2007 Network Instruments News

InfoWorld, October 11, 2007

A time machine for your network

"When you need to investigate a network slowdown, a security breach, or anything else that happened on your network, if you know when it happened, then GigaStor can take you there."

Enterprise Systems, October 2, 2007

Network Instruments releases Observer 12.1

The latest release includes the Application Analysis feature, which lets users create "multiple profiles, which allow them to select and monitor a group of network servers and devices within a designated subset". It also features what the company calls "time interval analysis" -- reports that track connections' performance statistics graphically and over time.

NetworkWorld, September 26, 2007

Competitors sound off on pending NetScout/Network General deal

"Coupling high-level aggregated reporting with in-depth packet capture and TiVo-like network analysis is such a good idea that in December 2006 we forged a partnership with NetQoS. Our partnership was the first among network analysis vendors; NetScout’s purchase of Network General is simply the latest company to jump onto the bandwagon."

TechWorld.com, September 24, 2007

Network General bought at a knock-down price

"Competitors were quick to point out how low the purchase price looked -- less than the US$275 million that the venture capital funds Silver Lake Partners and Texas Pacific Group paid to buy Network General out of MacAfee in 2003, and far less than the $1.3 billion MacAfee paid for it in 1997."

Processor.com, September 21, 2007

Add wireless access throughout your SME

"Tthe Observer products from Network Instruments can display metrics for deep packet analysis, while simultaneously monitoring the wired side of the network."

SearchNetworking.com, September 20, 2007

NetScout acquires Network General

"Douglas Smith, president and co-founder of Network Instruments, said the NetScout-Network General pairing falls short on various levels. "Two wrongs don't make a right."

eWeek, September 11, 2007

HD VOIP requires new measurement criteria

"Many tools on the market still rely on the e-model for voice assessment, measuring network conditions such as latency and jitter, and running them through an algorithm to generate an R-Factor score."

NetworkWorld, September 3, 2007

Know your network before you implement VoIP

"One of the reasons McDuffie likes the GigaStor and Observer tools is that they are not VoIP-specific; rather, they are all-purpose networking monitoring tools. Having analysis tools that monitor both VoIP and overall network traffic is very helpful during the deployment phases of VoIP."

Computer Technology Review, August 31, 2007
Retrospective Network Analysis: Greater Answers for Increasingly Complex Networks

With ever increasing network complexity and bandwidth demand, it can be nearly impossible to catch and repair potential system failure before it strikes. Unfortunately for IT administrators, hindsight isn’t always 20/20 either. Using an emerging class of network troubleshooting devices that perform Retrospective Network Analysis, administrators are now able to turn back the hands of time and playback network traffic.

eWeek, August 24, 2007
VoIP's missing link

"So you've done your planning and predeployment testing, and you've rolled out your new VOIP system into production. Now, how are you going to manage it?"

Health Data Management, August 1, 2007
Technology smorgasbord makes choices difficult

"Having the peace of mind of knowing that we have equipment that can capture forensic information is very important to us," says Jack King, director of I.T. at the suburban Chicago hospital, which has 361 beds and 800 physicians.

Techworld.com, July 17, 2007

Data recorder stores 48 terabytes

Network Instruments has brought out an expandable version of its GigaStor network data recorder, capable of storing up to 48 terabytes of network traffic.

ITWeek.co.uk, July 5, 2007

Aardman boosts its network performance

More bandwidth, Gromit? Aardman Animations, the producers of Wallace and Gromit films, has implemented Network Instruments Observer technology to help improve performance of its local area network (Lan).

ComputerWeekly.com, June 27, 2007

Firms struggle with network troubleshooting

Half of network professionals responding to a survey carried out by Network Instruments said they were unsure whether performance problems were caused by the network or by applications.

NetworkWorld.com, June 7, 2007

Where eight network management vendors stand on IPv6

Networks Instruments offers full IPv6 support in Version 12 of its Observer family of network analysis and monitoring products. The new version, released in March, supports native IPv6, dual-stack IPv4 and IPv6 environments, and tunneling.

NetworkWorld.com, June 7, 2007

Vista not playing well with IPv6

Early adopters of Microsoft’s Vista are reporting problems with its implementation of IPv6. Managed Information Services used Network Instruments' Observer 12 application, which supports IPv6, to isolate Vista’s IPv6 problems.

NetworkWorld.com, May23 2007
WAN optimization, VoIP and MPLS top IT managers' plans
Network Instruments and NetQoS determine VoIP and MPLS are the "must-have" technologies among Interop attendees.

SearchNetworking, May16 2007
Retrospective network analysis goes portable
Today, Network Instruments released its first portable network analysis tool, the GigaStor Portable, a self-contained luggable box that can go pretty much anywhere for on-the-fly spot analysis of the network, applications and security forensics.

NetPerformance.com, May 14, 2007
Successfully Monitoring VoIP
Find a troubleshooting tool for VoIP traffic. Network troubleshooting tools especially for VoIP are available from Network Instruments, NetIQ and many others.

eWeek, May 14, 2007
GigaStor Portable: Mobile Tivo for the Network Engineer
Network Instruments will bring a portable, Tivo-like appliance to the thorny task of finding and resolving intermittent problems on remote network segments.

Silicon.com, April 12, 2007
Network horror stories expose need for understanding
As a number of horror stories reveal, corporate networks aren't the safe and tightly controlled entities they should be.

TechTarget, April 2, 2007
VoIP traffic: Five steps to prepare your network
Find a troubleshooting tool for VoIP traffic. Network troubleshooting tools especially for VoIP are available from Network Instruments, NetIQ and many others.

Outside Plant Magazine, April 2007
Latency, Delay, and Jitter! Oh, My!
More and more businesses are switching from Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) to Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) to enhance business functions and save on telecom costs. The switch is often made without realizing how susceptible VoIP is to network conditions as well as the high expectations users have of VoIP performance.

IDM Magazine, March 28, 2007
VoIP Strides Ahead, But Many Still Wary
VoIP may be getting more popular by the day, but its widespread adoption still hasn’t quelled reliability concerns.

Network World, March 19, 2007
What you can learn watching network traffic
The company, which features Observer software, probe appliances and its GigaStor data collection devices, recently overhauled Observer and updated other products with enhanced capabilities, proving the company wants to become essential to network managers' day-to-day practices.

Monsters and Critics, March 15, 2007
New Observer Release Addresses Corporate Security Needs
One of the things that are needed most on a corporate network is security. There is need for internal security, external security, systems auditing and monitoring, and more. A whole host of programs and companies today attempt to resolve these needs with specialized products and services, as is the case with Network Instruments.

Windows IT Pro, March 14, 2007
Network Instruments Gives a Clear View
Aside from more standard practices, IT managers need an analyzer that will let them reduce the number of countless hours spent trying to identify intermittent network problems. In crowded network-analysis field, the best way for a product to stand above the competition is to provide a single, consolidated viewpoint from which to monitor multiple network sources and probes. Such a product is Network Instruments' very scalable Observer 12 network-analysis software.

Enterprise Systems Journal, March 12, 2007
Comprehensive Security Forensics Added to GigaStor
Network Instruments today released its GigaStor appliance with integrated security forensics. The appliance identifies and resolves network, application, and security issues so network and security teams can quickly resolve problems.

Network World, March 12, 2007
Network World Best of the Tests
Of all the network analysis and optimization tools tested last year, tester Barry Nance raved the most about GigaStor, a traffic collection and analysis engine combined with mega-storage hardware. The combination is pricey (the 4TB package we tested costs $35,000), but provides an impressive set of network monitoring, data collection, data mining and reporting features, Nance says.

Dark Reading, March 12, 2007
GigaStor Provides Forensics
Network Instruments, a leading provider of innovative analysis solutions for in-depth network intelligence and continuous availability, today announced the release of its GigaStor appliance with integrated security forensics. The comprehensive forensic analysis solution identifies and resolves network, application, and security issues, allowing network and security teams to work together on quick problem resolution.

eWeek, March 12, 2007
Network Instruments Adds Security Forensics
Network analysis vendor Network Instruments on March 12 launched a new version of its Observer packet capture and analysis line that allows users to see exactly what happened in a security breach. The Minneapolis company leveraged the ability in its Gigastor network analyzer to capture and retain large amounts of data on actual network traffic to identify security breaches and then determine the source and time of the breaches.

Computer Business Review Online, March 12, 2007
Network Instruments Adds MPLS and Packet Correlation to Observer
Protocol analysis vendor Network Instruments LLC will today announce the new version of the firmware for both its real-time and retrospective tools, adding support for MPLS networking and the ability to locate a transaction problem, not least for monitoring SLAs with WAN service providers.

PICommunications.com, March 9, 2007
Network Forensics Simplified
Network Instruments, which provides network analysis and forensics products, and has seen solid growth — and has opened two new offices on the East Coast and one on the West Coast already this year. According to Network Instruments’ sales and engineering manager Charles Thompson, much of the growth is attributable to the popularity of the company’s GigStor product and a wider understanding of the benefits of network forensics.

Internet Telephony, January 2007
Solving the Network Crime Through Forensics
Time-based analysis is becoming extremely important for accurate troubleshooting, for deploying the solution, and for tracking network trends.