive drill down
capabilities
- Unparalleled NetFlow scalability supports up to
512 NetFlow devices per collector
- Expanded support for 802.11n wireless standard and
OC-3/12
"More than 80% of application performance and
availability failures will be blamed on network problems,
but the network will actually represent less than 20%
of the root cause," said Debra Curtis, Research
VP for Gartner. "This ‘blame game’ means that network
teams are increasingly dealing with troubleshooting
complex applications in addition to traditional network
issues. Their expanded role requires tools that can
analyze end-to-end application transactions to triage
performance problems and determine the root cause, whether
that be the network or elsewhere.”
Real-Time Performance Monitoring
Observer 13 provides IT teams with a complete view of
the network and the applications running over it. ORS
enables superior monitoring and troubleshooting in a
fraction of the time it takes for more conventional
monitoring and analysis tools.
NetLive, a newly released ORS component, provides engineers
with high-level network operation center (NOC) views
of network and application performance in real-time,
allowing them to simultaneously monitor current network
conditions while pinpointing concerns. From these business-wide
views, engineers can drill down and isolate network
problems.
"Increasingly customers want real-time, in-depth
reporting in addition to retrospective analysis to identify
causes of latency and application performance issues,"
explained Douglas Smith, president and co-founder of
Network Instruments. "ORS provides real-time monitoring
and problem resolution. We don’t believe there is another
analysis company offering the same enterprise-view to
packet-level drill-down capability, all seamlessly integrated
into a single product set.”
ORS also provides auto-baselining of application performance
to identify unexpected deviations in application behavior.
In monitoring performance, engineers can drill from
the application level down to a specific host server
as well as compare day-by-day performance.
Targeting the Financial Sector
Observer 13 also includes components designed to specifically
benefit financial organizations. These institutions
have particular monitoring requirements that differ
greatly from the average company. The effectiveness
of a trade is measured in nanoseconds, not milliseconds,
necessitating drill down capabilities to a finite moment
of time.
"With millions of trades and transactions flowing
over their networks, costs from degraded performance
and downtime for financial organizations can quickly
add up," explained Charles Thompson, manager of
systems engineering for Network Instruments. "Observer
13 addresses the need for network teams to quickly isolate
and solve these problems by providing visibility into
microbursts."
Network Instruments has added several new features
to address the financial sector's unique needs:
- Expanded Financial Protocol Support — Observer offers
in-depth FIX analysis including application-specific
errors and statistics, and 29West, MOLD, and UDQF
decode and support
- Microburst Analysis — Meets the financial sector's
need for nanosecond detail
GigaStor Performance Enhancements
As retrospective network analysis (RNA) emerges as the
preferred method for pinpointing network and application
problems, Network Instruments upgraded the GigaStor
navigation interface and made additional enhancements
to facilitate easier problem isolation and troubleshooting.
The interface presents network activity within macro
and micro timeline views, providing users a big-picture
view as well as the micro view to quickly pinpoint problems.
"RNA requires significant processing power to
store terabytes of packets to disk and provide immediate
analysis," explained Smith. "To handle the
high processing demands of RNA, we have created a unique
file structure optimized for high-speed capture, storage,
and analysis. Beyond increased performance and reliability,
the new operating system eliminates any potential fragmentation
issues."
Application Analysis
As web services on the network increase, tracking performance
by Internet Protocol (IP) or virtual IP is no longer
adequate. The numbers of devices involved in providing
HTTP-based services can make reporting unmanageable.
Observer's URL-based performance reporting monitors
response times, volumes, utilization, and site-specific
statistics. In addition, response time analysis within
ORS now compares response times to expert-defined thresholds,
so engineers can easily identify when performance exceeds
thresholds.
"Ensuring timely access to business-critical application
servers is the primary objective of any network engineer,"
explained Smith. "Observer gives network teams’
enhanced capabilities for tracking response times, handling
custom applications, and the ability to more easily
manage the performance of Web-based services."
Additional Observer 13 Features
In addition to significant reporting and performance
enhancements in ORS and GigaStor, several new features
expand Observer's position as a leading analysis solution.
- Increased NetFlow Scalability — Unparalleled scalability
allows engineers to configure up to 512 NetFlow devices
per collection device
- Expanded Wireless Offering — Observer supports the
latest emerging wireless standard 802.11n
- OC3 and OC12 Support — Monitoring and analysis of
OC3c and OC12c traffic and decoding of OC-related
protocols. Packet over SONET (POS) and asynchronous
transfer mode (ATM) over SONET support
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