Well, okay, maybe the Network Performance Monitoring and Management we're delivering with the help from our associates at Apparent Networks is not the coolest technology of 2010, but it certainly is the MOST USEFUL. With these tools, we can solve real-world problems experienced by most businesses today. We can detect bottlenecks and slow-downs in a network so faulty equipment can be replaced. We can determine whether ISP and telcom providers are delivering the contracted level of bandwidth (and the quality of that bandwidth). We can determine--in advance--whether a client has enough bandwidth to support new services (e.g., moving to a hosted ERP platform, or installing a VoIP or teleconferencing systems). And we keeping finding new applications where we can make a bottom-line business impact...

Until a year ago, I was providing what I liked to call 'Network Assessments' for customers. Since using PathView Cloud I realize I was really doing traffic assessments. This much mail, that much web, from here, to there. That definitely has its place but just knowing what's running over the network doesn't begin to describe what a network's capabilities actually are or should be. If the network is not performing as intended your business productivity and profitability is already compromised, hitting every user, every application and every customer.

From a birds-eye view SNMP tools can indicate the condition of individual network devices but much more critical is what's happening from a packet's eye view. Just like in the 60's film 'Fantastic Voyage' the only way to get to the truth was to get into the bloodstream. PathView travels the veins and arteries of your network where everything else just stands on the outside taking the pulse from a single point.

I've lost track of the number of problems, many of them long standing for months - even years, that PathView identified within the first hour of deployment.

And things just keep getting better. Meaningful and useful new features are released regularly. PathView travels light, exercising the network using a truly unique technology that's almost invisible on the network. AppView sends real application traffic over the network to see how the network handles it and the characteristics of the reduced network resources left for other applications. PacketView captures packet traces at local or remote locations and securely brings them back for detailed analysis.

PathView Cloud shows how well your network is performing by silently exercising it and describing what to do if there's a problem. Take a look at the live interactive demo site at http://trypathview.com or for real in your own network with a 5-minute deployment. There is quite simply nothing else like it and everyone can afford it.

I've been a user of Pathview for over a year with heavy emphasis on assessing network voice readiness for customers - and potential customers - as they prepare to take the VoIP plunge. Prior to Pathview, we used "Pingplotter" which is basically a network management "Lite" app and while it was, well ... okay, it just wasn't enough. I had also tried Solar Wind and What's up Gold - all nice in their own way but unless you are sitting at your desk 24/7 and have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do but stare at the screen all day, they were simply TMI.
One of our biggest challenges in the VoIP world is dealing with ISP's and their uncanny ability NOT to acknowledge a possible problem with their network (see my article on this at http://www.ronek.com/blog/2010/09/02/remember-3-ds-dealing-isps/ ). We needed a quick and definitive way to point to a time and IP address and say "Ah ha!" whenever a problem arose.
Enter Pathview.

When our customers complained about choppy voice quality at a remote user's site (i.e. their home) - and we knew it was because they purchased the cheapest Internet DSL connection possible - it was hard to simply say "It's your crummy, cheap, bottom feeding DSL connection that you are paying $14.95/mo for along with that used Netgear you got on Craig's List for $6 plus shipping. " even though it was true. Their response usually was "The phone/cable company says it's not their fault and I can surf the Internet most of the time without a problem." Now when they complain and we have Pathview monitoring them, we can say all the above and be able to prove it. Wow! How great is that?!

Pathview gives the IT guy a simple interface and an at-a-glance view of things that affect the flow of data from point A to everywhere else in the country or beyond. The most important factors such as bandwidth, utilization, latency, jitter and packet loss are all on a very readable console. With today's IT staffs being scaled down, it's all about time. Those who survived the 2008-2009 economic winter often inherited IT responsibilities outside their expertise - like the network. Most of the time when a user complains about slow access on the LAN, troubleshooting usually centers around the server or the host (sometimes it's the user but that's another type of 'shooting). For LAN issues, they'll turn to something like Wireshark and hope they can interpret packets flying "Matrix- like" across the screen. For these scenarios, i.e. internal ones, the fixes are usually traced to a rouge device that YOU can do something about. Relatively easy.
For WAN issues, that approach simply is not realistic and this is where I think Pathview really earns its keep. If you are on the hook for an MPLS, Point to Point or VPN meshed environment, you need this. Period. Think of the time you save if you could prove that the problem with that remote office in Gator-Swamp Alabama is NOT your equipment - as the carrier insinuates - but is instead at their edge router. You probably don't have time to sit and stare at a console all day because of the extra "responsibilities" you now have (that probably came without a raise btw) or you're scrabbling out in the field trying to bring in more customers, but you DO have time to read your emails no matter where you are. Pathview will notify you - based on the criteria you set - that something is going on. Plus, the fact that it is all web based, you can log in with your Droid and actually take a look at the trouble in real time.
Under the heading of "Things you need to get" - get a "micro-appliance". Actually, get at least two, Pathview has this neat feature that lets you measure bi-directional bandwidth statistics on async circuits and you will need one at either end. Very cool. Definitely check out the new AppView Voice for your voice assessments - we usually charge for these so if you are a consultant, have at it.
Finally, one of my favorite things about Apparent is that they are constantly refining and enhancing this product. It really makes my life easier knowing who to blame (whether it's me or the ISP) and even though they probably don't do it just for me, I like to think so.

Eric Knaus
eric.knaus@ronek.com