Regardless of the industry, companies rely on continued performance of their network with near 100 percent uptime to ensure continuity of services and revenue protection. Whether the organization is operating in retail, manufacturing, financial services or healthcare, operational analytics is essential in reducing downtime and meeting IT performance goals. This was the emerging consensus in the results of the IT Operations Analytics Benchmark published by Continuity Software. In the realm of net...

Network infrastructure is evolving at an unprecedented rate and, with mixed vendor environments the norm rather than the exception, management of those systems has become a labour intensive exercise. Unlike fault and performance management, Network Change and Configuration Management (NCCM) has no common harmonised management method or protocols; Even the first level engineering teams have to be proficient in numerous different configuration languages and interfaces for the simplest of tasks. In...

As IT environments become more complex, so does application performance management. IT professionals need tools that are up for the new challenge. "Applications are becoming increasingly difficult to troubleshoot, and [it's becoming more difficult to] understand how users are interacting with them," said Jonah Kowall, research vice president of IT operations management at Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner Inc. "Because applications are so diverse, there are a lot of different approaches and solution...

In managing network performance, user experience takes priority. Being proactive in managing performance means not only tracking the network and application, but obtaining an in-depth view of the underlying infrastructure health. There are two primary ways to obtain this information: agent or agentless. Selecting the best method for your team requires understanding the options and selecting the solution that integrates well with your existing resources. This IT Brief will: Define agent and agent...

Despite worries about social media, most companies are not monitoring it for threats While businesses continue to expand their use of social networking to manage their brands and increase productivity, only a minority of firms are attempting to offset the risks posed by these services. The lack of focus on securing social networking is leaving companies vulnerable, say security experts. Only 18 percent of companies do a risk assessment of their use of social media, even though 84 percent worry a...

The Coming Wave of IP-based Live Videoconferencing The future of all telecommunications is undoubtedly IP-based. Voice over IP (VoIP) is now considered mainstream within enterprise organizations, and a growing number are embracing the next phase of this evolutionary track by deploying IP-based live video communications. IP videoconferencing has strong appeal – it can effectively deliver ever-important direct and interactive human communications that typically occur only during face-to-face meeti...

Over the past few years, organizations worldwide were forced to deal with an IT “problem” referred to as BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). It started with smart phones, and now it’s occurring with other devices as well. Here’s what happened: Most large organizations, as well as midsize and even smaller ones, required their people to have a Blackberry. By combining a cell phone with a secure, enterprise level email system, Blackberry changed how we use cell phones and took mobile working to a new lev...

In today’s connected world of smartphones, social media, text messaging, and Web browsing, customers have never been more vocal – and ears have never been more willing to listen. Contact centers thus may feel lost in the sea of new digital customer touchpoints and interaction avenues. Staying ahead of these trends is critical to successful customer service, and technology plays a large part in catering to these evolving needs. There are several solutions out there for businesses to leverage, eac...

It’s that time of year again – when we all look back as well as forward, regret the things we haven’t done, then promise to make them right once more. Instead of doing the typical forecast and prognostications that most analysts pump out this time of year, I prefer to take a different tact – to simply raise attention regarding the things we know we should do in network management but really haven’t got around to doing yet. Based on the research that I’ve done in the past year as well is that I p...

Employees' new mobile devices could cause the age-old security versus productivity debate to resurface Christmas is fast approaching. Now, and after the office is back to normal after the first of the year, employees are going to return with several shiny new gadgets, along with the expectation that they'll "just work" in the corporate environment. Security will be a distant afterthought, because it's still viewed as a process that hinders productivity. The back and forth between security helpin...

When tracking down the source of network problems, where do you even begin? Network Instruments University™ instructor, Mike Motta shows you how to get to the root of network-layer issues with the top 4 timesaving tips. 1. Investigate double-sided captures for delay Take packet captures from each side of the network conversation and use MultiHop Analysis within Observer® Expert to investigate whether any of the segments are the source of delay. Learn how to set up MultiHop Analysis. 2. Calculate...

ONE Single platform for IT Service Assurance   Network Monitoring Devices Servers Applications Business Processes VoIP Monitoring SNMP v3 NetFlow v9, sFlow, IPFix Real-Time/Trend/Historic IPv4, IPv6 Auto Device Discovery Auto Network Discovery Inventory & Graphical Topology Group network devices to fit business needs Audit trail of configuration changes Automate the back up process and security checks Thresholds Error Management Event Management Event Correlation Root-Cause Analysis eMa...

One of the more popular developments happening in IT departments worldwide is the growth of unified communications and collaboration (UCC) solutions. The cost-savings from integrating the many disparate communications software and hardware pieces typically found in a large organization is too compelling to ignore. But there is a danger in underestimating the effort needed to roll out a UCC implementation that runs smoothly and efficiently. One could watch Michael Jordan and marvel at how he made...

To battle today’s sophisticated threats, organizations need the ability to deliver Defense In Depth—a layering of strategies and solutions that collectively protect against malicious attacks. Security-Centric SDN (Software Defined Networking), using multiple inline products, is the most effective approach to delivering that Defense In Depth protection. Point security solutions, although growing in effectiveness, are incapable of consistently, reliably thwarting intrusion and preventing the compr...

Netflow Management Overview NetFlow is a Cisco-developed flow technology that allows flow-monitoring for a given network. StableNet® is a unified network management system available in two options; namely, ‘Telco’ version for CSP/ISP/MSP customers, and ‘Enterprise’ for Corporations, Service Integrators, and Managed Services Operators. The StableNet® NetFlow Analyzer is a functional capability of the unified management system that receives and processes the flow-data being sent from the configure...

Avoiding The Perfect VoIP Storm Although now a mainstream technology, managing VoIP remains a challenge for even the most seasoned IT pro. The application’s sensitivity to packet loss and delay and users intolerance for anything less than audio perfection can create a troubleshooting nightmare. 1. Understand and measure call quality There are a variety of metrics and variables you can use to assess VoIP call quality, including jitter, MOS, R-Factor, gap density, burst density, Quality of Service...

A MONITORING-CENTRIC ARCHITECTURE IS VITAL TO SUCCESS — AND SURVIVAL Protecting the network demands robust monitoring that is actually built into the network architecture. Ongoing network vulnerability invites attack and intrusion, putting data at constant risk, wasting resources and endangering the social fabric. Shocking revelations of governmental spying on private citizens and businesses open yet another front in the fight for data integrity. The overriding truth is that the technology for s...

As an IT manager, you need visibility into every corner of the network, from the edge to the core. A distributed analysis solution can provide the coverage you need, but where should you deploy probes for maximum visibility at minimum cost? This paper describes by example how to plan and implement a monitoring/analysis infrastructure based on distributed probes. Because every network is different, the examples shown may not look like your network, but the concepts demonstrated will be applicable...

When every second counts, buyers of hospital clock systems time and time again turn to Inova’s OnTime Ethernet clocks. Ok, so maybe there are too many puns in that opening sentence, but there are absolute truths buried in there. Take, for example, a hospital system in Indiana that needed around-the-clock support. (Ok, I’m done now) But seriously – when Reid Hospital in Richmond, Indiana purchased 450 Inova OnTime™ Ethernet clocks, they did so to fit their existing technology footprint. Reid Hosp...

The Biggest Videoconferencing Challenge? Real-Time Performance Management Did you know that according to Enterprise Management Associates EMA analysts, 95 percent of organizations have VoIP on their network- and more than half have deployed videoconferencing? IP videoconferencing has strong appeal to businesses through its promise of significant cost and time savings. But how simple is the transition to video? For end users, video communications are expected to be smooth, seamless, and simple. F...