Ixia last month acquired a perpetual license for NetIQs Chariot product line. This means Chariot, one of the best software-only traffic load generation and testing tools, will appear in Ixias Real World Traffic Suite.
I have used both products over several years with good results, and many eWEEK reviews have used network traffic loads generated by Chariot to get performance numbers on everything from routers to firewalls. IT managers of large networks have used Chariot to gain important insights into network performance and significant data that can help them make decisions about network growth.
Interestingly enough, NetIQ recently renamed and revamped Vivinet Assessor, formerly Chariot VOIP Assessor (see review at www.eWEEK.com/ labslinks). Under the terms of the deal, Ixia is getting the voice testing components that were in the older Chariot software, not including the Vivinet developments.
The Chariot components are a good base, and IT managers who are considering adding voice traffic to existing data networks will likely get a good assessment of the network from Chariot products released by Ixia.