NETSCOUT Aims Performance Management Firepower at Storage Area Networks

09 Dec 2002

New nGenius Fibre Channel Probes Unveiled;

nGenius Performance Manager Expands LAN and WAN Support to Include SAN

WESTFORD, Mass., Dec. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NetScout Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTCT) today announced the extension of its nGenius(R) Performance Management System to address Fibre Channel Storage Area Networks (SANs). Through newly-introduced Fibre Channel probes and NetScout's flagship performance management application, nGenius Performance Manager, enterprises will now be able to leverage an extensive feature set to manage the performance of their Fibre Channel traffic. The expansion of the nGenius System to include storage network performance is another step forward in NetScout's CDM Technology(TM) initiative to reduce management data and tool clutter across the infrastructure. With this new visibility, enterprises will now have a single solution for managing performance across SAN, LAN and WAN environments with superior, real-time visibility that reduces the time required to identify and resolve problems and lowers the total cost of network operations.

The need for visibility into storage traffic flows is already being felt by IT managers operating multi-vendor storage environments consisting of both SAN and network-attached storage (NAS). In these environments, difficulties in diagnosing performance problems are resulting in unacceptable costs associated with service interruptions. By gaining deeper insight into Fibre Channel activity, IT managers will be able to better manage and improve the returns on their Fibre Channel investments through better diagnosis of traffic anomalies, conversation specifics and bandwidth use trends.

     New capabilities include:
     * Real-time Fibre Channel network performance monitoring and historical
       baseline and trend reporting from a single management application
     * Continuous, vendor-independent visibility via passive monitoring of
       traffic flows crossing any number of 1 Gbps or 2 Gbps Fibre Channel
       links
     * Cost-effective multi-port configuration to see individual or aggregated
       views across multiple load-sharing or redundant links
     * Packet capture and decode for complex, in-depth troubleshooting of
       problems such as multi-vendor interoperability

"Our storage infrastructure includes equipment from multiple vendors, some of which doesn't include performance management tools," said Glenn Hartfiel, director of Information Technology for Reliant Resources. "Having a solution that can deliver visibility of storage traffic flows across the various components of our infrastructure, regardless of the devices used, is very valuable for pinpointing the source of problems without getting bogged down in changing tools and sifting through excessive amounts of data. We chose NetScout for its ability to reduce management complexity while delivering a consistent view of how our networks are performing enterprise-wide."

According to Infonetics research, Fibre Channel port shipments exceeded 1 million in 2001 and are expected to increase by 23% in 2002. "Fibre Channel storage networks continue to increase in both size and number," said Neil Osipuk, directing analyst, Data Centers and Hosting, Infonetics Research. "As the traffic in these networks rises, so will the potential for performance degradations that affect mission critical services. NetScout's technology will allow visibility into a new area for IT managers needing the capability to proactively manage performance and solve problems quickly when they do happen."

"Many companies in Europe are investigating outsourcing the deployment of their SANs. However there remains a desire and a requirement to maintain operational visibility and control, especially with respect to performance management," said Tony Lock, senior analyst, Bloor Research. "This is an area where NetScout's offering can contribute significantly towards managing the Quality of Service. NetScout supplies significant information detailing how the interlinked storage and data networks are performing. IT managers need this independent view-point in order to be able to validate service levels with outsourced management providers and to assure that optimal performance is being realized."

"We are excited to now embrace storage environments under our CDM initiative," said Anil Singhal, president and CEO of NetScout Systems. "NetScout has invested significant effort into adapting our probes and software to the Fibre Channel environment. This new offering empowers networking, systems, and storage groups to collaborate more closely to solve performance issues and plan more effectively."

Pricing and Availability

nGenius Fibre Channel probes are shipping now in 1-port, 2-port and 4-port configurations starting at $19,995. Fibre Channel management extensions are available in nGenius Performance Manager 1.4 at no additional charge. For additional product or ordering information about nGenius solutions, call NetScout Systems at 1-800-657-7666 or visit our Website http://www.netscout.com.

About NetScout Systems, Inc.

NetScout Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTCT) is a market leader and pioneer of integrated network performance management solutions for leading companies and service providers worldwide. NetScout's offerings are based upon its nGenius(R) Performance Management System, an integrated solution of advanced monitoring and reporting applications that draw on the rich performance data generated by NetScout's real-time, application-aware probes, advanced intelligent software agents and other network devices. The nGenius System helps organizations increase their return on infrastructure investments by optimizing the performance of their network and applications. NetScout is headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts and has offices in North America, Europe and Asia. Further information on the company is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.netscout.com.

NetScout, nGenius, and the NetScout logo are registered trademarks of NetScout Systems, Inc. ART MIB, Because the network is the business and CDM Technology are trademarks of NetScout Systems, Inc. NetScout reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to make changes at any time in its technical information, specifications and service and support programs.

    For Further Information:
     Peggy Flynn                   Dawn Sullivan or Tim King
     NetScout Systems              Schwartz Communications, Inc.
     (978) 614-4162                (781) 684-0770
     flynnp@netscout.com           netscout@schwartz-pr.com

                     

SOURCE NetScout Systems, Inc.