Network Associates has unveiled network and security
management software aimed at small and midsized users that ar
priced at about half of what the company's enterprise-class
products cost.
The Netasyst Network Analyzer software is intended for
management of 10/100 Ethernet installations and 802.11 wireless
networks at companies with up to 500 end users, said Chris
Thompson, vice-president of product marketing at Network
Associates.
The product can help users automate network and application
problem resolution, and it will also provide IT managers with
packet-level data about network performance and the functioning of
firewalls, intrusion-detection and -protection systems and other
security technologies.
Austin Bank began testing Netasyst early this month on a network
that supports operations at 19 branch offices, said Jeff Sowell, a
network engineer at the bank.
The bank has already used the tool to monitor slow response
times on a Microsoft SQL Server database application and to track
an apparent network intruder, who turned out to be a telephone
technician who was using the network for maintenance purposes
without first notifying anybody at the bank.
Sowell looked at several network management products but liked
the idea of using a tool from a well-known supplier. In addition,
Netasyst turned out to be easy to use.
"The expert network analysis is handy for somebody like me who
doesn't do this every day," Sowell said. "It makes any idiot pretty
good at analysing traffic."
Network Associates is primarily known as a supplier of security
software for large companies, said Stephen Elliot, an analyst at
IDC. But the network management market for smaller businesses is
fragmented and not well served by management tools suppliers such
as IBM's Tivoli Software unit, Computer Associates International
and Hewlett-Packard.
The closest competitors to Netasyst will be products from
Ipswitch, WildPackets and Network Instruments.
Netasyst relies on underlying technology that is used in Network
Associates' enterprise-class Sniffer product line, Thompson said.
But the offering will be sold as software, whereas most of the
Sniffer products are appliances that include both software and
dedicated hardware.
Another distinction between the two product lines is that
Netasyst will not work on Gigabit Ethernet networks or over Wans,
Thompson said.
Pricing for the Netasyst software ranges from $1,395 (£888) to
$6,590 (£4,427), compared with a $12,000 (£7,644) price tag for the
company's entry-level Sniffer Portable device.
Matt Hamblen writes for Computerworld