“With the OmniPeek console and OmniEngine, we can have multiple users go in there and do multiple captures, so there’s more flexibility ... OmniPeek is a lot better at finding problems as they happen.”-- Mr. Lin, Network Manager, DaVita
Customer Profile - DaVita Inc., a FORTUNE 500(R) company, is a leading provider of dialysis services in the United States, providing dialysis services for patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease. DaVita manages over 1,300 outpatient facilities and acute units in over 700 hospitals located in 43 states and the District of Columbia, serving more than 103,000 patients.
Vendor Profile - Since 1990, WildPackets has been developing network and application analysis solutions that enable organizations of all sizes to analyze, troubleshoot, optimize, and secure their wired and wireless networks. WildPackets products are sold in over 60 countries through a broad network of channel and strategic partners. WildPackets has amassed more than 6,000 customers and its products are sold in over 60 countries in all industrial sectors. Customers include Safeway, Boeing, Siemens, AT&T, Motorola and over 80% of the Fortune 1000. Strategic partners include Aruba, Atheros, Cisco, Avaya, Intel and Telchemy.
- Network Environment Using a mix of Frame Relay, ISDN, and DSL-based VPN connections, DaVita’s network links an application hosting center in Washington and a network management center in California with some 5,000 PC users at 542 sites across the United States.
- Challenge
In the past, DaVita’s IT team used Sniffer DSS to troubleshoot WAN traffic problems, and it used WildPackets’ EtherPeek NX—driven remotely with Microsoft NetMeeting or PC Anywhere—to view problems with application performance, printing, or server time-outs on individual LANs. - Solution
OmniPeek’s ability to support multiple captures and multiple simultaneous users eliminated the problem. In addition, the team can now use OmniPeek and OmniEngine to begin remote capture sessions. Another benefit of the OmniPeek console is that it can be used to analyze local as well as remote segments.
OmniPeek Streamlines Distributed Analysis for DaVita
DaVita is a health care services organization that provides kidney dialysis services to nearly 47,000 patients in 33 states. Using a mix of Frame Relay, ISDN, and DSL-based VPN connections, the organization’s network links an application hosting center in Washington and a network management center in California with some 5,000 PC users at 542 sites across the United States. With distributed applications across WAN links of varying speeds, application performance and network time-outs are an ongoing issue for DaVita, and the organization’s IT staff includes five network engineers who work full-time to troubleshoot problems on remote network segments.
In the past, DaVita’s IT team used Network Associates® Sniffer® Distributed to troubleshoot their WAN network. Looking for more advanced troubleshooting capability, however, led them to WildPackets EtherPeek NX, which they drove remotely with Microsoft NetMeeting or PC Anywhere to view problems with application performance, printing, or server time-outs on individual LANs. DaVita’s team installed copies of EtherPeek NX at key network hubs to look at each network segment and determine general performance parameters as well as to diagnose problems with specific users, servers, or applications. Driving the powerful EtherPeek NX user interface remotely, however, was not optimal, due to dropped remote control sessions. This is why DaVita jumped at the opportunity to upgrade to WildPackets’ OmniPeek Product Family.
OmniPeek’s distributed analysis, real-time troubleshooting, and scalability opened a new world of remote troubleshooting. Unlike other distributed analysis systems, OmniPeek is scalable, using Microsoft Windows Security to manage access privileges to the OmniEngine. “With the OmniPeek console and OmniEngine we can have multiple users go in there and do multiple captures, so there’s more flexibility,” Lin said. “Instead of needing two separate machines to do multiple captures by multiple users, or having to kick a user off of a machine, we can have multiple users on one machine at the same time.” Avoiding contention over network troubleshooting tools allows multiple fires to be fought concurrently. Multiple captures allows users to troubleshoot the same issue multiple ways.
In addition, the team can now use OmniPeek and OmniEngine to begin remote captures sessions and leave them running 24/7. “I can just set a monitor on my switch ports and start the capture immediately,” said Lin.
The superior user interface that led Lin to EtherPeek NX in the first place, now reap dividends in OmniPeek. “With Sniffer DSS,” he says, “I have to stop a capture every time I want to set a different filter. OmniPeek lets you change filters on the fly without interrupting a capture.” Usability features such as on-the-fly filters, the ability to select packets related to specific nodes, conversations, and expert diagnoses reduce the time to find and fix problems. “It’s a lot better at finding problems as they happen.”
Another benefit of the OmniPeek console is that it can be used to analyze local as well as remote segments, so it’s the only tool Lin needs when traveling with his laptop.
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