SQL Server Magazine

Detect Network Problems Before They Occur
Network Instrument' Observer Suite

Portia Ulinski had to monitor her network's infrastructure at 56 remote offices across the United States as well as at company headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Members of her staff often found themselves responding to problems rather than preventing them. Looking for a product that would provide comprehensive coverage for her entire network, Ulinski found and purchased Network Instruments' Observer Suite and 60 probes. Observer Suite provides network analysis for your LAN, wireless, 802.11a/b/g, low-utilization gigabit, token-ring, and Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) shared and switched networks. The product monitors and controls standard remote-monitoring devices, and its Web Reporting feature lets you view your network statistics from any Web-enabled browser. Observer Suite also provides an SNMP management console to optimize your network devices.

Although the typical workday ends at 5:00 P.M., Observer Suite continues to work around the clock. "Observer Suite is like having an employee on site at all hours to manage our network," says Ulinski. "We've been very satisfied, and Observer Suite has prevented us from experiencing any downtime."

Take Snapshots Without Using Scripts
Altiris Client Management Suite

Casey Jones of Charlotte, North Carolina, was looking for a desktop deployment and management solution. After downloading a trial product and visiting with Altiris representatives, Jones purchased Altiris Client Management Suite. Jones found the features in Client Management Suite to be "phenomenal and limitless." He explains, "The features cover every inch of desktop management you could possibly imagine. Client Management Suite offers great packaging options, letting you take machine snapshots without any knowledge of scripting. To distribute software, I use the Management Console, which lets you drag and drop software to a machine or groups of machines. You can even set up the product to automatically deploy software and images."

Client Management Suite offers several reporting services and customization options. Jones says, "The product supplies numerous preconfigured reports and dashboards for easy-to-read graphs. You can even have Client Management Suite automatically export a report to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and then have Client Management Suite email the report. Report customization is limitless. For example, if you need to know how many computers have Adobe Reader installed, along with the version number and date of install, Client Management Suite can tell you. Overall, Client Management Suite is in a class of its own and has endless possibilities."

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