Broughton Systems, Inc.
Network Instruments Observer - Success Story

Established in 1981 in Richmond, Virginia, Broughton Systems, Inc. (BSI) currently has more than 250 employees. The firm provides a full range of information technology consulting services-from strategic planning and management to staffing and systems development-to its growing client base, which includes the leading business and governmental organizations in the mid-Atlantic region. BSI is a subsidiary of Personnel Group of America, Inc., a publicly traded company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, which provides administrative staffing and information technology services through the nation.

The Problem
There are four words BSI network consultant David Jewett never likes to hear: The network is down! "In my world, it's equivalent to saying the universe is down," he says. Jewett knows that if a client's network fails, it almost always translates into more than just lost productivity. Even a brief period of network downtime can bring a company to its knees.

As a result, Jewett began looking for a software package that would help him help his clients. First and foremost, he needed the flexibility to work in a wide variety of environments. In addition, the software would have to run on any Microsoft Windows workstation and work with any network adapter, PCMCIA or ISA. Portability was a must, as well as the ability to decode both Token Ring and Ethernet packets on Microsoft, Unix, and NetWare networks. And price was a big factor.

The Solution
The first time Jewett tried Network Observer, he knew he had found a winner. It had the flexibility he required with a range of features far beyond those he had hoped for.

"Not only could I use the analyzer on almost any network, but Observer had sophisticated features beyond bandwidth utilization, package capture, and decode-including the ability to gather long-term statistics and get information on the general health of a network," Jewett says.

"For me, buying the network analysis tool was a financial decision. But now that I've had great success with Observer, I know I chose the right product. It does the job, plus, as I've seen over the years, it is backed by a company that provides good technical support and regular upgrades."

Network Instruments' Observer is a cost-effective Windows-based network monitor and LAN troubleshooting tool. It lets an administrator view his or her LAN more clearly, see network traffic in real time, and with this information, make network decisions based on factsônot guesswork. Observer helps analysts monitor bandwidth use, view and decode LAN traffic, collect statistics, and set triggers and alarms that flag potential problems before they become full-blown network failuresôall in a clean and easy-to-understand graphical interface. "When you present technical information in a pleasing, easy-to-look-at format, it makes interpreting results much easier," Jewett explains.

One of Jewett's largest accounts is a corporation that uses mission-critical database applications to service its clients. In fact, the company's employees and customers are totally dependent on having uninterrupted, timely access to the databases. "They need to get data fast in order to make split-second decisions. A slow network is simply unacceptable." One recent workday, however, sent the company's employees scrambling because they were unable to quickly retrieve data from the server.

After the database analysts looked at the problem and were unable to solve it, they turned to Jewett. It was up to him to save the workday. "I took my laptop, loaded with Observer, and set it up to monitor traffic between certain clients and the database. Observer helped me get a really good picture of what was going on between clients and servers. Right off the bat, it helped me narrow down where the problem was. What's more, Observer let me monitor and record the network traffic for more accurate and effective analysis." In short, Jewett was able to successfully record the necessary transactions and send traces to the database analysts. "They were thrilled," recalls Jewett.

In the case of the slow-moving server, Observer provided a clear view of the LAN, by offering an up-to-the-moment view of the vital signs of the system. Although every network problem is unique and requires different modes of analysis, Jewett relied primarily on Discovery Mode and Packet Capture to solve his client's database response problems.

Discovery Mode lets you capture all network addresses on your LAN and automatically assign them aliases as user-defined names, DNS names, IP addresses, or Microsoft/Novell networking login names. In Jewett's case, Discovery Mode made it very easy for troubleshooters to interpret MAC addressees.

Packet Capture lets you collect specific data about LAN traffic by filtering packets by station, groups of stations, or error condition on your LAN segment. The mode also lets you isolate packets by selecting a particular protocol, sub-protocol, or user-defined offset filter in conjunction with the station address filters. You can do this easily with the help of a filter dialog. And filters can be saved for reuse and be easily updated as necessary. Post filtering is supported for viewing data in different ways once the capture is complete. The Graph feature shows total traffic, captured data, and dropped packets. And the utilization meter provides a view of current bandwidth use.

For Jewett, Network Instruments' Observer simplified the daunting task of monitoring and troubleshooting a complex heterogeneous network. And he knows that counts for a lot especially when the "universe" is down!

Contact: David Jewett 804-270-5999