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Cisco Prime Infrastructure 2.2: Enterprise-Class Network Assurance

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 03 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000

In today’s world of fast-growing and fast-changing application hosting and delivery environments, networks have never been more important. Good network management tools, particularly those that help networking pros get the most out of networking equipment features and capabilities, are worth their weight in gold. And if those management tools can go further by providing the means for managing the infrastructure end to end, from users to applications, and from branch to data center, the value is even greater, opening the door to achieving business outcomes that are both directly and indirectly reliant upon the network. This paper reviews Cisco Prime Infrastructure Version 2.2 and examines how the enhancements and extensions that are part of the release bring needed capabilities for assuring high functioning, high performing networks as well as the broader data center operations function.

StackIQ Delivers Full Stack Automation to Dramatically Improve Hadoop, Other Scale-out Server Deployments

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000

In February 2015, StackIQ launched Boss 5, a combined solution that includes StackIQ Boss, StackIQ Pallets, and StackIQ Wire. Addressing the need to provide "Web-scale IT" flexibility to enterprises and service providers of all sizes, StackIQ's product focuses on eliminating the complexities of provisioning and configuration tasks across the infrastructure and application stack, eliminating manual steps commonly required for complex deployments. Referred to as "warehouse-grade automation," the StackIQ approach aims to significantly simplify and accelerate scale-out data center operations in much the same way that factory and warehouse automation revolutionized manufacturing and physical inventory management.

Managing Networks Today: Network Management Megatrends 2014 Research Highlights (Sponsored by WildPackets)

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Network management has always been essential in enterprises large and small, but continual changes in the managed environment and the increasing criticality of IT infrastructure to business success means network managers and operators need to continually ensure they are using the best tools, technologies, and practices at all times. In 2014, Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) published "Managing Networks in the Age of Cloud, SDN, and Big Data: Network Management Megatrends," a landmark study documenting the latest needs and requirements. This paper reviews several key findings and recommendations.

Managing Networks Today: Network Management Megatrends 2014 Research Highlights (Sponsored by Cisco)

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000

The increasingly critical role that IT plays in enabling business is driving renewed focus on the network, which provides the essential connectivity between customers and end users and the datacenters hosting applications and services, as well as within those data centers. But establishing and maintaining the upper hand in ensuring highly reliable, high-performing networks means that network managers and operators need to keep up with new technology introductions while ensuring that they are using the best tools, technologies, and practices at all times. Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) published "Managing Networks in the Age of Cloud, SDN, and Big Data: Network Management Megatrends 2014," a landmark study documenting the latest needs and requirements for excellence in network management. This paper reviews several key findings and recommendations.

Delivering Effective Service Automation through Cloud Technologies

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Capturing the full business value of cloud is one of today's key challenges for enterprise IT. The most important strategic characteristics of cloud -- agility, resiliency and efficiency -- can only be fully harnessed if the IT organization possesses the automation, orchestration and integration capabilities required to tie together hardware and software in a manner similar to those used for any other business processes. This is a non-trivial challenge as there are many different clouds, both private and public, available today, each of which is targeted toward a specific set of use cases. Centrally enforcing compliance, security and cost efficiency to enable the organization to take full advantage of today's world of many clouds requires a service management platform that facilitates policy driven provisioning and management of complete services that consist of application and infrastructure components sourced from multiple clouds.

Leveraging Log Data: Highlights from "Log Analytics for Network Operations Management 2014" Research

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000

It is a well-established practice for network managers to gather Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) data and metrics from network devices, complemented by NetFlow and packet inspection, for planning, monitoring, and troubleshooting network health and performance. But network log data is becoming increasingly important for these purposes as well. Research by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) in early 2014 found that network log data is actually the most common data source in use today for planning, monitoring, and troubleshooting network health and performance. In November 2104, EMA released the findings from "Log Analytics for Network Operations Management," a follow-on study documenting current uses and best practices for using log data as part of network management. In this study, over 60% of research participants indicated that log data was more important than any other network management data type. This paper reviews several key findings and recommendations.

Log Analytics for Network Operations Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000

As network managers, engineers, and operators strive to protect the integrity and performance of enterprise networks, they are faced with an onslaught of data and metrics. They must wade quickly and carefully through this deluge in order to perform monitoring, troubleshooting, and planning. With recent trends moving technology toward software-defined and programmable infrastructure, as well as the parallel convergence of IT operations across multiple technology domains, network log data is being increasingly both used and appreciated. This ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES® (EMA™) research report takes a detailed look at the ways in which which network log data is being harvested, analyzed, and used for network operations management. Included are recommendations for best practices based on the experiences and findings of enterprise practitioners.

Unified Network Management: The Key to Operational Efficiency

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000

As the world of IT converges, within the data center, within networking technologies, between voice and data, and in more ways to come, it is also appropriate to examine how management tools and technologies can be converged in order to best meet the needs of IT planning and operations. Within the scope of network management, this means adopting products that integrate or unify management capabilities, features, and functions. Though many network management product choices may sound similar on paper, there are distinct differences that should be understood. This white paper examines how a unified approach can both improve operational efficiency and lower total cost of ownership (TCO), the unified solution offered by Entuity as an example, and some real world examples of how the Entuity solution has been deployed within live production environments.

Global European Manufacturing Company Implements Infosim for Cross-Domain Monitoring

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) has found that in many large IT organizations, the function of network monitoring has been moved to a cross-domain team that monitors IT infrastructure on a comprehensive/integrated basis. Organizations making this change are also examining their management tools and technology choices. Some continue to use existing network management platforms in the network operations center (NOC) but adopt a different platform for cross-domain monitoring while others seek to consolidate and implement a single solution. This case study examines how one large European manufacturing company has swapped out its legacy network management solution for Infosim StableNet in order to meet cross-domain monitoring objectives.

Solving the Application Performance Dilemma in the Hybrid Enterprise

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 04 Nov 2014 00:00:00 +0000

The mainstream adoption of web-based applications, whether internally hosted, cloud-hosted, or SaaS, is transforming the ways in which enterprise-class applications are built, deployed, and consumed. While the evolution brings new levels of cost efficiency and flexibility, it also introduces new and unique visibility and control challenges for IT organizations, which must meet performance and user experience expectations in addition to basic availability. IT teams must adopt a two-pronged approach to meeting this challenge, combining performance visibility with proactive optimization technologies. This EMA white paper examines the scope of challenges for assuring web-based and SaaS application performance, and reviews a solution offered by Riverbed that is designed to meet these new requirements.

NetScout Plans Tektronix Acquisition to Expand Solution Footprint, Geo Reach

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000

On October 13, 2014, NetScout Systems announced its intent to acquire the Communications Business Unit of Danaher Corporation. Product lines associated with the consolidating transaction include Tektronix Communications, Arbor Networks, VSS Monitoring, and some portions of the Fluke Networks portfolio. The combined entity will be known as NetScout Systems and will be managed by the current NetScout executive team. This transaction will combine two of the largest players in application-aware network performance management solutions, expanding the depth and breadth of offerings for both enterprise and service provider organizations.

EMA Vendor to Watch: Saisei

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Saisei is a new entrant in the network optimization space that is taking a newly comprehensive approach to unifying network traffic and security monitoring, visibility, and control--an approach the company has dubbed Network Performance Enforcement (NPE). The Saisei solution is available in three versions—FlowCommand, FlowEnforcer, and FlowVision--that combine network traffic and security monitoring, visibility, and control into a single solution. This is a software-based product that can be deployed either as a VM on a hypervisor or on a bare metal x86 hardware chassis. The solution can be installed either symmetrically (both ends of a link) or asymmetrically (one end only).

SaaS Performance: Why You Should Care and What You Can Do About It

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000

It's often said that applications are the life's blood of the IT-enabled enterprise. In fact, IT’s prime objective is to develop, deliver, host, and support applications in the service of organizational/business activities and processes. So it's no surprise that understanding and protecting the performance and viability of applications is of the utmost importance to most IT organizations. The recent ascendance and adoption of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications adds a new twist and challenge to IT teams, who must find ways to monitor and assure performance of these increasingly critical resources. Since SaaS applications are externally hosted, most management tools are unable to provide significant visibility or control, however a new set of features within AppNeta’s solution offerings are designed to provide precisely such capabilities, paving the path for cohesive SaaS performance monitoring and management.

Transform IT Data into Real-time Operational Intelligence with Network Data Analytics

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Whether or not IT is considered strategic within any individual organization, it has become a mission-critical aspect of business processes and business results for the vast majority of modern companies. As such, it is essential for organizational leaders and IT leaders alike to maintain crisp focus on how well the applications and services delivered and maintained by IT are fulfilling those necessary roles. IT monitoring technologies can provide operational insights for assuring the health and performance of infrastructure and applications, but typically are designed for technologists and not the business community as a whole. Further, most such tools are designed to provide occasional snapshots, not continuous intelligence in the same way that business operates -- in true real time. A promising new technique translates IT data into direct business performance insights in real time, using a method known as network data analytics. This Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) paper details essentials of such an approach and describes an example solution offered by Corvil.

EMA Radar for Enterprise Network Availability Monitoring Systems (ENAMS): Q3 2014

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

The practice of network availability monitoring can range from simple standalone up/down monitoring of individual devices to complex, highly customized and automated approaches that fully integrate into broader management systems architectures. Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) analysts define the term “Enterprise Network Availability Monitoring System” (ENAMS) to include network-centric monitoring solutions that are used by enterprise network operations and engineering teams to discover, monitor, assess, troubleshoot, and manage medium to large enterprise network infrastructures. For this EMA Radar Report, specific focus has been placed on two areas: the core capabilities and features that address network operators’ needs to ensure health and availability of the network; and the overall practitioner experience in procuring, deploying, administering, and using specific ENAMS products. In all, 17 products from 16 vendor suppliers are reviewed and compared in this study.

Report Summary - EMA Radar for Enterprise Network Availability Monitoring Systems (ENAMS): Q3 2014

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 24 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000

This is the summary of the EMA Radar for Enterprise Network Availability Monitoring Systems (ENAMS): Q3 2014.

Report Abstract

The Power and Payback of Unified IT Monitoring

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Today’s IT leaders are faced with a seemingly intractable problem. On the one hand, they are pressured to support new technologies and innovations, such as client mobility and cloud services. At the same time, the growing use of agile development techniques and the move towards an “app economy” are accelerating the rate of new, business-critical application deployments. And all the while, expectations are continuously rising for higher availability and faster performance across hybrid physical/virtual/cloud infrastructures. One important path to success involves bringing together infrastructure, application, and service level visibility via a technique known as “unified IT monitoring.” This EMA whitepaper examines why unified IT monitoring is an important enabling technology for both enterprises and management service providers, including both the organizational and strategic impacts as well as the business case surrounding it. It goes further to examine CA Nimsoft Monitor as an example of unified IT monitoring, and reviews three case studies where the solution has been deployed for active use in a unified manner.

Gigamon Adds NetFlow Generation to Visibility Fabric Architecture

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 27 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000

In February 2014, Gigamon announced the addition of NetFlow generation capabilities to its family of network visibility controllers (a.k.a. “network packet brokers”) as an application-awareness extension of its Visibility Fabric solution architecture. The new NetFlow Generation Application creates NetFlow records by observing and measuring application traffic flows during packet stream collection and distribution and then sends that information to one or more NetFlow collectors or analyzers. The generated records can serve any purpose for which NetFlow is normally used, most commonly including network/application performance monitoring and security monitoring.

Priorities for Achieving Success in SDDC Deployments

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 15 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000

The concept of a Software Defined Datacenter (SDDC) has captured the imagination of many, representing the culmination of virtualization and orchestration technology innovations by allowing automated deployment and management of virtual IT resources. This is the complete promise of the cloud, for internal and mixed/hybrid settings. But reaching that goal is not yet a simple process, due to the evolving nature of many of the requisite technology components and the current state of existing IT infrastructure. This white paper highlights results of EMA research into obstacles and priorities encountered by organizations embracing SDDC initiatives.

Managing Networks in the Age of Cloud, SDN, and Big Data: Network Management Megatrends 2014

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 14 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Networks have never been more critical to the success of IT and the business. New virtualization and Cloud technologies and services are remaking the face of IT and the way in which infrastructure is architected. But the common thread throughout is the network, which must be both highly available and high performing. The tools, technologies, and practices of network monitoring and management address these needs, and are thus essential to the success of every enterprise and governmental organization.

This Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) research report takes a detailed look at the current state of networks and network management, and examines five major areas of change and evolution affecting network management, including Cloud and virtualization, Software Defined Networking (SDN), Big Data, the rise of log data and APIs as management data sources, and the ongoing convergence of network operations teams and tools. The report also examines the context and influence that broader IT and organizational priorities and projects are having on network management priorities, as well as resulting requirements for network management products and solutions. The findings within this report reveal the experiences and objectives that a broad range of organizations have had regarding network management, and thus should serve as a source of requirements and input for strategic network engineering and operations planning.

EMC Service Assurance Suite 9.3 Advances Integrated, Service-Aware Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 05 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000

The drive for integrated, unified approaches to IT and service infrastructure monitoring and management is unmistakable. Comprehensive approaches offer deeper, more insightful operational visibility combined with the opportunity to apply advanced analysis that encompasses the diversity and complexity typical in today's service delivery architectures. The challenge is to find integrated approaches that can successfully keep pace with the fast-evolving demands brought about by Cloud, virtualization, mobility, Big Data, SDN, and other forms of the continuous onslaught of technology change. EMC's Service Assurance Suite is designed to meet precisely such challenges, and the latest release exhibits the company's focus on allowing those who adopt the solution to not only keep pace, but to put themselves ahead of the game.

Visual TruView Extends Unified Network & Application Performance Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 00:00:00 +0000

In April 2014, Fluke Networks announced a major upgrade to its popular application-aware network performance management product, Visual TruView. The solution was initially launched in early 2013, built on well-known Fluke Networks technologies for real-time performance monitoring and detailed performance troubleshooting, and utilizes a tightly integrated, unified architecture bringing together a scope of data sources and functional capabilities that has, in the past, required multiple products to achieve. The TruView solution, delivered as a preconfigured appliance for rapid deployment in 1G and 10G Ethernet environments, has been enhanced to add significant new functionality for supporting capacity planning, analyzing XML transactions, deepening understanding of specific user activity, and facilitating distributed deployments.

Fluke Networks: Taking End-to-End AANPM to a New Level

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 00:00:00 +0000

When describing the scope of network and application performance management solution, technology providers love to use the term "end-to-end" to denote the completeness of their offerings. But as with all things, definitions will vary, particularly when it comes to the depth and completeness of information provided. Fluke Networks, in April 2014, announced an innovative new and rich definition for end-to-end as it applies to application-aware network performance management (AANPM). The new capabilities include first-time deep integration between Fluke Networks Visual TruView, a unified enterprise-class AANPM appliance, and Fluke Networks OptiView XG, a mobile/handheld network analysis tablet solution. This integration offers the chance to put together centralized visibility from the data center, core, and distribution network perspective with the detailed information available only by direct monitoring of remote user access networks. This integrated visibility empowers the operations team to understand remote network connectivity and topology, whether wired or wireless, and reveals context and conditions for all steps along the application/service delivery path. The result is accurate insights into current and historical issues and impacts, accelerating problem recognition, diagnosis, and restoration.

2013 EMA Vendors to Watch: Network Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000

EMA "Vendors to Watch" are companies that deliver unique customer value by solving problems that had previously gone unaddressed or provide value in innovative ways. The designation rewards vendors that dare to go off the beaten path and have defined their own market niches.

This document contains the 2013 EMA Vendors to Watch in the Network Management field including:

ActionPacked Networks

Cumulus Networks

Kemp Technologies

LiveQoS

NetYCE

Pica8

Talari Networks

EMA Vendor to Watch: NetYCE

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 24 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Today, too many network management tasks and activities remains largely reactive. The increasingly dynamic nature of operating environments, driven by the move towards software-defined, programmatic datacenter architectures, makes the shift to proactive practices more imperative than ever. Networking teams must embrace automation and orchestration to keep pace, but they also need open, easy to use tools that integrate and work with existing network management solutions. NetYCE's solution represents a next generation approach to the challenge of automating and enforcing network configuration policy. Coupled with a set of valuable features, NetYCE is gaining traction and market maturity through a growing number of communications provider and enterprise deployments. EMA believes that network teams embracing the NetYCE approach can finally eliminate the vast majority of risks that manual configuration practices present to operational integrity.

Network Instruments Matrix: A New Breed of Network Visibility Controller

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Flexible management of packet streams for network performance, application performance, and security monitoring is fast becoming an essential need for enterprises and service providers alike. Network Instruments has introduced Matrix -- a fully functional, enterprise-class, carrier-grade network visibility controller designed to meet requirements for cost-effective and flexible packet visibility architectures.

Six Priorities for Unified Communications Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Unified communications (UC) technologies that take advantage of common/converged IP networks have reached mainstream status, but the operational planning, monitoring, and troubleshooting of these critical services remains a challenge for many IT organizations. Management tools, technologies, and practices play a crucial role in helping to proactively protect and assure the availability and performance of UC applications, as well as providing the means for rapidly troubleshooting and restoring services when issues arise. This EMA whitepaper reviews the six top priorities for efficient and effective UC management, and presents CA Unified Communications Monitor (CA UC Monitor), the CA Technologies solution for addressing these needs. Also included is a case study illustrating the way in which CA UC Monitor has been employed within a large enterprise setting.

JDSU Moves Up the Stack, Acquires Network Instruments

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000

On December 11, 2013, JDSU announced its intent to acquire Network Instruments in an all-cash transaction. JDSU, which is best known for its broad range of communications components and test offerings, will add the Network Instruments team and product lines to its Network and Service Enablement line of business. All Network Instruments products will be continued/sustained, and Network Instruments will gain the opportunity to leverage the extensive organizational and geographical resources of JDSU to expand its reach. JDSU also gains a new set of offerings to substantially enhance its monitoring and analysis offerings, as well as an established channel to reach the large and growing demand for enterprise-class solutions for monitoring application performance from the network perspective.

Ixia Doubles Down on Network Visibility, Acquires Net Optics

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000

On October 29, 2013, Ixia announced intentions to acquire Net Optics, a maker of packet access technologies and solutions, for USD 190 million cash. Net Optics is a major supplier of devices for accessing network packets in both service provider and enterprise network environments, for uses spanning network performance monitoring and analysis as well as network security monitoring and enforcement. The combination will significantly expand Ixia's growing Network Visibility Solutions line of business, which was built initially around products and technologies gained via the acquisition of Anue Systems in June 2012.

ExtraHop Enhances Performance Visibility, Control for AWS Deployments

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 08 Nov 2013 00:00:00 +0000

In November 2013, ExtraHop announced a new product offering, ExtraHop for AWS, designed to provide direct performance visibility of workloads and applications deployed in Amazon Web Services (AWS) environments. The product adapts proven performance monitoring capabilities developed for use in dedicated, privately-owned network and data center infrastructures, but has been specifically tuned to the unique characteristics of AWS environments and services. The resulting solution restores detailed performance visibility for applications and databases hosted within AWS, providing actionable intelligence for tuning AWS deployments and optimizations, helping IT operators avoid wasteful overspending.

Network Visibility Controllers: Best Practices for Mainstreaming Monitoring Fabrics

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 31 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Packet inspection technologies for monitoring network activity and network security are not only here to stay, their use continues to expand. The scale and criticality of networked infrastructures within the enterprise is growing as well. Finally, the cost of management tools for maintaining vigilance and assuring reliable performance within IT is similarly growing apace. This perfect storm has led to a rapid evolution of a specialized product technology category that Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) has defined as Network Visibility Controllers (NVCs). Also known as network monitoring switches or network packet brokers, NVCs have quickly established themselves as an essential building block for network and security packet monitoring fabrics, allowing flexibility and resilience along with significant cost savings for the race to monitor and secure modern enterprise networks. This EMA research report investigates current uses of NVCs, the influence of the changing monitored environment, and the best practices experiences of organizations large and small who have embraced this technology.

Software Defined Monitoring: Keeping Monitoring and Management in Synch with Dynamic Networks and Infrastructures

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Changes are a constant in IT, and most changes bring with them new challenges for maintaining sufficiently complete monitoring to reasonably assure performance and security of applications and services. New initiatives such as Cloud, virtualization, mobility, and BYOD all add new layers of complexity, variability, and barriers to the visibility required for adequate monitoring. Another example is the recent advent of programmable, Software-Defined Networking (SDN), which promises the potential for networks that are more business-aligned and application-aware than ever before possible. In order to achieve the full potential of any new IT initiative, operational monitoring and management tools, technologies, and practices must also evolve. Increasingly critical packet monitoring fabrics are no exception, and will need to adapt as well. This EMA paper examines the impact that such changes, and SDN in particular, have on monitoring, the requirements for making sure operational visibility and control can keep pace, and the visibility fabric solution approach offered by Gigamon to address the needs.

EMA Vendor to Watch: ActionPacked Networks

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 27 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0000

ActionPacked Networks offers LiveAction, a network management solution that combines quick visualization of QoS, VLAN, and routing configurations across the network, providing highly intuitive insights into traffic composition, how apps are traversing the network, and how well the network is doing its job of delivering applications within acceptable performance objectives. In its most recent release, LiveAction 3.0, the solution significantly expands its ANPM features by leveraging advanced application-awareness capabilities built into Cisco infrastructure devices.

Troubleshooting Performance in Virtualized Application Delivery Architectures

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 19 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Cloud computing and BYOD are creating new challenges and demand more fluid IT infrastructure environments. BYOD and our increased mobility have created data security concerns and represent a true business and technology dilemma. Virtualized application delivery architectures such as XenApp from Citrix Systems have evolved to help solve this problem by removing sensitive corporate data and applications from end users devices and keeping it in the data center where it can be centrally managed and controlled. One of the biggest challenges with delivering virtualized application environments is that they can be difficult to troubleshoot. Without the right management tools, technologies, and practices, maintaining high levels of performance will be more hope than strategy. In order to reduce operational risk and limit productivity impact of performance issues, IT operations must embrace approaches that provide deep visibility along with assisted analysis and interpretation of performance behaviors in these types of environments. This EMA whitepaper reviews the key challenges and requirements for performance management specifically related to Citrix XenApp deployments and examines the Riverbed Performance Management solution in that light.

Manage Your Network Infrastructure for Optimal Application Performance

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 18 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The days when network managers could simply be concerned with interoperability and uptime are long past, and the focus has turned towards recognizing and eliminating performance degradations. This demand has also elevated and coalesced specifically around gaining a direct understanding of how applications and services -- the life's blood of IT-enabled organizations -- are performing from the network perspective. Management products that address these objectives are known as Application-aware Network Performance Management (ANPM) solutions, and are increasingly becoming essential tooling for enterprise network management and operations teams. This ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES (EMA) white paper examines the drive behind and requirements for ANPM solutions, so that network engineers, managers, and operators can recognize, characterize, troubleshoot, and communicate details of how applications and services perform as they transit the network.

Optimizing VDI Success: The Network Factor

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0000

As organizations seek to continue leveraging the advantages of virtualization technologies, many are embracing virtualization of end user desktops via approaches such as Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). But while VDI solutions promise significant security and operational efficiency improvements, they also bring with them unique deployment challenges. If organizations hope to reap the full benefit of a VDI deployment, they must assure the best possible end user experience, or adoption will stall and the project will fail. The network plays a critical role in making that a reality, particularly when trying to extend VDI deployments to remote/branch sites where WAN links will be a part of the connectivity picture. This EMA white paper examines the challenges of VDI in the branch and how Riverbed's solutions are designed to ensure that the network can deliver on the promise of VDI.

nGenius PFS Management Software from NetScout

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Over the past several years, NetScout has expanded its core solutions for application-aware network performance management, adding two groups of packet access switch products that comprise the nGenius Packet Flow Switch family. But NetScout has gone further than other suppliers by also delivering a comprehensive, unified management software solution for its switches that directly addresses the complex challenges of efficiently and consistently configuring and monitoring large, distributed deployments. The end result optimizes effectiveness, reduces administrative effort, and improves real solution value. This Enterprise Management Associates™ (EMA) Product Brief reviews nGenius PFS Management software from NetScout, the issues it addresses, its key features and primary benefits.

Cisco Reasserts Network Security Dominance with Acquisition of Sourcefire

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000

On July 23, 2013, Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) announced an agreement to acquire Sourcefire (NASDAQ:FIRE), a prominent vendor of network security products, for $76 per share or approximately $2.7 billion in cash. Cisco has long sought to complement its network infrastructure dominance with a similarly commanding presence in security. Reality, however has often fallen short of its grand ambitions, with the company challenged by leaders such as Sourcefire in key network security markets. With the acquisition of Sourcefire, Cisco reasserts its network security dominance at a stroke. To maintain the initiative, however, Cisco must capitalize on key Sourcefire strengths -- which include a number of provocative assets that could factor into the future of what security becomes.

European Telecommunications Provider Turns to Infosim for Cross Platform Network Configuration Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Managing large, distributed networks is a challenge from a number of perspectives. But organizations that have chosen and deployed networking equipment from multiple manufacturers have some of the greatest challenges. While monitoring and assurance has long been solved for these enviroments, consistent management of configurations across multi-vendor networks has been and continues to be much more difficult. The common historical approach, using element managers from each manufacturer, translates into piecemeal practices and inconsistent configuration policy adherence and controls. The eventual result is often configuration mismatches, leading to non-compliance, network degradation, and even service-impacting downtime. This EMA case study examines how one European telecommunications provider implemented Infosim StableNet to simplify and consolidate its configuration management needs across a multi-vendor network environment, creating consistent configuration policies across all networking devices, and achieving greater overall network stability along with more efficient/reliable operational management processes and workflows.

Monitoring IT for Real-time Operational Performance

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 12 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Expectations have never been higher for enterprise IT to empower businesses to grow, doing more business, faster and more efficiently. IT infrastructure and applications are constantly evolving to meet this need, and IT Operations must follow suit as well, by shifting from a best-efforts near-real-time strategy towards true real-time, and focusing on performance more than availability. Operations management tools, technologies, and practices must all be reviewed and revised in order to effect this necessary change. This Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) white paper reviews the essential requirements for organizations to successfully embrace real-time operational performance monitoring objectives, and reviews the CorvilNet solution as a contributing element on the path to successful real-time operations.

Entuity Embraces Event Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

In June 2013, Entuity announced the release of Entuity 13.5, marking the latest evolutionary edition of its solution for enterprise class network and infrastructure management. While the release included a number of important incremental enhancements, it also included a substantial new set of functionalities for advanced event management. Capping a multiyear research and development effort, the new events system offers rule-based customizable interpretation and actions based on both asynchronous and synchronous data streams, filling important gaps in turning monitoring data into operational intelligence.

SolarWinds to Embrace, Enable MSPs

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

On May 28, 2013, SolarWinds announced the acquisition of N-able, adding cloud-based MSP (Management Service Provider) service automation products to the SolarWinds solutions portfolio. The N-able products are designed for the unique needs of MSPs, who seek to offer a broad range of outsourced IT management and monitoring services to organizations large and small. N-able was Canadian-based, founded in 2000, and had more than 2600 existing MSP customers. SolarWinds acquired the company for $120 million in an all-cash deal, and the acquisition was effective immediately. The products will continue to be offered and sold by N-able and select channel partners, and the N-able brand will be maintained.

Slides: Best Practices & Priorities for Network Management: Maximizing Network Uptime with Real-time Network Monitoring

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Your IT infrastructure is critical to your organization's success. As your network complexity increases, so does your risk! One of the ways to mitigate risk is to implement a network monitoring system that can proactively identify, locate, and enable you to fix network problems quickly. Monitoring, mapping and alerting software allows you to collect data to analyze the performance of your network in real-time.

These slides based on the Webinar, highlight network monitoring trends and the application of state-of-the-art monitoring tools. They also cover how to increase efficiency, reduce costs and mitigate risks by implementing these 5 best practices for better network management:

Integrated approaches
Automation
Visualization
Facilitated Workflows
Collaboration

EMA Radar for Application-Aware Network Performance Management 2013: Illuminating the Pipes

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

For this EMA Radar Report, focus was placed specifically on core capabilities and features associated with the needs that network engineers, managers, and operators have to recognize, characterize, troubleshoot, and communicate details of how applications and services perform as they transit the network. Three common use cases -- capacity planning, sustained monitoring, and troubleshooting -- were examined in detail for solutions that are based (at least in part) on inspection of network packets or collection and analysis of flow records such as NetFlow, IPFIX, and sFlow. A total of 24 ANPM solutions were reviewed in detail and ranked according to solution impact, resource efficiency, and vendor strength.

Report Summary - EMA Radar for Application-Aware Network Performance Management 2013: Illuminating the Pipes

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

This is a summary document of the EMA Radar for Application-Aware Network Performance Management 2013: Illuminating the Pipes.

Report Abstract

NetScout Elevates Network Monitoring Switch Offerings with nGenius 3900 Series

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

In January, 2013, NetScout Systems, Inc. launched the nGenius 3900 series packet flow switch line of network monitoring switch solutions, marking the completion of the company's acquisition of ONPATH Technologies, and representing an aggressive move to take a leadership position in the network monitoring switch marketplace. At the time of its introduction, the nGenius 3900 series packet flow switch was available in single slot and 3-slot versions, with a 12-slot configuration due to follow shortly, and represented the most scalable and flexible offerings in the market for chassis-based network monitoring switches.

ROI For Flow Monitoring Solutions: Five Case Studies

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

In the constant struggle for network and IT teams to best support their host organizations, flow records such as NetFlow represent a tremendous opportunity. The application awareness and visibility afforded by flow record monitoring can improve operations efficiency through faster problem recognition and troubleshooting, inform more accurate capacity planning, and even contribute towards compliance objectives. However, as with any new technology, it is essential to understand just how much can be gained in return for making the financial and resource investments to deploy flow record monitoring successfully. This EMA whitepaper examines the essential opportunities for realizing ROI on flow record monitoring deployments, including a detailed analysis of five case examples of organizations that deployed Plixer International's Scrutinizer solution.

Aligning Network Management With Converging Operational Priorities Cisco Prime Infrastructure

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The age of cloud and virtualization is spawning renewed focus on networking, increasing the demands that networks be highly resilient at all times. While advanced features within network technologies clearly play a role in meeting this need, advances in network management technologies and practices are also an essential ingredient. This has driven demand for converging and integrating network management tools and functions, to pave the way for better awareness of the role that networks play in the organizations they are designed to support, and also for improving efficiency and accuracy in planning and operations. In this Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) whitepaper, the essential drivers and requirements for converging, unifying, and aligning network management are examined, and the newly updated Cisco Prime Infrastructure management solution is reviewed in this context.

Visual TruView Unifies Network & Application Performance Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

In January 2013, Fluke Networks announced a revolutionary new application-aware network performance management product, Visual TruView. The new solution builds on well-known Fluke Networks technologies for real-time performance monitoring and detailed performance troubleshooting, and utilizes a tightly integrated, unified architecture bringing together a scope of data sources and functional capabilities that has, in the past, required multiple products to achieve. The TruView solution is delivered as a preconfigured appliance, allowing for rapid deployment in 1G and 10G Ethernet environments, and represents a market first for unified, application-aware network performance management.

What You Should Know About Licensing for Network Monitoring Solutions

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Network monitoring systems are a must-have for organizations of all sizes. When evaluating alternative solutions, focus is often placed on comparing features and ease of use, but understanding the total cost of the alternatives is very important. The core licensing structure, whether it be device-based, port or interface-based, or measurement-based, can have a big impact on license costs up front and over time, as well as on the administrative workload for maintaining the solution in production. This EMA paper reviews the essential components of network monitoring tool costs, compares several licensing model approaches, and examines Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold as an example of a solution that uses device-based licensing.

Slovak Telekom Integrates Management of Network & Services with IBM Tivoli Solution

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

While it is not unusual for a service provider to aim for excellence in customer experience, it is less common for operators to successfully leverage OSS as a direct means of realizing that goal. But that is precisely the case for Slovak Telekom, who turned to IBM Tivoli solutions to refresh and integrate infrastructure operations management and then used that common system as a basis for automated service impact analysis and notifications. This case study reviews the goals, objectives, and experiences of Slovak Telekom as it went through the process of deploying the IBM solution, including a look at where it expects to go next, now that service-oriented operations are in hand. Further, the results achieved could be considered a model example for any organization seeking to align infrastructure management with business service management initiatives.

Seven Best Practices for Network Management - How HP Intelligent Management Center Supports Effective Planning and Operations

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

With networking becoming an increasingly critical component of IT infrastructure for connecting physical, virtual and cloud-based resources with users/customers, networking planning, engineering, and operations pros need to raise their game. This includes recognizing how to evolve network management best practices and how network management tools can be best deployed to help improve operational efficiency, communicate within and outside operations teams, reduce operating risks and ensure optimal resilience. This white paper examines seven areas currently challenging network managers and the best practices that are emerging as a result, and further assesses how the Intelligent Management Center solution from HP aligns with those practices to enable success.

Using Converged Infrastructure Management to Optimize the Planning and Operations of Cisco Environments

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The steady convergence within IT infrastructure and IT operations organizations is fueling a drive for tightly integrated, converged infrastructure management options. But even as infrastructure convergence takes place, the pace of technology evolution and introduction has not slowed. As such, management approaches must keep up with significant rates of innovation and change. This EMA whitepaper focuses on the intersection of these two forces and how two IT industry leaders, Cisco and CA Technologies, are working together to optimize converged management in key areas of technology change and convergence, such as Voice/Video/Data, the Wide Area Network, and the datacenter.

The Mandate for Unified Network Management: What it is and Why You Need it

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

As the world of IT converges, within the data center, within networking technologies, between voice and data, and in more ways to come, it is also appropriate to examine how management tools and technologies can also be converged in order to best meet the needs of IT planning and operations. Within the scope of network management, this means adopting products that integrate or unify management capabilities, features, and functions. Though many network management product choices may sound similar on paper, there are distinct differences that should be understood. This white paper examines the business and technical demands behind unified network management and what is truly meant by and possible via a unified network management approach. This paper also examines an exemplary solution offered by Entuity, including case examples of how the solution has been deployed as unified network management within live production environments.

Riverbed Acquires OPNET to Expand Network and Application Management Portfolio

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

On October 29, 2012, Riverbed Technology (RVBD) announced plans to acquire OPNET Technologies (OPNT), a provider of solutions for application and network performance management, for cash and stock valued at approximately $1 billion. OPNET Technologies is a well-established IT vendor with products spanning application performance management, network engineering, operations and planning, and network R&D. The acquisition will enable Riverbed to extend its network performance management (NPM) business into the application performance management (APM) market. OPNET will become part of the Cascade business unit, creating a new force in the converged market for NPM and APM with more than $250 million in annualized revenue. The combination promises to bring together Riverbed's extensive technologies for active control and optimization of application performance across the network with deep and rich network and application performance monitoring and troubleshooting.

Local Management: A Timely Answer to Distributed Networking Operations Demands

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The pressure has never been greater for IT teams to improve infrastructure reliability and resilience so that applications and services can meet the performance expectations of the business. At the same time, this must be done without significantly increasing operational expense. One compelling management technology, local management, offers the opportunity to control expense, reduce risk, and improve response time when problems do occur using a combination of direct, real-time, infrastructure monitoring combined with automated mitigation capabilities. This brief examines the essential opportunities and requirements for local management and examines solutions of this type offered by Uplogix.

NetScout Doubles Down on Monitoring Switch Solutions, Acquires ONPATH

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

In November 2012, NetScout Systems announced that it had acquired New Jersey-based ONPATH Technologies. ONPATH was a privately held, established provider of highly scalable connectivity solutions for testing and monitoring of high-speed networks. ONPATH products have been deployed to aggregate and distribute network traffic for data, voice, and video testing, monitoring, performance management, and cyber security uses. NetScout considers the acquisition of ONPATH as a strategic move to take a leadership position and aggressively expand its offerings in the network monitoring switch market. The acquisition quadruples NetScout's product offerings for packet flow switching, and follows a successful earlier acquisition and integration of Simena LLC in November 2011, another maker of network monitoring switches.

Ceryx Turns to Splunk to Improve Business IT Service Integrity

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Despite the return towards normal rates of investment in information technology, IT pros must continue to justify expenditures by understanding how each new product or solution will improve operational cost or otherwise contribute to business success. EMA uses a case-based approach for understanding Return on Investment (ROI), studying the actual experiences that practitioners have had for any particular technology deployment. Splunk offers an innovative management product that has found a wide (and growing) range of uses when applied as part of monitoring and management architectures, delivering operational intelligence for system, network, and security professionals. In this EMA ROI case study, managed cloud services provider Ceryx is profiled to illustrate an example of how Splunk's solutions delivered measurable operational efficiencies that far exceeded the cost of deployment.

Real-time Application-Centric Operations Visibility With NetScout's Approach to Service Delivery Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

While IT enables organizations in many ways, delivering and supporting applications is broadly considered the most critical aspect of IT operations. A clear shift towards applications-centricity within operations is occurring, paralleling (and in some cases accelerating) a redefinition of roles, responsibilities, and objectives along service-oriented lines. These changes fundamentally alter traditional infrastructure management goals, requiring everyone in IT to expand awareness of and put their functions in context to how successfully applications and services are being supplied and delivered, both initially and on an ongoing, sustained operations basis. While many management products and technologies attempt to address the need for application visibility and context, some are more up to the task than others, and some are able to address a broader range of uses and roles than others.

This EMA whitepaper examines the move towards application/service performance visibility within IT operations and in particular the network-based delivery of those applications and services and the role that network-based visibility can and should play. It also introduces the nGenius Service Assurance Solution and the nGenius Service Delivery Manager, a real-time service delivery performance monitoring solution offered by NetScout, and reviews the experiences of three IT organizations that have deployed the solution in live production environments. Ultimately, the paper assesses the ability of a network-based, application-aware performance management approach to provide both the depth required for definitive top-down troubleshooting as well as the business-relevant real-time insights needed for converged operations monitoring and support.

Bendigo Community Telco Turns to IBM for Effective Service Assurance, Control

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Service growth is a "good problem to have" by most accounts; however, growth does not come without real challenges. Operational support systems that are adequate at one point in time may not be up to task when subscriber growth reaches the next level. They may also be unable to support new demands, such as regulatory compliance. When growth and change become disruptive, threatening service quality and customer satisfaction, the time may be right to move towards integrated, automated, modern OSS solutions. This EMA case study examines how one provider, Bendigo Community Telco, reached such a decision point, and how a transition to IBM's Tivoli Netcool solutions met its needs today and put the operations team in position to be ready for what comes tomorrow.

Next-gen BSM: A New Path to Integrated, Service-centric IT Availability and Performance Monitoring

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The pinnacle of integrated, service-oriented management strategies is embodied by Business Service Management (BSM) solutions. Such products are intended to bring together a holistic/systemic view of IT infrastructure and services, recognize relationships between collections of elements, and put them into context regarding how they support business activities and processes. Large enterprise organizations have been the sweet spot for traditional BSM framework solutions, but product complexity, integration costs, and services needed for deployment and maintenance have made them impractical for the broader IT community. A new breed of next-generation BSM offerings is arising to provide more cost-effective answers that intrinsically unify data across IT technology domains, lowering both acquisition and deployment costs. This EMA paper discusses the essential requirements for successful BSM deployments, examines how Next-gen BSM solutions differ from traditional alternatives, and reviews a Next-Gen BSM solution offered by Centerity in light of those requirements.

Tufin Closes the Application Gap in Complex Firewall Management with SecureApp

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

In September 2012, Tufin Technologies released a new product, SecureApp, intended to help enterprise firewall administrators address one of their greatest challenges, keeping rules that secure enterprise application connectivity current and accurate in the face of rapidly escalating rates of application changes. The new product provides a user interface that can be used to quickly and easily define and maintain application connectivity policies. It works with the balance of the Tufin firewall management solution to automate workflow and configuration changes to managed firewalls based on application additions, changes, or deletions. SecureApp eradicates common process barriers and paves the path toward higher levels of efficiency and accuracy for the interdependent processes of network, applications and security operations to improve performance and assure integrity and compliance across the entire managed infrastructure.

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

One certainty in today's IT world is that network traffic will grow. This is making expanded network-based security, performance and compliance monitoring increasingly critical. But that doesn't mean the cost of network operations, and in particular the cost of monitoring, has to grow needlessly. Network monitoring switches offer compelling options for consolidating monitoring tools and architectures and can deliver significant capital and operational savings over the status quo of deploying more and more security and network monitoring tools. This case study reviews an implementation of network monitoring switches -- Anue Net Tool Optimizers (NTOs) -- at a national pharmacy retail chain, detailing experiences and expectations regarding returns on those investments.

Quest Foglight: An APM-Centric Approach to Managing Networks

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

IT exists for one purpose; enabling the business. Ultimately, IT must ensure that critical business applications are performing optimally at all times. To do this requires constant and ongoing planning and monitoring of both the business applications and the infrastructure that they depend upon.

Critical business applications might include online retail, customer service, online banking, B2B logistics and ordering, voice/email communications, etc. The infrastructure that enables these applications includes databases, messaging middleware, virtualization, operating systems, processing hardware, storage, and the network that connects everything together.

Every IT organization will tell you that as organizations expand and application architectures become more sophisticated, virtualized, and hybridized, the performance of the network has never been more important. And yet, network operations often remains disconnected from application management viewpoints. The business consumes applications, so while collective IT focus on application performance is paramount, the unbreakable link between application performance and the performance of the delivery infrastructure demands that these two viewpoints be brought together.

This EMA white paper reviews the challenges associated with finding the best means for application performance monitoring and management (APM), and investigates the role that network monitoring can and should play in a successful APM strategy. Further, the Quest Software Foglight solution is reviewed in light of its ability to bring network management visibility and intelligence into the APM fold.

Riverbed Cascade First to Embrace VXLAN Performance Monitoring

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

In August 2012, Riverbed announced its collaboration with partner VMware to solve performance monitoring visibility challenges arising out of the ongoing evolution of virtual network technologies and architectures within virtual data center (VDC) environments. Specifically, Riverbed and VMware have developed IPFIX flow record templates that reveal valuable insights into data and session flows occurring within virtual networks that use VXLAN. By adding VXLAN support to its Cascade family of solutions, Riverbed will take a market-leading role in applying application-aware network performance management to software-defined networks (SDN), bringing together performance views spanning intra-hypervisor, virtual network, and physical network into a single pane of glass.

ROI Experiences with Network Monitoring Switches - Managed Security Services Provider

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

As network service traffic continues to grow, network-based security, performance and compliance monitoring become increasingly critical. But that doesn’t mean the cost of network operations, and in particular the cost of monitoring, has to grow needlessly. Network monitoring switches offer compelling options for consolidating monitoring tools and architectures and can deliver significant CAPEX and OPEX savings over the status quo of deploying more and more security and network monitoring tools. This case study reviews an implementation of network monitoring switches -- Anue Net Tool Optimizers (NTOs) -- by a provider of enterprise-class UTM services, detailing experiences and expectations regarding both short and long term returns on those investments.

ROI Experiences with Network Monitoring Switches - UT Austin

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Network traffic growth is a certainty, driving expanded security, performance and compliance monitoring requirements and making network monitoring increasingly critical. But that doesn’t mean that the cost of network operations, and in particular the cost of monitoring, has to grow needlessly. Network monitoring switches offer compelling options for consolidating monitoring tools and architectures and can deliver significant capital and operational savings over the status quo of deploying more and more security and network monitoring tools. This case study reviews an implementation of network monitoring switches -- Anue Systems Net Tool Optimizers -- at the University of Texas at Austin, detailing experiences and expectations regarding both short and long term returns on those investments.

Research Summary: Network Management Megatrends 2012 (Prepared for EMC)

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

While many in IT might consider network management to be a mature and stable science, with little to improve or change, recent tectonic shifts in IT technologies and architectures, including cloud and server virtualization in particular, are combining to force a re-assessment of that position. In February 2012, Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) published a landmark study of the drivers, issues, and priorities for network managers and network management tools, technologies, and practices, entitled Network Management 2012: Megatrends in Technology, Organization, and Process. This paper recaps several of the major findings of the report and includes a related case study where network management tools deployed include the ITOI and NMC products offered by EMC.

OPNET Broadens, Deepens IP Comms Management with Clarus Acquisition

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

In May 2012, OPNET Technologies completed the acquisition of Clarus Systems, a maker of VoIP and IP Videoconferencing (IPVC) test and monitoring solutions based in Redwood City, CA. The combination adds rigorous, agentless, automated testing capabilities for assessing real-time quality of VoIP/IPVC activity to OPNET’s existing capabilities for passive monitoring and planning of real-time IP communications in converged network environments. The ClarusIPC Plus+ product also includes VoIP/IPVC infrastructure monitoring, change monitoring, and business dashboards.

EMC Acquires Watch4net, Spans Service Assurance Gap

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

In May 2012, EMC announced that it had acquired performance management software provider Watch4Net Solutions Inc. in an all-cash transaction. Watch4net had been working closely with EMC, having been a part of EMC's partner program for seven years, to deliver enterprise and carrier-class solutions for monitoring infrastructure and service performance. Watch4net's flagship APG solution has been closely integrated with the EMC IT Operations Intelligence (ITOI) suite and deployed at a number of joint customers spanning enterprise and telecommunication service provider sectors. The Watch4net team and product will be added to EMC's Infrastructure Management Group.

Cisco Embraces Management Analytics with Truviso Acquisition

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

On May 4, 2012, Cisco Systems announced its intent to acquire Truviso, Inc., a maker of real-time network data analysis and reporting software. The Truviso capabilities will become the basis of a new product, Prime Analytics, which will be added to Cisco's Prime portfolio of network and service management solutions. The product will provide intelligent, actionable real-time analysis initially as part of service provider solutions. The product and the team will become part of Cisco's Network Management Technology Group.

Research Summary: Network Management Megatrends 2012 (Prepared for Entuity)

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 04 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

While many in IT might consider network management to be a mature and stable science, with little to improve or change, recent tectonic shifts in IT technologies and architectures, including cloud and server virtualization in particular, are combining to force a re-assessment of that position. In February 2012, Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) published a landmark study of the drivers, issues, and priorities for network managers and network management tools, technologies, and practices, entitled <i>Network Management 2012: Megatrends in Technology, Organization, and Process.</i> This research summary recaps several of the major findings of the report and includes two related case studies where network management tools deployed include Entuity Network Management solutions offered by Entuity.

Assuring Converged Infrastructure: Converged Management Strategies for Cisco UCS

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 03 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Converged infrastructure solutions are one of the hottest new answers to the ongoing challenge of establishing architectures that can deliver new applications and services in a flexible, cost-effective manner. These solutions pre-integrate traditionally separate elements such as networking, compute, and storage, and are especially intended to provide an optimized platform for server virtualization, Enterprises and service providers are finding such solutions to be ideal for hosting virtual desktops, rich media, web infrastructure, and more. But with the advent of converged infrastructure comes a new mandate and opportunity -- to converge traditionally separate and distinct management tools and technologies so these new infrastructure solutions can be monitored in a systemic, proactive, service-oriented manner. This EMA paper examines the most common forms of converged infrastructure solutions and the related need for converged management solutions. It then examines the CA Technologies solution for converged management of Cisco UCS, a fast-growing example of converged infrastructure.

Research Summary: Network Management Megatrends 2012 (Prepared for Paessler AG)

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 03 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

While many in IT might consider network management to be a mature and stable science, with little to improve or change, recent tectonic shifts in IT technologies and architectures, including cloud and server virtualization in particular, are combining to force a re-assessment of that position. In February 2012, Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) published a landmark study of the drivers, issues, and priorities for network managers and network management tools, technologies, and practices, entitled <i>Network Management 2012: Megatrends in Technology, Organization, and Process.</i> This paper recaps several of the major findings of the report and includes a related case study where network management tools deployed include PRTG Network Monitor offered by Paessler AG.

Closing The Loop for Effective Network Operations Management: Cisco Prime Assurance Manager

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Networks have never been more critical to the smooth flow of IT operations than they are today. Making sure networks are both available and performing expectations is an absolute essential. Networking pros have long turned to management tools and technology to help them with this, starting with solutions that are used to deploy their networks and then often turning to a completely separate set of tools that are used for monitoring them. But many are reevaluating such separation and looking for solutions that can bring together these two sets of capabilities and a fully integrated manner, adding performance and availability monitoring on top of device and network element management. Such integration represents a path towards responsible, reliable assurance of the network's role and function in serving the organization. This paper reviews Prime Assurance Manager, a new integrated monitoring solution offered by Cisco Systems, and assesses the ways in which it can be used to achieve true network assurance.

Getting Ahead in Managing VoIP and Videoconferencing Performance and Quality

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

While VoIP has reached mainstream status, many organizations are still considering how best to embrace and utilize IP Videoconferencing. While network planners, managers, and operators will find many common behavioral traits, IP Videoconferencing is much greater overall impact in terms of the network bandwidth that must be set aside for assuring adequate service quality. Further, performance monitoring and troubleshooting practices must be adapted to accommodate this new high-profile technology. This EMA brief examines the key challenges in managing VoIP and IP videoconferencing performance and quality and assesses the manner in which the Observer Solution offered by Network Instruments meets the resulting requirements.

Complete Visibility: Converging Performance Monitoring for Advanced Services & Infrastructures

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Network operators face daunting challenges in keeping up with growth and complexity within the managed environment -- a situation aggravated by IT transformations towards service-centric operations that ratchet up demands for high performing, flawlessly available networks. In January 2012, SevOne released version 5 of its Performance Appliance Solution (PASTM), furthering its scope of capabilities for delivering solutions to these challenges via integrated, highly scalable infrastructure performance management. This EMA whitepaper reviews the demands and requirements for integrated performance management in light of current major trends and evaluates how this most recent release of SevOne's performance monitoring solution aligns with those needs.

A New Visibility Architecture for Managing 10G, 40G and 100G Networks

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Convergence is happening across IT, within the infrastructure, in the endpoint, between apps and communications, and more. The list goes on and even includes most aspects of infrastructure and security management, except when it comes to visibility tools. Application-aware packet inspection tools are an essential element in network and security operations and are growing in popularity and number because they deliver highly granular visibility. And yet, each time one of these systems is deployed, it requires another access point, more rack space, and in most cases yet another stream-to-disk packet storage array. The capital and operational costs of this status quo approach continues to mount, while a major technical hurdle looms.

The mainstream adoption of 10G Ethernet, with even faster 40G and 100G networks not far behind, is causing packet analysis products to either wilt under pressure or require expensive upgrades and retrofits. This EMA whitepaper examines how convergence can and should be applied to packet-based monitoring, and further considers how Endace Systems has addressed this challenge and brought a unique, scalable and compelling alternative approach to bear.

Net Optics Brings App Awareness to Remote Sites

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

In January 2012, Net Optics, Inc. announced the acquisition of Triplelayer, a private Australia-based distributor & systems integrator of network and application management solutions, and its sister company, nMetrics, a network and application analysis software vendor. Net Optics and Triplelayer have an eight-year history of successful joint monitoring and management solution deployments in some of the world's largest telecommunications providers, financial services firms and enterprises across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Triplelayer has been the primary distributor of Net Optics products in APAC during the past two years. In early 2011, nMetrics and Net Optics jointly developed and launched the Net Optics appTap, which was exclusively sold by Net Optics, and with the acquisition all of the associated intellectual property becomes fully owned by Net Optics. This EMA brief reviews the appTap solution and the significance of this business combination in advancing the NetOptics strategy to delivery increasing value above and beyond its traditional access solutions portfolio.

EMC Drives Integrated Physical/Virtual Infrastructure Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

With the version 9.0 release of its IT Operations Intelligence suite of infrastructure and service management solutions, EMC addresses many of the hottest and most urgent issues facing infrastructure managers today in both enterprise and service provider environments. Specific enhancements include major extensions within EMC Server Manager for VMware environment discovery and monitoring, such as innovative new storage resource mapping for virtualized environments, deeper support for virtual switches, and validation of HA and vMotion readiness. Also included are early elements of a next-generation operations console interface, as well as technical capabilities for supporting deep and detailed modeling and monitoring of Metro Ethernet infrastructure and services. This EMA impact brief details the new features sets and how they will help infrastructure managers facing the need to extend existing, established management tools and practices to accommodate hybrid physical/virtual environments.

Network Management 2012: Megatrends in Technology, Organization, and Process

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

While many in the IT sector might consider enterprise-class network management to be a mature and stable science, with little to improve or change, recent tectonic shifts in IT technologies and architectures, including Cloud and server virtualization in particular, are combining to force a re-assessment of that position. These shifts bring with them new demand and expectations for network capacity, performance, and resilience, and once again are returning the network to a position of essential enabling prominence in IT strategy. Behind all of this change can be seen a subtle yet unmistakable trend of growing operational convergence and consolidation, with networking pros and network management systems seated in the front row and, increasingly, leading the charge.

This EMA research report looks in detail at six major areas of change and evolution affecting network management, including cross-domain operations, expanding use of packet inspection management technologies, performance diagnostics, WAN optimization, and the growing direct and indirect impacts of server virtualization and cloud services. In order to set appropriate context, the report also examines the influence that broader IT and organizational priorities and projects are having on network management strategies, as well as consequential emerging requirements for network management products and solutions. The final results and findings of this report should serve as a source for establishing and tuning enterprise network management tools, technologies, and practices plans for 2012 and beyond.

Riverbed Advances Visibility into Virtual Data Centers with Cascade 9.5

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

In January 2012, Riverbed Technology announced version 9.5 of its Cascade network performance management solution, which included a number of major enhancements. Collectively, the new capabilities are designed to improve visibility into the health and activity of applications and services traversing networks from the branch to the data center. In particular, the addition of the Cascade Virtual Shark, a software-based version of the existing Cascade Shark appliance, combines with added support for recognizing and representing Application Delivery Controllers (ADCs) and Load Balancers within the monitored environment to offer new insights and improved visibility into advanced, highly-virtualized data centers.

CA Technologies Teams with Infoblox to Automate Network Operations

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

As part of its January 2012 Unified Automation strategy and solutions announcement, CA Technologies (CA) revealed the availability of CA Network Automation, a multi-vendor solution for physical/virtual network device configuration, optimization, auditing, and compliance enforcement. CA has partnered with Infoblox to provide the core technology behind the solution in the form of the Infoblox Trinzic NetMRI product, a long established and mature network change and configuration management (NCCM) solution. CA is selling the product as a virtual appliance under the rebranded name, CA Network Automation. The two organizations formed an alliance around this product and technology in August 2011, while also cementing a path by which CA Network Automation will be increasingly integrated directly into broader CA solutions.

Watch4net Leading March Towards the Performance Manager of Managers

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The year 2011 closed with the news that InfoVista, one of the largest remaining independent performance management vendors, would go through a change of control. In parallel, contender Watch4net concluded six months of record growth, in many cases competitively displacing existing players such as InfoVista, landing several large enterprise and service provider clients across the globe. While these events certainly evidence the competitive nature of the operations management market, they also speak to a clear evolutionary trend towards a new architecture and strategy for integrating performance management -- the Performance Manager of Managers. This EMA brief examines the events of late 2011 and how Watch4net has positioned its APG solution as a Performance Manager of Managers for the future.

Multi-Layer Performance Management: Co-Deploying ExtraHop Networks and NetScout Systems Solutions

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

As part of an effort to align with business priorities, the focus of IT operations is shifting steadily and deliberately towards application performance. Performance monitoring and troubleshooting tools are essential elements in this endeavor, and those being deployed to leverage the network viewpoint can supply direct application awareness and transaction visibility. Along the way, many IT shops have found that the best answer involves the use of a combination of tools to meet the complementary needs of top-down, application-oriented performance monitoring with deep packet inspection forensics. This EMA paper examines three case examples where ExtraHop Networks solutions have been deployed for real-time application performance visibility and triage alongside NetScout Systems solutions for forensic analysis of complex performance issues and behaviors.

NetScout Extends Solution with Packet Flow Monitoring Switch Acquisition

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

NetScout Systems announced the acquisition of Simena, LLC, a network packet access tap, switch and testing company. Simena's solutions have enabled IT organizations in both enterprise and service provider environments to aggregate, filter and control network traffic for data, voice, and video monitoring as well as Cyber Security objectives. The technology becomes part of the NetScout Unified Service Delivery Management solution and extend the capture capabilities of NetScout's nGenius Service Assurance Solution. Simena's flagship PFS1524, a packet-flow monitoring switching product, is available now to NetScout customers as the nGenius 1500 series packet flow switch. NetScout plans to leverage this new capability to meet known, proven needs of new and existing customers across all industry sectors who continue to seek aggregation switching. It also puts NetScout in an advantaged position to adapt its solutions to customer needs during upgrades to higher speed networks, such as 10G Ethernet today and, in the future, 40G and 100G.

Cricket Communications Turns to Splunk for Assuring Automated Service Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Splunk solution has been applied to many different managed environments and management objectives, providing insights and intelligence to operators, planners, and developers alike. This case study profiles the ways which Cricket Communications, a provider of mobile wireless services, deployed Splunk to monitor and improve uptime of their automated service provisioning systems, delivering a compelling ROI in less than a year.

Keys to Success for Network QoS

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Network Quality of Service (QoS) has become an imperative element of responsible network architecture and design. Proper use of network QoS allows the peaceful co-existence of high-value latency-sensitive traffic such as VoIP and IP videoconferencing with bandwidth-hungry but less time-sensitive traffic. But while networking pros understand the need for network QoS, accurate deployment and ongoing enforcement of consistent QoS policies is difficult, particularly in large, distributed environments, and thus management technologies and practices must be optimized to assure success. This EMA whitepaper examines the detailed reasons for using network QoS, best practices for implementing and ongoing management of network QoS, and the LiveAction solution for QoS management offered by ActionPacked! Networks.

Videoconferencing Impact on Network Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Video is one of the fastest growing types of traffic on enterprise (and service provider) networks today. And while streaming video is driving the greatest total volume of growth, the most sensitive portion of video traffic is that which is part of live interactive videoconferencing. This emerging technology -- particularly when utilizing high definition video and audio, such as telepresence -- has the capacity to radically transform business communications, cutting both cost and time from work processes, saving travel expenses, and promoting more effective collaboration among workers both near and far, even across the globe. What makes videoconferencing special in the eyes of networking professionals is that in order to assure reasonable levels of real-time video and audio quality, session traffic must be assigned high priority and given preferential delivery rights over non time-critical traffic that will be sharing the network delivery infrastructure.

In this Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) Research Report, the direct impact that videoconferencing systems and services are having on all manners of network planning, operations, and troubleshooting are examined to identify current best practices. Current levels of technology adoption are checked to provide context, and organizational responsibilities are also studied to shed light on how organizations are dealing with the technology at various stages of the lifecycle. Finally, insights are presented on how organizations have changed their management tools to accommodate videoconferencing, along with a number of case examples of relevant vendor technologies as well as direct practitioner experiences.

NetFlow Adoption and Priorities 2011: Research Highlights

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In May 2011, Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) and Lancope conducted primary research regarding the usage, priorities, and practices surrounding network-based flow data records, such as NetFlow, sFlow, jFlow, IPFIX, and others, generally referred to as "Flow Record Data." Over 100 network managers, engineers, architects, administrators, and executives from organizations of at least 5000 employees contributed their experiences and opinions. The results of this study show that flow record data has become an important, mainstream source for network management and network security efforts, and organizations that have embraced and deployed it are realizing multiple values. There also appears to be ample forward-looking interest in further adoption.

HP IRF Simplifies Networks and Operations

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Ethernet networks continue unabated growth, and along with that tends to come growing complexity. New approaches to designing and deploying simpler, flatter networks are gaining popularity. HP's Intelligent Resilient Framework (IRF) is one such approach, and virtualizes Ethernet switches to provide a unified, intelligent network fabric spanning core, distribution, and access layers. With this architecture, far fewer switch devices are needed, which not only reduces up front capital costs but also results in a number of significant savings in terms of network administration, maintenance, and operations monitoring. This EMA paper reviews the HP IRF approach and examines potential savings and efficiencies that it enables specific to the design, deployment, and ongoing operations management of Ethernet networks.

The Changing Role of Network Management -- Keeping Pace with the New Demands of Virtualization and Cloud

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Major IT innovations such as server virtualization and Cloud services promise great rewards in efficiency and agility; however, to capture the full potential, all aspects of operations must adopt new approaches and methods. Network management and operations, long an area of strength and stability, must change as well to accommodate accelerated rates of change and new topologies and relationships between connected "virtualized" elements. To keep pace, network managers must focus on key best practices and management technologies, particularly those that deliver automation and integration between functional task areas. This EMA white paper details some the greatest challenges network managers will face in dealing with server virtualization and Cloud services and presents priorities and options for getting (and staying) ahead.

ExtraHop Networks Offers New Application Performance Option With NAPM Approach

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

This EMA paper reviews past approaches to providing application awareness and context for performance management and the unique approach now being offered by ExtraHop Networks.

There is no denying that high-performing, highly reliable networks are becoming increasingly important. In this age of growing application diversity, server virtualization and cloud adoption, when workloads and services are moving flexibly between systems and locations in dedicated, hybrid, and outsourced infrastructure models, one of the few constants is that networks must keep everything in contact and provide the communications element which allows all the parts to work together as a whole. Despite this, the productivity and agility that organizations look to their IT organizations to provide is primarily embodied not within the network, but rather within the applications and services that the network is entrusted to deliver. IT operations teams recognize this link and are looking for context-aware monitoring techniques that can provide insight into application traffic and transactions to reveal quality, health, issues, and problems. A number of approaches have been brought to market to address this need, but have fallen short either due to a lack of complete visibility or a lack of analytical depth or sophistication. New and innovative approaches are needed to close the gap between infrastructure and application performance visibility, and to provide actionable intelligence focused on the true center of IT's value to host organizations -- applications and services.

Real-Time Performance Visibility in 10G Networks

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

As network technologies continue to march forward, becoming faster and faster to accommodate the burgeoning demands of service and application growth, the rest of the operations organization must keep pace. Such is the case with the shift to 10Gbps Ethernet, which is fast becoming the predominant choice for core and distribution networks and is now working its way into the access layer. 10G brings with it non-trivial challenges for performance monitoring tools -- particularly those based on packet inspection, which represent the most definitive basis for detailed troubleshooting. And beyond reactive forensics, these same technologies need to lend real-time visibility into who and what is driving network activity, to improve the efficiency of remedial actions and open the door for proactive practices. This paper reviews the challenges that 10G brings to network performance monitoring tools and how one solution provider, WildPackets, is addressing the need by means of its TimeLine 2.0 appliances.

The Riverbed Cascade Solution: Application-Aware Performance Management for Enterprise Networks

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

While there are many components and technologies that IT must bring together to deliver value to their host organization, two things are clear - first, IT's core value is in providing applications and services, and second all of them are delivered to users, customers, and partners over some network. Consequently, any strategy for managing the network infrastructure must include a direct understanding of how well the network is playing its role in application and service delivery. This is the realm of application-aware network performance management (ANPM), and it is essential to understand the primary requirements for such systems in order to adequately evaluate and select tools and products that will best meet the need. This paper reviews the challenges that ANPM solutions are best fit to address, which qualities and capabilities are of most importance, and how one alternative, Riverbed’s Cascade Solution, stacks up.

Four Priorities for Integrated, Service-Centric Performance Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

A new frontier faces operations teams making the transition from focusing on device availability to focusing on service quality and performance. Making this change requires expanding the scope of management activities and rethinking management tools architectures to embrace sustained performance monitoring spanning all of the contributing technologies and domains that must come together to comprise today's highly flexible and dynamic services. Tooling options for integrated, service-centric performance management include single-vendor suites, domain-specific best of breed products, and a promising alternative -- cross-domain, integrated performance managers. This latter class can offer a compelling balance of functional capability matched with low integration costs and low total cost of ownership. This paper evaluates priorities for service-centric performance management and analyzes how one cross-domain integrated solution, Watch4net's APG, measures up.

NetYce Shifts Balance for Network Configuration Control

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The move towards more dynamic infrastructures, driven by server virtualization and the onset of cloud services, is affecting all IT disciplines including the network. This shift towards service-oriented operations, combined with increasing demands for complete policy compliance driven by governance pressures, means that network management technologies and practices need to be re-evaluated and industrialized to remove every possible risk to operations. Detailed monitoring can help with this challenge, but the real answer starts with network change and configuration management (NCCM). Traditional NCCM has focused on recognizing the current state of the network and running audits to recognize changes as they happen. This reactive approach, while valuable, is insufficient to meet future demands for absolutely top performance, reliability, and compliance. This paper examines a new, proactive approach offered via NetYce's YCE Platform, which allows central modeling and definition of network device configurations and then enforces their use across large, geographically distributed multi-vendor network environments.

AppNeta Brings True Network Performance Management to the Cloud

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 25 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In April 2011, AppNeta was formally launched as a new company and began business operations with the goal of delivering Cloud computing benefits to network performance management. The company represents the final evolutionary, transformational step from its predecessor, Apparent Networks. AppNeta leverages the intellectual property and patented performance management technology of its predecessor, but is now transforming network and application performance with cloud models for delivering unmatched insight into and across networks and the distributed applications that run on them.

Enterprise Requirements for MSPs 2011 Research Highlights

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 19 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In February/March 2011, Enterprise Management Associates™ (EMA) conducted primary research regarding the use of Managed Services Providers (MSPs) by enterprise organizations. More than 100 executives, mid-level managers, and individual IT contributors from mid-sized and large organizations (between 1000 and 20,000 employees) contributed their experiences and opinions.

The research indicated a broad existing practice and future interest in use of MSPs across a number of technology and organization areas, with some variations by organizational size but larger differences of opinion based on organizational role.

Tufin Brings Security and Network Policy Management Together

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The closely aligned worlds of network security and network operations represent an important area for convergence of management tools as well as collaboration between operating teams. While many converged management tools exist for bring security and network events and alarms together for better operational awareness, less progress has been made in assuring consistent application of configuration management policies across security-specific and infrastructure-specific devices. Tufin has targeted this opportunity with the Tufin Security Suite. The solution includes extensive capabilities for assuring consistent application of firewall rules and policies across large, distributed, multi-vendor environments, and goes further by being the first to also support next generation application-layer firewalls as well as security policies for routers, switches, proxies, and application performance optimizers all within the same system. The resulting solution applies automated audit, analysis, and workflows to improve administrative efficiency and mitigate both operational performance and security risk.

Egenera Moves PAN Manager Software to Mainstream with HP BladeSystem Support

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In April 2011, Egenera, Inc. announced the general availability of Egenera® PAN Manager® Software on HP BladeSystem c-class server blades based on Intel processor technology. The newly updated version of PAN Manager Software adds HP BladeSystem to the existing portfolio of supported solutions for converged infrastructure, making it one of the select few options available today for organizations seeking to establish consistent provisioning and configuration controls for these innovative new data center architectures. The new solution also brings PAN Manager's key capabilities for highly cost-effective high availability and disaster recovery configurations to bear on HP BladeSystem deployments.

NetScout Brings Video Quality into the Fold with Psytechnics Acquisition

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In March 2011, U.S.-based NetScout Systems, Inc. announced its intention to acquire U.K.-based Psytechnics, Inc., a maker of Unified Communications quality and performance monitoring software. Psytechnics's technologies will be directly integrated into NetScout’s nGenius Service Assurance Solution and the Psytechnics organizational headquarters in Ipswitch, U.K., will become NetScout’s worldwide Voice/Video Center of Excellence. This addition builds on NetScout's Unified Service Delivery Management strategy, extending it's current solution capabilities for real-time monitoring of VoIP quality and performance management to include some of the most promising new IP video quality assessment technologies available anywhere in the industry at this time. The result will be of particular value to organizations rolling out live videoconferencing technologies such as telepresence.

Seven Priorities for Integrated Network Management -- How HP Intelligent Management Center Delivers an Enterprise-class Solution

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Given the constant pace of change in infrastructures, IT Operations must be forever on their toes when it comes to ensuring that the best management tools, technologies, and practices are being followed. Nowhere is this more true than in the network layer, given that networks are becoming increasingly critical as the means of delivering the applications and services upon which IT end users, and the businesses and organizations they drive, so heavily depend. The time has never been better for evaluating current management strategies and considering the efficiency and effectiveness improvements possible through integrated, multi-function, multi-vendor network management solutions. This whitepaper examines seven core network management requirements deserving of special attention in today’s operating environments, and evaluates how one multi-vendor, multi-function integrated management solution, HP's Intelligent Management Center, measures up.

Watch4net Delivers Integrated Service-Oriented Management for Vblock

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In June, 2010, Watch4net released a ReportPack extension for their carrier-grade, enterprise-class APG performance management solution supporting the VCE Coalition's Vblock converged infrastructure solutions. The new features allow APG user/operators to manage all of the constituent elements with Vblocks, including network, server, storage, and virtualization technologies, in one place via integrated console dashboards and reports. This capability is particularly important for the growing number of enterprises, governmental agencies, and communications service providers who have chosen Vblock as a building block for next-generation data center and Cloud services architectures.

Free Summary - Network Management and the Responsible, Virtualized Cloud

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

This is a free summary of the EMA research report, Network Management and the Responsible, Virtualized Cloud. The full report can be purchased and/or downloaded at: http://www.enterprisemanagement.com/research/asset.php?id=1927

Report Abstract

Cloud Services and x86 server virtualization are two of the most disruptive changes in IT today, and both have real impacts on the everyday lives and practices of network engineers, operators, and managers. This EMA research report was launched to follow up on prior findings that network managers were most commonly being held responsible for Cloud service performance and quality, with the additional objective of building an updated understanding of the impact that server virtualization and Cloud services are having on the day-to-day priorities and activities of network managers. Key findings include the very latest measures regarding Cloud service adoption, who is most responsible for monitoring and managing the network aspects of Cloud services, which network management visibility and control practices are most important in Cloud and virtual server settings, and how organizations are dealing with the changes these new challenges are bringing.

Lancope's StealthWatch System: Aligning Network, Security, and Application Performance Monitoring with Business Value and Priorities

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

A constant challenge for IT management is linking the priorities of the businesses and organizations they serve with the day-to-day operational practices of IT staff. This is particularly true when it comes to those responsible for security and infrastructure management, who are often a step or two back from the front lines of support. A potential key to success lays in leveraging application-aware flow data, such as NetFlow, which can be collected from the network infrastructure and used for improving the effectiveness and business-alignment of network security and network performance managers. In fact, flow-based monitoring holds specific advantages for filling gaps in visibility, delivering valuable intelligence to supplement traditional IDS/IPS perimeter protection as well as application performance management. With the 6.0 release of its StealthWatch System, Lancope has introduced significant new capabilities that improve the positive impact operations teams can have by being more efficiently responsive and increasingly proactive in assuring the integrity of IT services and applications.

ServicePilot ISM: Power and Simplicity for Integrated Network & Infrastructure Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000

ServicePilot Technologies develops, delivers and supports Integrated Services Management (ISM) Enterprise, a product designed from the ground up to deliver on the promise of integrated infrastructure management for networks, physical/virtual servers, storage, VoIP and applications, bringing management across both existing and new technologies and services into a singular approach. Deployed in over 100 customers, some for as long as 8 years, the product can be consider mature, but it can also be considered a new entrant due to recent functional enhancements and its growing momentum on the global stage. With the recent announcements of the APM for NetFlow solution and an entry-level option, ISM Express, this solution has been expanded in both depth and breadth, and can be favorably compared to virtually any multi-function, multi-vendor, cross-domain integrated management solution in the market today.

Net Optics Phantom Virtual Tap Delivers Best-Practice Network Monitoring For Virtualized Server Environs

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Net Optics has introduced a new product that provides network-layer visibility into virtualized server environments for security, compliance, and performance monitoring. The Phantom Virtual Tap™ integrates with the hypervisor kernel to provide monitoring and management products with a complete/full copy of all traffic occurring within the virtualized host, between guest virtual machines. This represents a new approach for restoring the type of visibility required for optimizing resource utilization, troubleshooting performance issues, and ensuring audibility. The Phantom Virtual Tap represents the adaptation of best practices for efficient and effective performance and security monitoring in the non-virtualized realm into a form that can be applied to virtualized server and hybrid environments.

Network Management and the Responsible, Virtualized Cloud

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Network Automation 2011: Research Highlights

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In November 2010, Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) conducted primary research regarding the usage of automated network management tools and technologies, referred to as "Network Automation." Over 100 mid-level network managers, engineers, and architects from organizations of at least 1000 employees contributed their experiences and opinions Over 80% were actively using or in the process of deploying Network Automation, and the balance were planning deployment within the next six months.

The results of this study clearly show that Network Automation is having a positive effect on organizations that have embraced and deployed it, particularly in terms of reducing error rates and enabling significant new projects such as IPv6 rollout. There also appears to be ample forward-looking demand for further adoption. But despite these positive factors, there are still common misperceptions about the risks posed by Network Automation.

Slides: Why NetFlow has become a Must-Have for Network Management in 2011

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

These slides will:

>>Share research findings on network management in dynamic, virtualized, and converged environments

>>Provide real-world examples of how flow data and NetFlow in particular are providing the necessary visibility to keep pace, in particular with Cisco Medianet environments

>>Review cutting-edge management technology for gathering and leveraging NetFlow

Cisco Systems Network Analysis Module 5.0 - Enterprise-Class Performance Monitoring and Analysis for Modern IP Networks

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Effective network performance monitoring and analysis tools are a must have for today's dynamic, distributed IT environments. They provide the visibility required to assure smooth and predictable delivery of applications and services across the network and fast troubleshooting when things go wrong. One entrant in this category, the Cisco Systems Network Analysis Module (NAM) has recently undergone significant enhancement via the release of NAM5.0 Software, bringing it forward as an enterprise-class alternative. Cisco's NAM now offers powerful features for fast access to performance data, efficient troubleshooting, rich information for managing network optimization, and open interfaces for integration into broader management architectures, all delivered via self-contained, flexible options for cost-efficient deployment in the data center, campus, or branch. This paper examines current top requirements for network performance monitoring and analysis solutions and reviews how the Cisco NAM meets those requirements.

Enterprise-Class Management Success with SolarWinds Solutions: Five Case Studies

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

SolarWinds is a fast-growing, innovative IT management software company focused on modular breadth of functionality and ease of use coupled with quick time to value. SolarWinds has been well known as a solution provider for smaller and mid-sized businesses, but its use within larger enterprise settings has grown significantly as well. This report looks at five case studies of SolarWinds portfolio adoptions in mid to large size enterprises and service providers. Each case examines the context within the organization's IT infrastructure and management architecture as well as specific business priorities and operational objectives. These examples are drawn from a substantial and growing number of such deployments and offer clear evidence of enterprise-class management success.

Within SolarWinds' portfolio, the dominant product relevant to these adoptions is Orion Network Performance Monitor (NPM). It is expandable to incorporate additional scope of management capabilities by adding Orion NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA) and Orion IP SLA Manager. Also relevant to enterprises, SolarWinds offers Orion Application Performance Monitor (APM) , Orion Network Configuration Manager (NCM), Orion IP Address Manager (IPAM), and the Profiler suite of storage management tools.

Slides: Why Monitor Your Private Cloud Infrastructure?

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

If you are considering a private cloud infrastructure, such as Vblock, you are probably aware that it arrives with all of the complexity of a data center concentrated into a single physical and virtual environment. The highly concentrated nature of the computer power in a private cloud - with thousands of virtual machines running simultaneously - results in more dependencies between physical and virtual environments. All components must operate in harmony for the solution to be effective.

These slides cover the Webinar by the same name that EMA Research Director Jim Frey, Nimsoft Sr. Product Marketing Manager Andy Kicklighter, and Nimsoft customer Aad Dekkers, CMO & Head of Business Development of MTI, coverered to:

>>Explore the complexities and essentiality of a unified monitoring approach to proactively address problems before they impact the business

>>Teach how unified monitoring of your private infrastructure package will minimize risk of failure and ensure that you meet service level agreements and exceed user expectations

Adding Networks to Integrated Service Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

As IT teams consider a service-based approach, a number of challenges arise, and one of the most immediately apparent is that there is rarely a common, consistent view of the production environment. In fact, most IT organizations are comprised of multiple departments (i.e. systems, applications, networks, storage) and each department has their own collection of individually useful and productive management tools. But rarely can those tools handle the questions that inevitably arise regarding how combinations of resources are working together (or not working together properly) to make some service or application available in a reliable, efficient manner. The result is the often hurried assembly of “tiger teams” with representatives of each of the constituent IT departments, who get on conferences calls or gather in war rooms to try and diagnose problems. This is a costly, inefficient, and all too common scenario.

A better answer is to reconsider all IT departments as part of a contiguous whole that must not only think of how they deliver value to their host organizations as cross-departmental, but must also re-evaluate how their management tools and technologies can be made to cross departmental boundaries as well. Within this whitepaper, we consider just such an initiative, termed Integrated Service Management, whereby IT organizations can start from a position of management tools strength and move to incrementally add visibility and control over their other technology areas to pave the way for integrated management practices. In this case, we examine situations where advanced, integrated management solutions are in place within the server and application management teams and the need exists to integrate views and practices for the network. Also detailed within is a solution path for networks to an Integrated Service Management initiative offered by IBM through the Tivoli line of IT management products, which includes best-in-class solutions for management of servers, applications, and networks.

Cisco Systems Targets Cloud Automation with LineSider Acquisition

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In December 2010, Cisco Systems announced and closed the purchase of LineSider Technologies, a privately held IT infrastructure management software firm based in Danvers, Massachusetts. LineSider develops and markets software that automates the definition, provisioning, and configuring of networks, specifically in support of cloud computing infrastructures and services. The LineSider OverDrive solution is differential in it's strength of focus on integrating the network domain into broader cloud services catalogs. In addition to providing Cisco with advanced network management technology, the deal brings an experienced network management engineering team to the company.

Entuity EYE 2011 Paves Private Cloud Path

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In late November 2010, Entuity announced the availability of a major upgrade to its Eye of the Storm (EYE) network management solution, EYE Enterprise 2011. The release adds significant new functionality specifically designed to aid organizations needing to adapt network management strategies to accommodate virtualization within data centers as well as make progress on the path towards internal private clouds. Enhancements have also been made for further leveraging application-aware monitoring sources, such as IP SLA and NetFlow, improving overall system efficacy through a new browser-based operator interface, and substantially refreshed reporting capabilities. Further, the release also includes a long list of workflow and visibility improvements.

Radware Embraces Virtualization with VADI and ADC-VX

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In September 2010, Radware announced a major new strategy and product architecture for embracing virtualization in IT environments. Radware’s Virtual Application Delivery Infrastructure (VADI) initiative represents both an evolution and revolution in how Application Delivery Controller (ADC) products are delivered. The VADI strategy spans all aspects of Radware’s ADC solution, and consists of four elements. First, Virtual ADC instances (vADC) were introduces as a software based ADC capability that is used for all solutions. Secondly, three different form factors which can run the vADCs were announced, where the new, main form factor is Radware’s ADC-VX™ for hosting and running multiple vADCs. Third, integration of all three form factors into leading orchestration systems will be supported via a set of plug-ins and APIs. And fourth, set of common VADI services designed to provide agility to the application delivery layer and aligning ADCs with the virtual server and network layers was announced. The aggregate result of the new strategy and architecture will be significantly increase deployment flexibility and a means to ensure that ADCs can make the transition along with applications into virtualized and cloud environments.

Service-Centric Performance Assurance: The Path to IT Operational Excellence

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Whether it be the cost-savings promise of server virtualization, the alluring agility of cloud services, the strategic value-add of ITIL, or one of dozens of other possible drivers, IT organizations are facing constant change. Keeping pace and a business-aligned orientation within IT and network operations requires the development of an advanced and thorough understanding not only of the availability and health of the IT infrastructure but also the performance of that infrastructure and the services and applications it delivers. Such awareness is essential intelligence for reducing the risk that IT end users and business processes will ever be less than fully productive due to performance and availability issues.

A promising approach for addressing this need is service-centric performance assurance. By adopting tools, technologies and practices that bring together performance and availability monitoring from the infrastructure, application, service and end user perspectives into a common, integrated operational view, IT and network operators can achieve cross-domain visibility that puts them in an optimal position to protect the effectiveness of business-critical services and resources.

This paper examines the drivers and requirements for management tools and technologies necessary to implement service-centric performance assurance. It also specifically reviews a solution offered by InfoVista as an example that offers a unique path to success by covering all of the requisite viewpoints and combining them with deeply embedded, mature service-aware features and functions.

Riverbed Cascade ANPM Solution Profile

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000

EMA analyzed Riverbed's Cascade solution for Application-Aware Network Performance Management using the criteria behind the July 2010 EMA ANPM Radar Report and developed this comparative analysis versus the 18 other ANPM solutions that were part of that full report. The results of this analysis revealed that Riverbed's Cascade solution ranked near the top of the group in terms of overall Product Strength and competitive to other high-strength solutions in terms of the solution's overall Cost Efficiency.

Cisco Revs Up World's Most Popular Network Management Tools with LMS 4.0

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000

On October 5, 2010, Cisco Systems announced a major overhaul of their LAN Management Solution (LMS) bundle with the release of CiscoWorks LMS version 4.0. The CiscoWorks LMS product is one of the most commonly used network management tools in existence, since it delivers primary configuration, deployment, monitoring, troubleshooting, and administrative support for Cisco Systems network equipment. The LMS 4.0 release includes significant new functionality such as a new central user interface console, cross-product ÒWork Centers,Ó and a new initiative to deliver full lifecycle support for all new Cisco products and technologies at the same time they are released to the general market. Collectively, these new capabilities significantly raise the value of the LMS bundle as a complete network management solution.

Assessing ROI for Mobile Acceleration Clients - A Case-Based Study

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000

WAN Optimization technology has been an important innovation over the past 10+ years, enabling productivity gains and cost savings of magnitudes sufficient to drive it to mainstream status for distributed, network-enabled organizations of virtual all sizes. The latest evolution of this technology is mobile client software that can be installed on individual user's workstations and laptops, so they can enjoy the benefits of LAN-like network performance wherever they may be working. This EMA paper examines the business case for deploying mobile WAN optimization client software and builds a Return on Investment model based on the experiences that three organizations have had using Riverbed's Steelhead Mobile solution. The results indicate compelling ROI with paybacks that can reasonably be expected in six months or less.

Nimsoft Converges Monitoring for Vblock Converged Infrastructure

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Nimsoft has released support within their NMS management product/service offerings for integrated, unified monitoring of the VCE Coalition’s Vblock converged data center infrastructure solutions. The Vblock represents a pre-configured, bundled solution that includes compute, network, and storage technologies, all tightly packaged together for rapid deployment and highly flexible usage by virtue of its heavy utilization of virtualization technologies. Nimsoft is the first to offer seamless, one-step unified monitoring tools for Vblocks, and the new capabilities arrive at a time when Vblock solutions are reaching significant levels of deployment. Driven by the Vblock’s growing popularity, the need for converged management solutions for converged infrastructure is becoming increasingly obvious to anyone who seeks to achieve the full potential of this important new technology.

Taming 10G: Network Performance Management for High Speed Networks

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Ten gigabit-per-second (10G) Ethernet technology has been in existence for well over a decade, but is just now reaching peak rates of adoption and is fast becoming the predominant choice for enterprise backbone and data center fabric networks. And while early deployments enjoyed substantial headroom in terms of capacity, the sustained march of application and service technology evolution is rapidly consuming that open, available space, leading to higher and higher rates of utilization. These trends are converging to drive a critical decision point for network operations professionals, as existing application-aware network performance tools, and in particular packet-inspection probes and stream-to-disk forensic analysis appliances, are not architected to handle such high transmission volumes. This report examines the forces behind the challenge, the impact that 10G will have on network management tools and technologies, and the options available for making the transition to successfully monitoring today’s high-speed 10G Ethernet networks.

Slides: Application-Aware Network Performance Management Radar Report

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

These slides will:

*Discuss the evolution of and growing need for ANPM approaches, for both engineering and operations
*Outline major points of consideration for comparing ANPM solutions
*Present relative strengths and profiles of industry leading ANPM solutions providers

InfoVista Profile from the EMA Radar for Application-Aware Network Performance Management Q3 2010

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

InfoVista Vendor Profile from the EMA Radar™ for Application-Aware Network Performance Management Q3 2010.

Monitoring of network performance is an essential practice in today’s IT operations environments, as a means of assuring the network’s critical role in supporting the served organization is being adequately fulfilled – not just in terms of availability but also in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. As IP networks themselves become increasingly stable and reliable, operational focus has turned to developing a better, more discrete understanding of how the services and applications crossing the network are performing, and the level of quality which IT end users, customers, and partners are experiencing in access and utilizing them. This EMA Radar Report reviews 18 providers of Application-Aware Network Performance Management (ANPM) solutions and compares their ability to deliver basic and advanced application awareness across a range network and application technologies.

Lancope Profile from the EMA Radar for Application-Aware Network Performance Management Q3 2010

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Lancope Vendor Profile from the EMA Radar™ for Application-Aware Network Performance Management Q3 2010.

Monitoring of network performance is an essential practice in today’s IT operations environments, as a means of assuring the network’s critical role in supporting the served organization is being adequately fulfilled – not just in terms of availability but also in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. As IP networks themselves become increasingly stable and reliable, operational focus has turned to developing a better, more discrete understanding of how the services and applications crossing the network are performing, and the level of quality which IT end users, customers, and partners are experiencing in access and utilizing them. This EMA Radar Report reviews 18 providers of Application-Aware Network Performance Management (ANPM) solutions and compares their ability to deliver basic and advanced application awareness across a range network and application technologies.

SevOne Profile from the EMA Radar for Application-Aware Network Performance Management Q3 2010

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

SevOne Vendor Profile from the EMA Radar™ for Application-Aware Network Performance Management Q3 2010.

Monitoring of network performance is an essential practice in today’s IT operations environments, as a means of assuring the network’s critical role in supporting the served organization is being adequately fulfilled – not just in terms of availability but also in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. As IP networks themselves become increasingly stable and reliable, operational focus has turned to developing a better, more discrete understanding of how the services and applications crossing the network are performing, and the level of quality which IT end users, customers, and partners are experiencing in access and utilizing them. This EMA Radar Report reviews 18 providers of Application-Aware Network Performance Management (ANPM) solutions and compares their ability to deliver basic and advanced application awareness across a range network and application technologies.

EMA Radar for Application-Aware Network Performance Management Q3 2010

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Monitoring of network performance is an essential practice in today’s IT operations environments, as a means of assuring the network’s critical role in supporting the served organization is being adequately fulfilled – not just in terms of availability but also in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. As IP networks themselves become increasingly stable and reliable, operational focus has turned to developing a better, more discrete understanding of how the services and applications crossing the network are performing, and the level of quality which IT end users, customers, and partners are experiencing in access and utilizing them. This EMA Radar Report reviews 18 providers of Application-Aware Network Performance Management (ANPM) solutions and compares their ability to deliver basic and advanced application awareness across a range network and application technologies.

Vendors covered in this EMA Radar Report include: Apparent Networks, ASG, CA Technologies, Compuware, Dorado Software, ExtraHop, InfoVista, Lancope, ManageEngine, NetScout Systems, Network Instruments, OPNET Technologies, Plixer, Quest, SevOne, SolarWinds, Visual Network Systems, WildPackets.

Report Summary - EMA Radar for Application-Aware Network Performance Management Q3 2010

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Summary of the EMA Radar™ for Application-Aware Network Performance Management Q3 2010. To view the full Radar Report, follow this link.

Monitoring of network performance is an essential practice in today’s IT operations environments, as a means of assuring the network’s critical role in supporting the served organization is being adequately fulfilled – not just in terms of availability but also in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. As IP networks themselves become increasingly stable and reliable, operational focus has turned to developing a better, more discrete understanding of how the services and applications crossing the network are performing, and the level of quality which IT end users, customers, and partners are experiencing in access and utilizing them. This EMA Radar Report reviews 18 providers of Application-Aware Network Performance Management (ANPM) solutions and compares their ability to deliver basic and advanced application awareness across a range network and application technologies.

Slides: Change Happens - How to Get Ahead with Network Automation

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

These slides cover: *The current state of automation techniques and technologies within network management *How these techniques and technologies are being used in the real world *What the top priorities should be for deploying them

Enterprise-Class Network Management Comes to Quest

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Focused squarely on providing next-generation solutions for midmarket and large enterprise, Foglight Network Management System (NMS) from Quest Software provides a fresh, pragmatic solution to evolving network challenges with features typically found in much more expensive solutions. This EMA Product Brief examines the evolving needs of network managers and how Foglight NMS address those needs in a broad, yet cost-effective manner, covering a majority of capabilities for day-to-day network operations and engineering tasks. As part of the broader suite of Quest solutions, Foglight NMS also plays an important role in opening the path for progress towards integrated, business-aligned IT operations.

NetScout Promotes User Experience Visibility with Service Delivery Manager

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In June, 2010, NetScout Systems, Inc. announced the release of nGenius Service Delivery Manager, a service management module for the nGenius Service Assurance Solution which offers service modeling, a new service-based dashboard, extended proactive alarming, and integrated threat management, all designed to help IT teams better understand and manage user experience. The dashboard combines real-time and historical views of configurable service domains, providing at-a-glance recognition of service impact from existing as well as significant potential performance issues or security threats. nGenius Service Delivery Manager is a next generation replacement for nGenius K2, a product through which NetScout first introduced intelligent early warning alarms and first-generation service-oriented front-end dashboard views.

Fluke Networks Launches New Network and Application Performance Business: Visual Network Systems

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

On June 28, 2010, Fluke Networks announced the creation and launch of a new operating entity within the Danaher family – Visual Network Systems. The new group will take enterprise-class performance monitoring technologies for networks and applications from the Fluke Networks product portfolio and use them to address the growing needs for such solutions within large enterprise and managed services settings. Visual Network Systems will operate as an independent entity, with its own development resources and sales and marketing teams, but will remain in position to access and leverage technologies present within other Danaher business units, including Fluke Networks and Tektronix. In parallel, Visual Network Systems also made their first two product announcements – an open web services API called VPM Connex™ for connecting the Visual Performance Manager system with other complementary management systems and platforms, and a major refresh and upgrade within their network-attached Analysis Service Element (ASE) probe product line.

HP Unifies Network Fault, Availability and Performance Management with NNMi9

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 26 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

On April 21, 2010, HP Software announced a major upgrade to its network management solutions offerings with the release of Network Node Manager i-Series (NNMi) version 9.0. In parallel, HP released extensions and enhancements across its full line of NNM Smart Plug In (iSPI) add-on modules, including the new iSPI Performance for QA. HP also announced the availability of its Automated Network Management solutions bundle, a combination of products which encompasses the vast majority of network management functionalities required by today’s network engineering and operations practitioners. These new releases represent a major refresh across HP’s network management portfolio with a focus on unifying network fault, availability and performance management while extending the solution with new features for dealing with virtualized infrastructures.

CloudSleuth: An Independent, Open Approach to Cloud Performance Monitoring

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 18 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In April, 2010, beta availability was announced for CloudSleuth - an innovative new open community focused on measuring and reporting the health and performance of cloud service providers. CloudSleuth has been created as a collaborative platform for developing best practices around cloud ecosystems while also delivering an independent voice and viewpoint which can help IT organizations select and monitor providers. The initiative has initially been conceived and sponsored by Compuware and Gomez (a Compuware subsidiary) with the stated intent to welcome any practitioners and technology providers who have an interest in promoting the long-term reliability, predictability, and maturity of cloud services.

Infoblox Acquires Netcordia, Takes Aim at Network Infrastructure Automation

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 12 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

On May 4, 2010, Infoblox announced it had closed the acquisition of Netcordia, provider of the NetMRI family of advanced Network Change and Configuration Management (NCCM) solutions. Infoblox, a leader in the DNS/DHCP/IPAM (DDI) sector, will keep the Netcordia team intact and plans product integrations to advance the state of the art in DDI solutions through improved discovery, compliance, and automation. Infoblox will also introduce the NetMRI solution to their existing global customer and channel base. This combination reflects the fact that DDI and NCCM, typically parallel areas of concern and responsibility for the network engineering and operations team, are converging around the need for broader network infrastructure automation to effectively deal with the runaway rates of change evoked by virtualization and cloud services.

End-User Service Assurance: The New IT Mandate

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 05 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Managing the network has always been an important part of IT operations, and in most cases is a stable and mature practice within the broader IT organization. But IT organizations are transforming, adopting service-centric processes and objectives, along with service management tools and technologies. This transformation rarely springs from the network organization -- it usually begins in the call center or applications support team. The network team often is late to the party, and yet must be embraced as part of any long-term integrated service management strategy. This report examines the challenges facing organizations addressing this gap to reconcile network management and operations with broader service management initiatives, including a review of the three primary options at hand -- bottoms-up, best-of-breed, and service-aligned.

Observer Infrastructure: Adding the Device Performance Perspective

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In April 2010, Network Instruments® announced the availability of Observer Infrastructure (OI), an integral element of their Observer® performance management solution, which complements their primary packet-oriented network and application performance monitoring products with an infrastructure viewpoint. An evolutionary replacement for Network Instruments Link Analyst™, OI has been significantly expanded and includes network infrastructure device health monitoring, IP SLA active testing, NBAR and WAAS data collection, and server monitoring. These new performance data sources are tightly integrated into a common console and reporting engine, Observer Reporting Server, providing quick and efficient workflows for navigating between packet and polling realms. This paper reviews the newly released OI product and assesses how it fits into and fills out the broader Network Instruments Observer Solution approach.

The Changing Role of Network Management - Keeping Pace with the New Demands of Virtualization and Cloud

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Major IT innovations such as server virtualization and cloud services promise great rewards in efficiency and agility, however to capture the full potential, all aspects of operations must adopt new approaches and methods. Network management and operations, long an area of strength and stability, must change as well to accommodate accelerated rates of change and new topologies and relationships between connected “virtualized” elements. To keep pace, network managers must focus on key best practices and management technologies, particularly those that deliver automation and integration between functional task areas. This paper details some the greatest challenges network managers will face in dealing with server virtualization and cloud services and presents priorities and options for getting (and staying) ahead.

Making Converged IT Infrastructure A Practical Reality - The Egenera PAN Manager solution

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

IT infrastructure technologies are converging, and the lines blurring between hardware and software as well as between compute, network, and storage functions. Server virtualization and common connectivity have been acting as catalysts, paving the way for a new generation of tightly integrated, stateless converged infrastructure solutions with compelling capital and operational cost advantages. But the promise of these systems cannot be fully realized without also converging management tools, technologies, and practices. This paper examines the potential of converged infrastructure solutions, the management challenges thereof, and one answer for delivering converged management – Egenera’s PAN Manager.

Blue Coat Tests Virtualization Waters

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

On March 15, Blue Coat Systems introduced a new family of virtual WAN Optimization appliances for the branch office. Rather than provide a virtualized environment for consolidating other branch office functions on its physical turn-key appliances, Blue Coat virtualized its own solution to run on standard servers, offering a flexible and cost-effective solution that will appeal to restricted branch office budgets. The new virtual WAN optimization platform is designed to lower branch office operating costs, help consolidate equipment in the branch, and simplify administration and management tasks.

Keynote Expands Smartphone Application Assurance Reach with MDP4.0

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In March 2010, Keynote Systems announced the 4.0 release of Mobile Device Perspective, a hosted real-device monitoring solution for troubleshooting, diagnosing and validating mobile applications. This latest release expanded Keynote’s list of supported smartphone devices and added a new interactive add-on option called Mobile Device Perspective interactive (MDPi). Keynote’s focus on the challenges of managing mobile smartphone applications has resulted in a highly flexible and extensible service that puts operators in a position of advantage. The extended capabilities of MDP4.0, and in particular MDPi, have positive implications for multiple roles within a service or support organization by way of features that can be used in multiple ways as well as special capabilities for the unique needs of each group.

Congruity Inspector: Converging Network Security and Performance Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

There has always been a close alignment between the technologies used for understanding how applications are performing across the network and those used for network-facing security monitoring. Nowhere is that more true than with application flow-based analysis. Direct monitoring of packet streams offers a deep and rich viewpoint and reveals valuable operational intelligence about the health and activity of business-critical applications and services as they cross the network while also affording an excellent vantage point for recognizing threats. This parallel capability represents a unique opportunity for Managed Service Providers, where a single instrumentation point can serve as the basis for two complementary services. Congruity has introduced Inspector, a packet-based network performance and security management offering, to capitalize on this convergence. This paper reviews the capabilities of Congruity Inspector and assesses its value for providers of remote managed services.

NetScout and Cisco Expand Technology Partnership, Offer Virtual Probes in Routers

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

On March 16, 2010, NetScout Systems announced the availability of nGenius Integrated Agent as part of an ongoing and expanding technology relationship with Cisco. NetScout is integrating this virtualized probe technology into Cisco’s Integrated Services Routers (ISRs) to extend the NetScout Unified Service Delivery Management solution out the branch office. The goal of this new offering is to provide a cost effective approach to monitoring branch office locations and give IT staff continuous visibility into the end-to-end performance of applications and services.

EMA Impact Brief: Customer Satisfaction with Application Delivery Controller Vendors

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

EMA conducted a primary research study of 450+ IT professionals to gauge their satisfaction with leading Application Delivery Controller (ADC) vendors across a range of engagement points spanning product purchase, deployment, and ongoing support. The evaluation focused on respondents who had experience with relevant ADC products from more than one vendor, so that relative comparisons could be used as a basis for drawing conclusions about which vendor was doing the best job in meeting the needs of their customers. Citrix NetScaler emerged as the clear leader in customer satisfaction over F5 Networks and Cisco Systems, scoring highest in 16 of 21 categories, including best overall satisfaction. This Impact Brief summarizes results of the research.

Alteon is Back and Moving Forward

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

On March 9, 2010, Radware announced two new Application Delivery Controllers (ADCs) - the Alteon 4408 and Alteon 4416. These switches fill in the product portfolio, falling in between the new high-end Alteon 5412 announced in November and the existing 2-series and 3-series which were part of the original Nortel acquisition one year ago. This gives the Alteon product portfolio a range from 0.500 to 20 Gbps throughput across the product line. The announcement marks a proof point of Radware’s ongoing commitment to the Alteon brand. Back in November 2009, as part of the 5-series launch, Radware began a campaign to revitalize the Alteon name and shared a two-year product road map with their customers, demonstrating a commitment to expand and grow a product line that had stagnated under a struggling Nortel.

IBM Tivoli Promotes Integrated Service Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

IBM recently launched the Integrated Service Management (ISM) initiative, as an evolutionary step and strategy for IT management solutions. ISM is a rallying point across the Tivoli lines of service and infrastructure management products as well as IBM as a whole. While the name of the initiative is only slightly different from its predecessor, IBM Service Management, the scope and depth of the thinking behind it is substantially expanded as well as deepened. IBM intends to deliver Integrated Service Management solutions which could be described as an intelligent backplane which will connect and facilitate improved efficiency, smoother process, better visibility, and tighter control.

CA Acquires Nimsoft to Address Emerging Enterprise, MSP Delivery Needs

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

CA announced the intent to acquire Nimsoft, a maker of IT performance and availability monitoring solutions for emerging enterprises and Managed Service Providers (MSPs). The acquisition is intended to improve CA’s ability to better meet unique IT management needs of two groups that are actively influencing the growth of cloud computing - emerging enterprises (which CA defines as those with annual revenues between $300 million and $2 billion) and MSPs. CA considers these segments to be incremental to their historical customer base which is primarily comprised of large enterprises, and also plans to rapidly expand international reach on behalf of the Nimsoft technology. After the acquisition, Nimsoft will operate as an independent business unit, reporting into CA’s Cloud Products and Services division. Enterprise Management Associates reviews the rationale, opportunities, and challenges represented by this planned acquisition in this report.

sl360 Free Tool Suite

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

ScriptLogic offers a free suite of network management utilities and tools, called the sl360 Tool Suite. This suite includes sixteen individual feature sets that encompass capabilities required for most network troubleshooting processes. With a user customizable dashboard, integration with other management tools (including ScriptLogic’s PacketTrap IT and Help Desk Authority products) and features that increase network operators’ productivity, the suite is designed to deliver efficiency and effectiveness to IT personnel on the front lines. By focusing individual tool interaction through a single application interface, ScriptLogic has been able to effectively control data and flow interaction between the main application and the individual tools. This is a key capability for a product at this level – it facilitates ease of operations and reduces repetitive data entry on the operator’s behalf. Underlying all the feature innovations is this product’s ease of use and visual elegance. The logical, integrated interface design keeps the operator focused on the use of the tool suite instead of having to hunt around or drill down to find what they are looking for. ScriptLogic has placed a great deal of emphasis on ensuring the new product release’s visual appeal is consistent throughout the entire solution, putting it head and shoulders above the competition.

PacketTrap IT: New Hope for Mid-Tier Integrated Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

As the line between applications and the infrastructure continues to blur in highly dynamic, virtualized environments, the need to share information and visualization across the traditional IT domain silos takes on new importance. There is no area more acutely aware of this need than network management which is constantly bombarded by disruptive technologies across very distributed environments. For mid-tier companies, the need to pinpoint and diagnose sources of network performance problems represents a significant challenge. Many existing best-of-breed point solutions suffer from a legacy hangover, often missing key features because of an inability to rapidly update existing code to meet new demands such as drag-and-drop GUIs for visualization and rolling baselines for alerts. This product brief describes PacketTrap IT, a network & server management solution from ScriptLogic. Focused squarely on providing next-generation solutions for the often-overlooked mid-tier enterprise, PacketTrap IT provides a fresh, pragmatic solution to evolving network and server management challenges with features typically found in much more expensive solutions.

Customer Satisfaction with Application Delivery Controller Vendors

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Essential Ingredients for Optimizing End User Experience Monitoring

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In today’s web-centric world, User Experience Management (UEM) services have fast become the best practice for assuring site and web-based application performance, most especially for those assets which are intended to be accessed from or across public networks such as the Internet. While there are a number of UEM providers available to IT organizations, it is important to understand that not all UEMs use the same strategies and techniques for providing their services. Understanding specifics such as browser fidelity, the influence of Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), and multi-homing may be more important than you realize. This paper reviews these topics and provides information to allow you to make the right decision for your organization.

EMC's Unified Infrastructure Manager Makes Vblocks Sing

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The joint project between Cisco Systems, EMC, and VMware known as the Virtual Computing Environment (VCE) is bringing a key product to market that is a new and unique – the Vblock. This new modular data center computing architecture element combines the three major infrastructure domains into one integrated solution – computing, storage and networking. And while this new approach to infrastructure could transform the way in which data centers are built, another important opportunity it represents is for a new, tightly integrated approach for managing the hybrid elements and what that could mean for transforming operations practices.

SolarWinds Embraces SRM, Acquires Tek-Tools

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Network and systems management tools provider SolarWinds acquired storage resource management solutions provider Tek-Tools in January, 2010. The move represents a strategic expansion of the SolarWinds scope and directly addresses the convergence underway between storage network and data network technologies as well as the organizational consolidation that goes with it. SolarWinds has stated their intention to directly integrate the Tek-Tools Profiler products and technology into their Orion suite of solutions by the end of 2010.

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Network management is considered by many to be a mature, well defined space where there is no longer a need to make careful, deliberative decisions regarding tools, technologies, and practices. After all, once everything moved to Ethernet the rest is easy, right? Anyone with that opinion today is clearly unaware of the major tidal wave of challenges facing network managers today. The advent of virtualized server architectures, cloud services, and a potentially massive onslaught of new network-connected devices is combining to raise new levels of concern about the risks posed by anything less than a high performing, highly reliable network. After all, every business- or mission-critical application is of little use if the network is unable to deliver it to workers, partners, and customers in a way that meets their needs.

These changes in the operating environment are a wake-up call, and IT leaders should take this opportunity to reassess their network management strategies, making sure their approaches are ready to support the next phase of tactical and strategic growth. This whitepaper examines the major challenges facing network managers and recommends six key requirement clusters that can be used for this evaluation process. Also presented is an overview of IBM’s Tivoli network management portfolio products, along with an assessment of how the IBM Tivoli solution aligns to meet the needs of the emerging, dynamic operational paradigm.

Expanding Visibility for End-to-End Application Performance Management - Integrating Compuware Vantage and Cisco NAM

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

The biggest challenge that operations teams face today is not availability of applications or the infrastructure which delivers them, but rather it is the performance of those applications. And application performance depends on many factors, including the health and capacity of all of the interconnected and interdependent elements, spanning system, application, network, desktop, and storage domains. Monitoring viewpoints within one of those domains, the network, often prove to be essential for troubleshooting application performance degradations, especially during triage - early in the incident lifecycle. Compuware has aligned its Vantage solution to deliver end-to-end application performance management capabilities, and the newly announced integration with Cisco's Network Analysis Module (NAM) adds a powerful and ubiquitous source of network-facing application-aware performance data to the solution.

HP/3Com -- the Management Viewpoint

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

HP made a substantial move towards expanding its networking product and technology portfolio with an acquisition bid for network equipment maker 3Com on November 12, 2009. The deal, worth an estimated $2.9 billion, would consolidate two of the largest players in enterprise networking (HP’s ProCurve and 3Com) to form a larger, more powerful competitor versus market share leader Cisco Systems.

IBM Leverages Cloud with Tivoli Live Managed Services

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

IBM announced the availability of their initial set of Tivoli Live Managed Service offerings, which will bring the breadth and power of the Tivoli infrastructure management software products to IT users via a remotely hosted Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) delivery model – one of the three most common forms of “Cloud” services. Securely hosted at IBM data centers, the Tivoli Live services offer rapid deployment, agent-based or agent-less monitoring, and secure web portal access from virtually anywhere. This new offering lowers the barrier to access Tivoli products for mid-sized organizations who find themselves in need of enterprise-class datacenter management technology but lacking an enterprise-class capital budget and/or the staff to deploy and maintain sophisticated management tools.

Monitoring Optimization 2010

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Sponsored by Anue Systems

Monitoring is an essential practice for operating today's networks in an efficient and secure manner. Every organization recognizes this fact and many have made significant investments in monitoring tools and technology, yet significant challenges are faced in successfully deploying and optimizing their use. Enterprise Management Associates™ conducted a research project involving network and security operations professionals during September 2009 to study the challenges and best practices for optimizing monitoring. The primary goal was to understand the barriers organizations face in successfully deploying their monitoring products and practices, and how those issues are being addressed.

Proactive Operations Management for the Dynamic Data Center

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

The dynamic data center is here. New technologies such as server virtualization, server mobility, and cloud computing/storage/platforms are changing the structure and manifestations of the traditional raised floor data center. New architectural elements such as shared resource pools, SOA, and web ecosystems are redefining the very nature of the service delivery environment. With so many new levels of abstraction and redirection, coupled with extreme flexibility and high rates of change, management technologies must also evolve to keep pace and pave the path for capturing the potential value of these disruptive and transformative innovations. This is not a job for traditional management tools - it will require a new generation of management solutions marked by service awareness, integration, and automation – an area of specific focus for BMC Software’s solutions.

Bringing Enterprise-class Network Performance and Security Management Together using NetFlow - the Lancope StealthWatch Solution

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

The drive towards application-aware approaches for monitoring the network infrastructure has resulted in the emergence of management data sources which can be used for multiple purposes. For instance, while there are different ends to network security and network performance monitoring the means can very much be the same. With the current increased focus on protecting business process-enabling applications and services as opposed to mere infrastructure management, IT operations teams must pay attention to the opportunity in front of them to better leverage available management technologies, share the results, and form a more collaborative, proactive, and effective support regime for the businesses and organizations which they serve. This paper addresses the convergence of network management and network security technologies around NetFlow, and a solution built on this basis now available from Lancope. The StealthWatch System has long spanned both functional areas and with the release of the FlowSensor AE, a new packet inspection-based instrumentation option, is significantly expanded in its capabilities to deliver definitive, proactive security and performance management.

Fluke Notches Enterprise Features with VPM6.0

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Fluke Networks announced the 6.0 version of their Visual Performance Manager (VPM 6.0) product, expanding both the breadth and depth of performance data, reporting, and troubleshooting now available within the solution. With this latest release, Fluke has made substantial progress in integration, business and service orientation, and architectural completeness, resulting in an application-aware network performance management solution which should be of increasing interest to IT shops of all sizes.

In particular, the addition of deep packet forensics to their packet-based instrumentation and new business-oriented and site-based views spanning both packet and NetFlow-based performance metrics extend the scope, completeness, and effectiveness of the overall VPM solution for both reactive and proactive uses.

Network Instruments Observer Reporting Server 14: Enterprise-class Performance Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Network Instruments® is a long-standing, well-known provider of application-aware network performance monitoring and troubleshooting solutions. And as their solutions have been enjoying steady growing adoption and deployment, an increasing number of shops using their packet-based monitoring, recording, and analysis products are realizing that there is a distinct opportunity to get more value out of these rich viewpoints. In particular, aggregating detailed performance information across multiple instrumentation points via the Observer Reporting Server empowers IT operators with the means to make troubleshooting even more effective and efficient, while also opening the door to proactive and preventative practices which can help to avoid issues in the first place.

NetScout Goes Virtual, Adds VM Visibility

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

NetScout Systems has released nGenius Virtual Agent, a new performance data source product that will extend the visibility provided by NetScout’s nGenius® Service Assurance Solution inside virtualized server hosts. The nGenius Virtual Agent is designed to be installed on a guest VM within a virtualized server, and will operate either in full probe analysis mode or as a virtual tap, harvesting traffic for export to an external extended Deep Packet Capture engine - the nGenius InfiniStream appliance. Based on their long-standing packet-flow probe technology, the new product represents a software-based instrumentation option for NetScout customers who wish to extend the solution’s visibility into virtualized data centers. nGenius Virtual Agent itself comes at no extra cost for customers with nGenius Performance Manager and is available immediately for VMware ESX and ESXi deployments.

IBM Embraces Network Flow Performance

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

IBM released a new product named Tivoli Netcool Performance Flow Analyzer (TNPFA), the first product foray for IBM into the realm of flow-based, application-aware network performance management. The new product was developed internally by IBM’s research group and has been deployed in over 50 customers worldwide over the past three years as part of IBM Global Services projects. Intended for both enterprise and Communication Service Provider (CSP) environments, TNPFA will be added into the Tivoli portfolio of network, systems, and application management products. This new addition to IBM’s line of solutions narrows several management data and workflow gaps, especially for application and service performance incident troubleshooting, problem analysis, as well as better-informed capacity planning.

Intelliden Brings Carrier-Class Network Change And Configuration Management to the Enterprise

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Intelliden Inc. has released an enterprise version of its well-established solutions for network discovery, configuration management, compliance and resource reconciliation. The new solution, called Intelliden NetNovo™, is an automation solution designed specifically for the requirements of enterprises that need to control, manage and scale their large and complex mission-critical networks. Intelliden NetNovo is intended to address the full operational lifecycle of multi-vendor networks including real-time discovery, security control, configuration and change management, compliance and audit, resource reconciliation and software upgrades. This new solution leverages the foundation of Intelliden’s proven success with automation solutions for service provider networks, bringing to bear the same applications and capabilities, including their SmartModel™ technology for intelligent and efficient multi-vendor management, but adjusted for enterprise networks with 500 to 10,000 devices. Capabilities relevant for enterprise operations professionals include intelligent modeling, high-end scalability, granular access controls, a flexible policy framework, network compliance scoring/trending, and a network “database of record.”

CA Acquires NetQoS, Goes with the Flow

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000

On September 14, 2009, CA announced plans to acquire NetQoS, a provider of application-aware network performance management and monitoring software solutions. The NetQoS products and technology are widely acknowledged as market-leading, especially for NetFlow-based performance monitoring, and will immediately make CA a major player in this increasingly strategic segment. By adding application-aware network performance data into their broader solutions portfolio, CA will gain advantages in providing answers to the difficult challenges facing IT and CSP organizations tasked with managing increasingly virtualized environments as well as impending cloud services.

Entuity's EYE NPE: Enterprise-class Network Management for the Mid-Tier

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Entuity has introduced a new version of their well-established, enterprise-class Eye of the Storm (EYE) network management solution packaged specifically for mid-sized shops. Named EYE Network Professional Edition (EYE NPE), the new product offers high end management functionality such as autodiscovery, automated mapping, performance monitoring, root cause analysis, reporting and alerting, at a price point that is reachable for the first time by a much broader range of organizations. By bringing advanced automation features together with a rapid deployment model, Entuity is advancing the state of the art for network management and offering some compelling answers for networking professionals caught between enterprise-class needs and mid-tier budgets.

OPNET ACE Live VMon Reveals Virtual Network Performance

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +0000

While the vast majority of today’s IT shops have deployed server virtualization technologies, a significant minority of operations teams feel that they have all of the management tools they need to fully manage this emerging architectural category. Management technology vendors are responding with support, especially for monitoring and managing the new way in which computing platforms are being used, however other tools, such as those responsible for monitoring networks, are still catching up. OPNET has recently announced a new version of their ACE Live network performance monitoring technology, ACE Live VMon, which is specifically designed for deployment inside the virtual computing environment. This approach provides valuable visibility into activity which is otherwise invisible to traditional network-based monitoring, opening the door to more effective monitoring and troubleshooting of application performance.

Mainstreaming the vSwitch: HP Network Automation Extends Control to Virtual Computing Environment

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0000

As server virtualization deployments continue to proliferate at astounding rates, many operators don’t realize that they are also deploying virtual network elements at the same time – often including many virtual network switches, or vSwitches, for each virtualization hypervisor. Further, since most server virtualization projects are under the control of systems administrators and not network engineers, those virtual network elements are not being accorded the same level of disciplined management as the physical network elements are connecting the physical servers upon which virtualization platforms are deployed. HP is taking steps to address this situation, most recently by releasing a vSwitch driver for its HP Network Automation product. The new driver allows HP Network Automation to deliver much of the same best practices and functionality for network change and configuration management, including policy compliance and operational integrity assurance, which are afforded the rest of the network infrastructure. This step helps to significantly pave the way for server virtualization products to move into the mainstream as a reliable and manageable production technologies.

Efficiency and Cost Control in Network and Application Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 08 May 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Today’s connected businesses depend on reliable and predictable access to the application servers, data storage, and partner ecosystems which networks interconnect, and when there is any disruption, quick troubleshooting and rapid restoration is of paramount importance. The responsible approach to managing networks, however, dictates a shift from being efficiently reactive to problems towards a proactive, preventive disposition. Taking this maturity step requires strategies, practices, and tools which reduce quality risk across the lifecycle of your networks and applications, focused on proactively assuring quality services. Successful transition to a proactive approach can result in better staff efficiency and better cost control via extending the life of existing infrastructure investments while also protecting the top line of the business.

CA Spectrum Service Assurance Manager Bridges Service Management Gap

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0000

CA recently released a new product that represents their first substantial foray into truly integrated service management. The CA Spectrum Service Assurance Manager is a cap-stone offering that will draw operational metrics directly from CA’s suite of well-established infrastructure management products, including CA eHealth Performance Manager, CA Spectrum Infrastructure Manager, CA Insight Database Performance Monitor (DPM), CA NSM, and CA Wily Application Performance Management (APM). The new product goes further, by also directly integrating with CA Service Desk Manager and CA CMDB, and includes an SDK with APIs for integration with third-party management tools. Add an impressive set of role-based dashboards, service modeling, and innovative quality and risk indicator features, and the result is a compelling service management offering.

NetScout's nGenius K2 Detects and Reveals Service Health Changes

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0000

NetScout Systems, Inc.’s (NetScout) nGenius K2 virtual services network dashboard delivers unique service-aware performance intelligence for IT operations and network teams. This next-generation dashboard provides insight into the health and status of applications and services, allowing IT operations teams to quickly and easily drill down into the source of problems and issues to reduce the impact to business operations. nGenius K2 also features automated anomaly detection that helps predict and protect against business-affecting service delivery issues. It does this through high-level views of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) derived from real-time analysis of network packets, focusing on overall performance in the context of the broader application ecosystem, displayed in a simple, at-a-glance view.

Network Instruments Puts Virtualized Systems on Tap

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Network Instruments has released a new revision of their Observer network performance management solution optimized for installation directly within a virtualized server environment. This is one of the very first network management tools that has been customized specifically for the purpose of directly monitoring traffic across the virtual switch within Virtual Machine (VM) environments that also provides a directly adaptation for reaching those traffic flows outside of the VM host. In particular, the Virtual TAP features within this release allow a complete copy of VM-to-VM virtual network traffic to be accessed and viewed outside of the VM host system for troubleshooting, security monitoring, and compliance assessment. Network Instruments is one of a few well-established, enterprise-class players in the packet-based performance management solutions space, and is making a bold initial move into monitoring of virtual environments with this new product announcement.

Entuity Expands Vision with EYE 2009

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Network management solutions provider Entuity has released the 2009 version of its flagship Eye of the Storm platform, and added several significant new areas of capability. Of special note are the new multi-server web client and reports, a new highly efficient polling engine, native support for IPv6, and extensions for MPLS. And Entuity has taken a bold, market-leading step towards environmental consciousness by including power usage and carbon footprint monitoring and reporting that spans the network and all connected elements – a unique offering amongst the ranks of network management vendors. The result is strong additional values which promote clarity and visibility into the managed infrastructure, complemented by timely operation cost tracking capabilities.

Network Traffic Analysis Equality with PacketTrap IT ptFlow

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Network operations teams recognize the need for understanding which applications are transiting their networks, and which end users are driving activity. A common approach for establishing such visibility is to gather and analyze NetFlow records, but not all devices or elements are capable of generating these. That limitation has now come to an end, with ScriptLogic’s announcement of their ptFlow features, released as part of their PacketTrap IT version 3.0 update. ptFlow is an innovative approach to solving NetFlow blind spots, where PacketTrap IT management software components can be placed strategically to monitor traffic activity going to or from network devices, such as switches or routers, or to servers, whether physical or virtual, and generated NetFlow-equivalent records for collection, analysis, reporting, and presentation by performance monitoring systems such as PacketTrap IT Enterprise. This new capability represents an exciting new option for operations teams that have made the commitment to assume an application-aware stance to their performance monitoring but do not have the capability to upgrade all of their network devices to NetFlow-capable levels or models. It also represents one of the first industry offerings for operations teams that want to track application traffic associated with virtual machines on a discrete (by each VM) or aggregate (all VMs on a physical server) basis.

EMC Smarts Brings Root Cause Analytics to Bear on Virtual Server Networks

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0000

In early March 2009, EMC announced availability of a new set of extensions for the Smarts family of its IT Operations Insight solutions called Smarts Server Manager. The goal of Smarts Server Manager is to further expand the sophistication of the Smarts solution by directly integrating servers as part of the scope of the managed elements and domains which the Smarts tools cover, and in particular implementing support for both physical and virtual components of server systems as well as an understanding of cluster architectures. This addition extends the degree of integrated management that the Smarts solution offers, and brings their well-established root cause analytics capabilities to bear on a broader scope of the proactive operations puzzle – a challenge which has been growing greater and greater with the steady proliferation of virtual computing technologies across the landscape of enterprise IT.

Integrating UC, Voice, and Video into Operations Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Virtually all enterprises today are at some stage of embracing the many forms of communication that are now available in converged form using IP networks. Unified Communications (UC) is a common and current term for this trend. And while UC means many things to many people, but often not exactly the same thing, it can be broadly defined as EoIP, or “Everything Over IP”.

UC promises to deliver better worker productivity and more efficient and cost-effective IT operations by reducing technology diversity. Unfortunately, there is less convergence in the management practices and tools for planning, deploying, and monitoring UC technologies. For instance, certain UC elements such as VoIP and IP Video Conferencing (including Telepresence) offer compelling value propositions for slashing costs and supporting green operations. However, they also present some of the biggest hurdles to successful deployment across distributed IT infrastructures. Because of their strict demands for low latency and committed bandwidth, these elements will require special efforts for network capacity planning, configuration, and quality monitoring.

NetMRI 3.0 Propels NCCM Practices to New Levels

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Netcordia released version 3.0 of their flagship NetMRI product for Network Change and Configuration Management (NCCM), delivering major upgrades to both the user interface and the overall usability of their solution. In particular, the new task-oriented user interface, extensive use of rich graphics, new dashboards and reports, and policy compliance templates combine to make this version far broader and deeper in the value that it will offer to network engineering and operations teams. Further, the new features will make leveraging the important data and configuration information available within the NetMRI system much easier to access and share across the IT organization as well as up the chain of command.

The Path to Proactivity: Netuitive Customer Value Study

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) conducted in-depth interviews with IT managers at four different Netuitive customer sites to determine the impact of self-learning performance management software on their service delivery capabilities. EMA observed a common thread across all of these users, particularly with regard to reduced management administration, reduced Mean-Time-to-Repair (MTTR) and extended Mean-Time-Between-Failure (MTBF). The results for these organizations, including the unanimous positive outlook on future ROI, bring EMA to conclude that this technology has achieved mature, mainstream status and should be considered by IT organizations seeking improved control of operations and greater operational efficiency.

ROI for Network Performance Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Besides being technically savvy, today’s networking professionals must be aware of the business factors surrounding their department’s activities and responsibilities. This means two things--becoming aware of the way in which the networking team supports the business directly, and understanding how to characterize your infrastructure equipment and management technology investments in terms of business value. Commonly, that means building a business case for any technology investment. This brief focuses on the elements you'll need to build a business case for investing in application-aware network performance management technology, and the ways in which Network Instruments® solutions align to help you to achieve returns.

Essentials for Assuring Network and Application Performance

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Fast access to packet-based analysis tools is becoming an absolute requirement for adequately assuring the performance of today’s enterprise networks and applications. Without it, operations teams risk being left in the dark when faced with degradation problems and trying to determine a clear root cause. And yet, diving into packet streams is rarely the best starting point when troubleshooting performance incidents. The answer to this challenge is to find performance monitoring solutions that can provide both high level visibility and tightly integrated workflow paths to the deepest underlying packet/flow details that can be invoked as needed. This paper presents a framework of criteria that operations teams should consider regarding performance monitoring and management initiatives and how solutions from WildPackets align versus those needs.

Riverbed's Visibility Quest Leads to Mazu Acquisition

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +0000

On January 20th, 2009, Riverbed made its first official acquisition, snapping up Mazu Networks for $25 million, plus some trailing incentives that could bring the total price to $47 million over time. Enterprise Management Associates views this acquisition as a positive step forward for both Mazu and Riverbed. The technology fit is a good one, filling a clear gap in Riverbed’s solutions, and moving them substantially towards their goal of closed loop control for application delivery performance over the WAN.

HP NNMi 8.10 Aims to Automate Network Lifecycle Management

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0000

In early December 2008, HP announced its Automated Network Lifecycle Management (ANLM) strategy and direction for the network management subset of their BTO (Business Technology Optimization) solution family. Also announced were the first deliverables to realize the strategy - NNMi and NNMi Advanced 8.10, a substantial upgrade to its flagship Network Node Manager platform and associated solutions suite. The new releases add high-value features to the core NNMi product, significant expansions across the line of NNM iSPI (Smart Plug-In) add-ons, while also delivering several key integrations consistent with the ANLM initiative and, more broadly, with integrated SLM and BSM. The result is improved automation, expanded scalability, faster deployment, and additional depth of functionality. In this brief, EMA reviews the new capabilities and analyzes the impact they will have on the day-to-day jobs of network operators, administrators, and managers.

EMA Advisory Note: Network Management 2008: Megatrends in Technology, Organization, and Process (Summary)

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Enterprise Management Associates closely monitors the steady march IT organizations are making towards more mature, manage¬able, and business-relevant practices and has been following network management in this light for more than ten years. During this time, three drivers have emerged as primary forces behind progress – process, organizations, and technologies. For lasting change to occur, organizations must address all three of these dimensions. The most recent EMA research study on network management conducted in June-July 2008, inquired into each of these driving areas, and the results indicate hopeful signs of progress along the maturity continuum, espe¬cially as it relates to managing networks and the applications and services they are designed to deliver. This report highlights key findings from this research study, including 6 network management megatrends.

Advisory Note: 2008 Year-end Gorilla Dance - Wrap-up of Major Supplier Analyst Events

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Enterprise Management Associates analysts Dennis Drogseth and Jim Frey recently attended analyst summit programs for several major solutions providers – IBM, CA, EMC, and Cisco – and heard many interesting stories and strategies. IBM is enhancing its primary focus on vertical solutions, bringing their extensive business savvy to bear on making IT relevant to the business. CA is making excellent progress on their integrated service management architecture, promoting advances on several key technology fronts including service desk integration and expanded support for virtualization. EMC believes they are in an excellent position to become a significant management player due to their span of coverage and the marketplace disruption created by virtualization and Web 2.0. Cisco focused heavily on how they intend to enable business transformation with more advanced networking technology. Included in this report are details on each vendor’s core strategies, announcements, as well as EMA’s analysis of each.

ExtraHop Leaps Network/Application Gap

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Anyone who is tasked with assuring quality application delivery across today’s globally distributed, virtualized network and computing infrastructures will tell you that it’s difficult to understand which of the many interconnected pieces is to blame when applications degrade. It’s often a needle-in-the-haystack problem. On December 9, 2008, that problem may have gotten a little easier to tackle with ExtraHop Network’s introduction of the ExtraHop Application Delivery Assurance System. The new company is taking new aim on leveraging the deep and rich information available by monitoring network packets and focusing on what stories that data can tell across the delivery stack but especially within the application layer, where much of the action takes place. Founded by technologists who blazed a similar trail in application-layer network switching, the ExtraHop solution is appliance-based and requires virtually no configuration, so it can be deployed easily and can quickly bridge the operational information and knowledge gap that commonly exists between network and applications operations teams.

Network Management 2008: Megatrends in Technology, Process, and Organization (End User Version)

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Networks operations practices, process, and technologies, especially in terms of network and networked application management tools, continue to change and evolve as do the delivery infrastructures they oversee and the organizations they serve. This study reflects inquiry into the core drivers behind the advancement of network management maturity and analysis of current business, technical and environment factors as well as six major trends in process, organization, and technology.

Network Management 2008: Megatrends in Technology, Process, and Organization (Vendor Version)

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Network Management 2008: Megatrends in Technology, Process, and Organization

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

There’s no doubt – management of networks and networked applications is constantly changing to keep up with the latest technologies and services being deployed by IT organizations around the globe. Common questions you may have are:

How are networking organizations changing to support systems management and the management of remote locations?
What are the top issues today?
Where should I look for help?
Are my priorities in line with best practices in the industry?
What kind of organizational, cultural and process changes are occurring in parallel with changes in technology?

Join EMA VP Dennis Drogseth and EMA Senior Analyst Jim Frey as they help answer these questions and share the results of the latest EMA research on Network Management.

Please note: This is a sponsored Webinar and EMA shares registration information with the event sponsor.

Slides from Network Management 2008: Megatrends in Technology, Process, and Organization

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

How are networking organizations changing to support systems management and the management of remote locations?
What are the top issues today?
Where should I look for help?
Are my priorities in line with best practices in the industry?
What kind of organizational, cultural and process changes are occurring in parallel with changes in technology?

These slides will help answer these questions.

Apparent Networks Goes Collaborative with AppCritical v3.5

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Recently, Apparent Networks announced release 3.5 of their flagship performance monitoring solution, AppCritical. This version delivers substantial improvements in the areas of usability, collaboration, reporting, and scalability. Also added were several valuable new features, one of which is the ability to directly generate synthetic VoIP calls as part of an automated diagnostic testing sequence. With this release, Apparent Networks has made excellent progress towards evolving their unique and innovative technology for truly proactive, real-time monitoring and diagnostics into an enterprise-class solution.

EMA Advisory Note: Intelligence on TAP

Jim Frey - Former EMA Analyst — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

This note is designed to highlight some of the latest new developments in the tap market, whereby vendors are adding substantial intelligence for aggregating, filtering and preprocessing packet streams in order to allow them to be shared with multiple monitoring and recording products. The results can be substantial cost savings for security and management tools deployment as well as credit towards Green IT initiatives.