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Storage administrators considering a move to IP networks will get a helping hand this year from Empirix Inc., with the companys new PacketSphere 2.1 Storage Testing Platform.
PacketSpheres purpose is to simulate IP networks before applications are deployed live. Available immediately, the new version focuses on more granular testing than does the prior version 2.0, at the same price of about $59,000 for a single Gigabit Ethernet user, $24,500 for a single FastEthernet user, or $49,000 for multiple FastEthernet users, officials said.
Specifically, the server/software bundle can now test individual data streams, instead of just groups of streams. Also, it can now test up to 4 bytes per stream, for such functions as addressing, quality of service, and cyclical redundancy checks (CRC)—versus just 1 byte before, officials of the Wilmington, Mass., company said. Users now have the TCL scripting language as well.
For simulating network congestion, PacketSphere 2.1 can squeeze bandwidth into 32Kbps, compared to only 128Kbps in earlier versions. It can also now run on the same physical server as Empirixs RealStreamer application, which simulates network traffic.
Future versions will be able to filter prerecorded network streams, officials said. In 2.1, streams can be imported in the Sniffer, Ethereal, NetMon and Libpcap formats. However, Empirix does not plan to enter the crowded Fibre Channel testing market, officials said.
