PacketTrap Networks

Vendor Profile - PacketTrap is favored among the IT community for its seamless integration of network monitoring and diagnostic tools into a centralized dashboard. PacketTrap's flagship solution, the pt360, provides IT professionals with a 360 degree view of their network and lets them discover, monitor, and manage their IT infrastructure from a single screen. The suite includes Cisco configuration tools, a TFTP server, WMI, SNMP, and Port Scans, and gadgets to monitor all flavors of operating systems and servers. PacketTrap is committed to providing affordable and robust alternatives to needlessly complex, poorly supported market offerings.

April 10, 2008

PacketTrap Networks @ Sharkfest 2008

Michael Blonsky is the VP of Field Operations at PacketTrap. Michael joins the PacketTrap team after starting up and building out the virtual appliances initiative for VMware (NASDAQ: VMW). By developing a successful ISV outreach program, Michael helped VMware grow a new category of software solutions from 4 sample virtual appliances to over 600 virtual appliances including a large number of certified, production supported, commercial virtual appliances. Prior to VMware, Michael was Director of Advanced Solutions for Cast Iron Systems where he focused on selling to and delivering solutions for high profile customers like Toyota, Motorola, Affymetrix, Solectron, Kinder Morgan, and British American Tobacco. In addition to the eight years working in Silicon Valley, Michael brings another eight years of international technology consulting experience with firms like Accenture and Grant Thornton where Michael led multi-year projects for companies like General Electric and Royal Bank of Canada. Michael holds a M.S. in Business and Technology from Johns Hopkins University.

April 09, 2008

Panel Discussion @ Sharkfest 2008

Panel Discussion: The Future of Open Source Network Tools - a distinguished panel of industry experts in a lively discussion on the future of open source versus commercial network tools.

Panel Moderator: (standing) Mike Pennacchi, Network Protocol Specialists, LLC

Panel Participants: (sitting, right to left) Scott Haugdahl - CEO of BitCricket; Gordon Lyon (aka Fyodor) - Founder of insecure.org and Creator of NMAP; Mike Kershaw - Creator of Kismet; Gerald Combs - Creator of Ethereal/Wireshark; Michael Blonsky - VP of Field Operations of PacketTrap

Editor's Note - As an experiment, we have turned on the feature that allows anyone to add comments within the videos. Hopefully this will promote further discussions regarding open source tools. Please keep it clean and civil. Thanks in advance.

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March 07, 2008

One Giant Step by PacketTrap (by Tim O’Neill)

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. 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.

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February 29, 2008

Time to Support Open Source Tools (by Steve Goodman)

The use of open source software has become increasingly popular in production environments, as well as in research and software development. One obvious attraction is the low cost of acquisition. Commercial software has a higher initial cost, though it usually has advantages such as support and training.

While we believe that many will follow, PacketTrap is one of the first traditional software vendors to fully support the open source community without tampering with the underlying benefits and mechanics of open source development generally. As evidence, PacketTrap products include an interface that is conducive to easy integration of open source solutions.

It’s imperative to the future of the software industry that open source projects succeed and flourish because it provides a high quality and sometimes more flexible solution to traditional approaches. PacketTrap is one of the first commercial vendors to develop a solution that integrates open source products, and will push the commercial industry to release software development kits (SDKs) and APIs that ensure volunteer developers can integrate seamlessly with its solutions. This is best for the volunteer community, PacketTrap, and, most of all, end user IT departments.

In summary, it is time to embrace the open source community and IT departments that use open source Products.

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December 7, 2007

Network Management “Cockpit” from PacketTrap (by Tim O’Neill)

An important feature and quite revolutionary is PacketTrap’s support for open source. The company clearly sees and embraces the technology and its ever growing capabilities. The PacketTrap Team feels that “commercial solutions [should be] compatible with open source implementations” and the company puts its money where its mouth is and the PT360 is just the beginning.

For many years I have worked with companies and seen many more struggle to achieve easy to use interfaces and I am big on visualization and ease of use. I feel that the PacketTrap Team has certainly hits a homerun in those areas. I have never been a fan of diving into the technical minutiae – but for this product it wasn’t necessary. What really impressed me about the product is the visibility into the network takes technology out of the picture and makes network management more about prevention, detection and discovery rather than just putting out fires.

The PacketTrap solution is truly a business tool - the underlying technology is sophisticated, but that is transparent to the network engineer. I like easy to use visual technology that makes troubleshooting and learning about one’s network fun (as possible) and easy, I think they have done a great job with much more to come in the future.

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