NETSCOUT Systems Introduces High-Definition Performance Management with Release of nGenius Performance Manager 3.0

23 May 2005

Customer-Driven Enhancements in Granularity and Completeness of Application Performance Data Support True Application Profiling and Pave the Way for Automated Performance Analytics

WESTFORD, Mass., May 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NetScout Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTCT), a leading provider of network and application performance management solutions, today announced the availability of its High-Definition Performance Management (HDPM) technology, delivered in nGenius(R) Performance Manager 3.0 and nGenius Probe firmware release CDM 3.0. The HDPM enhancements provide a new, significantly more granular detail of application and network traffic performance measurements. This innovative approach allows companies to achieve higher IT service levels based on a clear and complete understanding of application activity and behavior.

High-Definition Performance Management is the next major step in the company's strategy to provide unparalleled application traffic visibility both in breadth and depth, covering the entire network regardless of the type of flow/traffic, with an unprecedented level of historical detail. HDPM also represents a key building block in NetScout's longer-term strategy to deliver automated analytics for early detection and rapid resolution of performance problems in enterprise network operations centers (NOCs). Delivering automated, proactive analysis of performance issues requires the in-depth details and comprehensive application and network information made possible by the new HDPM enhancements to the nGenius System.

Specifically, nGenius Performance Manager 3.0, working with HDPM-enabled nGenius Probes, displays historical application and network performance metrics with an industry-best granularity as fine as one minute with corresponding one-second peak values. It also provides IT managers with the ability to see all applications, all hosts (server and end-user) and all conversations on an enterprise network. These advancements push NetScout to the forefront of the network and application performance management industry with the details necessary for true profiling of application and network behavior, ensuring that peaks in key performance metrics, such as utilization by application, aren't obscured by the 5- or 15-minute polling averages that are standard in competitive tools.

"We've observed a growing need for higher definition in application analysis from enterprise IT groups," said Lynn Nye, president of industry analyst firm APM Advisors. "The ability to identify short bursts of disruptive application traffic helps companies better plan for capacity upgrades, baseline their networks, fix misbehaving applications and eliminate network misuse, all contributing to better protection of network resources and critical application performance. The greater granularity in application profiling and one-minute logging in nGenius Performance Manager provides enterprise IT departments significant value by allowing them to detect and pinpoint erratic or problematic network components or low-bandwidth applications hidden at remote sites or in busy network links, that would be undetected by previous toolsets."

Another key capability in the new release of nGenius Performance Manager is the pre-loaded recognition of common peer-to-peer (P2P) applications that can waste corporate IT infrastructure and bandwidth resources, reduce employee productivity, present potential legal issues, and create vulnerable entrance points for viruses and spyware. Because P2P applications are complex, the nGenius Performance Management System uses sophisticated flow classification to automatically identify traffic from P2P applications including Kazaa, Shareaza, Morpheus, BearShare, LimeWire, eDonkey, eMule and iMesh.

NetScout also released upgrades to the other products in the nGenius System in conjunction with the HPDM enhancements, including:

  • nGenius(R) Flow Recorder 3.0, a forensics and audit trail solution for advanced troubleshooting, failure analysis and compliance monitoring by network and application operations and support teams, added enhancements for HTTP session reconstruction and replay, playback of VoIP calls, pattern matching and alarming, and direct connection to Ethernet segments.
  • nGenius(R) Flow Collector, a dedicated high-density collection and analysis appliance for NetFlow performance data, was formally released. The nGenius Flow Collector enables cost-effective instrumentation, monitoring and analysis of large-scale NetFlow-enabled networks without the use of dedicated probes. Data collected through nGenius Flow Collectors is fully integrated with nGenius Performance Manager, so one set of screens and reports can be used regardless of the customer's choice of performance instrumentation.

 

"The HDPM upgrades to the nGenius Performance Management System deliver the essential application performance granularity that today's enterprises and governmental agencies are demanding," said Michael Szabados, senior vice president of product operations at NetScout. "They also lay the groundwork for NetScout to continue leading the industry towards automated performance management and longer-term autonomic infrastructures, where management solutions will be able to automatically resolve application performance problems before business services and end users are impacted."

Pricing and Availability

All HDPM-enabled version 3.0 products in the nGenius Performance Management System are currently shipping. For existing NetScout MasterCare(TM) customers, the upgrade to nGenius Performance Manager 3.0 is free of charge. For new customers, the list price is $50,000. List prices for nGenius Flow Recorder 3.0 start at $35,000, and nGenius Flow Collector starts at $14,995.

For additional product or ordering information about nGenius solutions, call NetScout Systems at 1-800-357-7666 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 and application performance management products and solutions that unify performance across the enterprise. NetScout's nGenius Performance Management System is helping more than 3000 leading companies increase their return on infrastructure investments by optimizing the performance of networks and applications according to business priorities. NetScout is headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts and has offices worldwide. Further information is available at http://www.netscout.com.

NetScout and the NetScout logo, nGenius, and Quantiva are registered trademarks of NetScout Systems, Inc. The CDM logo, MasterCare and the MasterCare logo, are trademarks of NetScout Systems, Inc. Other brands, product names and trademarks are property of their respective owners. NetScout reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to make changes at any time in its technical information and specifications, and service and support programs.

SOURCE NetScout Systems, Inc.
/CONTACT: Dylan Locsin of NetScout Systems, Inc., +1-978-614-4113,
locsind@netscout.com; or Dawn Sullivan or Erin Del Llano both of Schwartz
Communications, Inc., +1-781-684-0770, netscout@schwartz-pr.com/
/Web site: http://www.netscout.com/
(NTCT)