Netcordia Speeds Up Network Troubleshooting

Netcordia's NetMRI tool analyzes network problems in near-real time.

Netcordia on Oct. 16 will launch a new version of its NetMRI network analysis and reporting tool aimed at helping network engineers troubleshoot problems in near-real time.

The multivendor network management tool, which provides analysis, reporting and troubleshooting of network anomalies, has previously been designed to gather data and evaluate problems after the fact.

Version 2.3 aims to change that by combining event analysis with detailed real-time analysis based on built-in rules that can identify problems such as full/half duplex mismatches and other network problems.

The tool can automatically collect, store and index event data and analyze problems using 180 built-in best practices rules.

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Click here to read more about Netcordias NetMRI.

"In 5- to 10-minute increments we run a complete analysis on the data thats collected. If we find that something violates a best practice that the user has defined, we alert the customer," said Netcordia CEO Don Pyle, in Annapolis, Md. The new release of the tool can automatically create diagnostic issues in real time and notify the user or trigger a corrective action.

Along with adding the near-real-time analysis, Netcordia enhanced the tool to support Cisco Systems CallManager Versions 5 and 6 as well as WLAN (wireless LAN) controllers, and the company made the data it collects accessible to more types of users.

Without giving full access to NetMRI, users on the help desk or in the Network Operations Center can access a portal created by the customer that enables a search of data in the tools repository.

The new search feature, dubbed Find IT, is designed to allow less sophisticated help desk operators troubleshoot problems. "Say you were troubleshooting a VOIP [voice over IP] call. You can type in an IP address and it would show you the device [trying to make the call] and everything associated with that IP address, including the subnet mask, phone name and so on," Pyle said.

"Its very convenient," said beta tester Nhan T. Vo, technical consultant for Duke University School of Medicine, in Durham, N.C. "We can send a link to the help desk or any user in our environment and let them see the information for themselves. For instance, if people complain about the network being slow or want to know why a machine doesnt see the network, you can locate the problem, send them the link and they can see it," he said.

NetMRI competes indirectly with a range of network management and automation tools, including CAs Concord eHealth, Opsware, SolarWinds, Opnet Technologies Sentinel product and others. It is due on Oct. 15.

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