Editor Profile - Tim O’Neill is an independent technology consultant. He has over 30 years experience working in the WAN, Analog, ISDN, ATM and LAN test market. Tim has worked with companies like Navtel, Network General, Ganymede and ClearSight Networks and is now helping companies get lab recognition and technology verification. Tim is also the Chief Contributing Editor for LoveMyTool.com, a website designed to help network managers gain access to valuable information and real solution stories from other customers. Tim is a patent holding, published and degreed engineer, who has seen this technology grow from Teletype (current loop) data analysis to today’s 10 Gigabit LAN’s focused on business applications with heavy compliance demands. Tim can be reached at oldcommguy (at) bellsouth (dot) net.
Online Demo of PacketTrap pt360 Pro (Dashboard)
I often hear about customers spending hoards of money on a new network management system or some new tools and it makes me wonder whether they are buying what they need or whether some vendor sold them way more than they needed. There’s a big difference not only in dollars but in successful management of ones’ networks and the business values therein.
I believe we all get caught in the buying frenzy and lots of time we are not even really sure what parameters we actually need to verify for our networks or applications.
My experience is that Open Source tool is the key for many network managers to cost-effectively find the parameters and values that are needed to verify, quantify, report and manage their networks. The process is inexpensive and can take some time but can also be a super and valuable learning adventure.
PacketTrap has listened to their registered users (over 18,000) and the feedback that was given in pursuit of their latest Pro release that I think you will find of significant value. This new product may help the overworked “first responders” we know as Network Managers while providing them with access to a one console, integrated view of commercial and open source products.
Interop Classes on Open Source Tools
Before I start on the PacketTrap product review, I like to mention that Open Source Tool is getting so viable and integral to the industry that Mike Pennacchi and his Network Protocol Specialist Team will again be giving a course at Interop in Las Vegas on open source tools, their values and suggested usage.
The one-day class is entitled “Network Troubleshooting Using Open Source Tools.” This class is not intended to show people how not to spend money on networking tools. It is intended to present a few tips and techniques that can be used to begin troubleshooting problems. Once people start getting in there and fixing some of these problems, it becomes their decision whether the freely available tools are adequate or whether it is best to purchase commercial tools.
Mike Pennacchi says, “I have solved a great number of networking problems using tools such as Wireshark, Iperf, MRTG, nTop, and others. They provide what I believe is one of the most important things needed in any industry and that is a low cost of entry. Once a person is able to begin troubleshooting problems they are able to decide for themselves if they are interested in continuing to get better at it. Once they solve some problems, they can gain the creditability needed to get the dollars to purchase the more expensive tools that are backed with some of the support and engineering not found in the Open Source tools.”
Mike goes on to say “Today, thanks to the efforts of many individuals out there as well as a number of companies, we have access to a wealth of tools for little or no cost. This means that with the desire to troubleshoot network problems, you now have the tools necessary to begin embarking on troubleshooting problems, just by downloading them off the Internet. Whether you are a company like mine that teaches people how to troubleshoot problems and helps them analyze traces when they get stuck or a company that manufactures network tools and hardware, Open Source tools are a very valuable resource. Why? It eases the cost of entry into this field and one can determine the parameters needed to monitor, analyze and verify their unique network value.”
Review of PacketTrap Pro
It is great when we can use Open Source tools and integrate them into a new and innovative tool set and have the advantage of a unified visualization and operational GUI. I believe that is the goal of PacketTrap and that is why I am writing about them (again).
Remember you need 4 things to really capture and review your network –
- Real 100% access – No SPAN ports – real access technology like Network Critical’s carrier grade technology. If you still believe in SPAN as an acceptable access technology, better read my paper on that before you fall into a big trap.
- If you are going to get serious about capturing a lot of data for Lawful Intercept, Deep Packet Inspection, historical issue review, auditing and other deep capture requirements, my current favorite is Solera Networks.
- You need the tools to capture, monitor, analyze, Like PacketTrap and other Open Source tools
- You need the training to be able to recognize and solve the problems that you capture and see with the technology.
Why is PacketTrap something I talk about?
PacketTrap is providing a great GUI focused management console for many different open source tools as well as other paid for tools.
Hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars a year are spent on network management systems and/or tools and often many even fail to get fully deployed. I think it’s important to consider the following question before going through the selection process of the tools one needs to manage, monitor, verify, and report their networks:
What parameters do you need to verify that your network (the elements, applications, servers, etc.) are working to your expectations?
Open source can help you decide what you need and help you focus your spending on the correct tools that provide you with the proof you need to be successful.
I could go through a list of specific requirements that a syslog server, trace route or other network troubleshooting tool should have but the ones available today are all pretty good so what I look for is a nice GUI for easy control that has a smooth and merged view.
I reviewed PacketTrap’s pt360 back in December 2007 and focused on the solution’s impressive interface that was designed to be intuitive and easy to use and they delivered as promised.
Recently PacketTrap has taken another giant step and just released pt360 PRO. This new version includes new gadgets and extensive features like MS Exchange, SQL Server and Active Directory, plus new management, monitoring and troubleshooting tools like syslog server, network discovery and Cisco configuration plus it can easily integrate with any web based open source tool.
This is very cool and can really help you in be a more successful network manager.
Some cool features from the PacketTrap pt360 Pro -
Traffic Jam: This is probably the coolest tool in the package. It’s a random traffic generator which means it sends packets through your system to simulate heavy usage without doing any damage. It’s an ideal way of testing your network and discovering any potential problems. It’s far better you find out potential bottleneck issues this way than waiting until you really do have a crisis!
Syslog Server: This feature brings together the system logs from your entire network in an easy to manage display. You can filter the messages easily, archive them for future reference, and even export the messages in HTML, XML or CSV format.
Cisco Configuration: If your network uses Cisco devices, PT360 Pro is a must. No more one-off tools that only work at the point of the problem. With PacketTrap 360 Pro, you get permanent, centralized control. You can upload configuration changes direct to a router or switch through SNMP or Telnet. You can archive startup and network configurations for future comparison. And no more will lost passwords be a pain in your life: you can decrypt Cisco type-7 passwords without any hitch, OOP’s another security issue.
DNS Audit: This tool takes a specified range of IP addresses, matches each address to its domain name, and then checks it matches up in reverse. If there’s a problem, you’ll know! This is a must for configuring new devices!
Network Discovery: This feature quickly scans the entire network to discover all devices. Leveraging SNMP and WMI, the tool provides a complete set of attributes for each device that has been discovery that is viewed in a cutting-edge user interface.
MS Exchange, SQL and Active Directory Gadgets (or Big Boy Toys): These powerful real-time monitoring gadgets help IT managers quickly determine the root cause of application performance issues before an end user is even aware that a problem exists. Despite all these neat tools (and several more), pt360 is really easy to use. We’ve already mentioned the dashboard feature which makes it easy to see what’s going on. Even better, the package remembers any settings you make to any of the tools, so next time you use a tool, it’ll be just as you left it. That’s unlike most network tools where you have to set things up from scratch every time.
Also, new Features coming soon including the following –
- SMTP / SMS Alerts
- Switchport Mapper
- CISCO Netflow
- VoIP support
- Custom Reports
- Time Series Analysis
When evaluating a solution, I always make sure the system includes:
• Application monitoring.
• Responsive and Reactive insight into network traffic.
• Notification when critical devices or applications fail.
• Performance trend information on latency - utilization and availability
• Syslog and event log monitoring and reporting
PacketTrap’s pt360 PRO takes things a step further by integrating all its capabilities into a centralized dashboard for easy control and super clear visualization.
Integration with Open Source tools
The PacketTrap solution can integrate and offers continuous display from any browser based open source tool. This is a unique feature as most tools that use open source technology try to hide it and mask the open source from the user. PacketTrap opening embraces Open Source solutions, currently only the web based ones like Cacti, Nagios, MRTG – Multi Router Traffic Grapher, OpenNMS, but soon Open Source tools like Wireshark and others can be seamlessly integrated in the pt360 series of products.
Cost, Value, Capability and Extensibility are always something to consider in a tool.
There is no doubt many things you want to do can be done with a low cost alternative or with open source individual tools. Using open source for parts of your network management is a good option because it only costs the labor hours required to customize it for your network and you are joining a proactive team fo serious developers that are focused on solutions.
One of the extensible features of the PacketTrap solution is the ability to work with Open Source tools and solutions while providing one with clear and easily understood visualizations. In fact, Steve Goodman, CEO of PacketTrap, will be speaking at SHARKFEST Developers Conference in March to explain why he believes it is important for commercial companies to embrace the open source community.
I hope this new tool excites you as it has me. The PacketTrap’s ability to integrate with open source and the up coming additions can really help you, the over worked network manager.
Try it out and let me and PacketTrap know what you think.
My Best….Oldcommguy
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