The latest entrants to the network management software
market are attempting to steal share from Sniffer by taking
advantage of its sell-off.
The popular software was sold by Network Associates at the end
of April to Silver Lake Partners and Texas Pacific Group for £155m,
causing some uncertainty - which NetScout hopes to exploit with its
latest version of nGenius Performance Manager.
NetScout's vice-president of marketing, Jim Frey said its
software allows nGenius to interoperate with Sniffer tools and
provide advanced troubleshooting.
"Sniffer excels at expert packet analysis, and although we do
packet decode tools, some of our customers like to have that extra
step. Expert packet analysis is not something we plan to offer," he
said.
Commentators have accused Network Associates of resting on its
laurels with Sniffer, while younger rivals such as WildPackets and
Network Instruments have provided low-cost, high-spec analysers.
Sniffer has slipped in the wireless space, with WildPackets and
AirMagnet taking the lead.
"Most competitors are trying to use this to replace Sniffer,"
Frey said. "There is some additional market opportunity, I have to
admit, but NetScout is trying to embrace it, not replace it."
He claimed that the $25,000 (£14,000) cost of the interface
module, which allows data collected by nGenius probes to be
analysed in Sniffer and vice versa, was not unreasonable given that
the starting price for nGenius is $50,000.
"People who spent only $10,000 on Sniffer are too small for us
to go after," he said. "We know that a significant proportion of
our 3,000 customers worldwide also have Sniffer tools, and some
have spent far more than $25,000 on Sniffer over the years."
Most will have just the one nGenius server, he added, and there
is no limit on how many Sniffer systems or probes can be connected
to that server, once licensed.
Bryan
Betts writes for IDG News Service