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The Pokemon Go mobile game phenomenon continues to gain steam, with app analytics firm Sensor Tower saying that the game has been downloaded 75 million times since its release July 6.
The app is not only wildly popular across the globe, but also is putting tremendous pressure on networks as millions of users download the game and play it, according to officials with Extreme Networks. To help businesses address the problem, Extreme this week announced a customized application fingerprint for its Extreme Analytics software that can help customers detect the game being played on their networks and enable them to take actions to limit the impact on networks.
Extreme Analytics is designed to give customers deep detail and visibility into networks—including how many devices are accessing the network, what those devices are, what applications are being used and how much bandwidth they’re taking up. By using the fingerprint, businesses can customize their analytics databases to determine how many devices are in use on their networks and reallocate bandwidth based on the use by Pokemon Go players.
“Today, our customers are coming to us and asking, ‘Hey, Extreme Networks, how can you help us understand what’s going on in our network, see what’s going on in our network and control what’s going on in our network?'” Mike Leibovitz, director of product strategy, said in a video on the Extreme website. “With Extreme Analytics, you have the ability to do all of that, to help contain this viral entity of Pokemon Go. Here at Extreme Networks, we’re helping our customers say, ‘Pokemon No.'”
The application fingerprint can work with Extreme’s on-premises or Extreme Cloud offerings, as well as some third-party networks. It’s also an example of how businesses can use Extreme Analytics to address issues caused by viral applications like Pokemon Go, company officials said. For example, during Super Bowl 50 in Palo Alto, Calif., Extreme officials determined that of the 10 terabytes of application traffic that ran over the network at the event, half was from two applications. Businesses need the flexibility to adapt to trends that could impact their networks, they said.