Bay Networks has delivered enhancements and additions to its network management portfolio that will help network managers prevent network degradation and downtime by providing early indications of traffic pattern changes, traffic volume growth, or response time delays. The announcement includes enhancements to the Optivity Analysis 8.0 network management application, the introduction of Optivity Analysis for Windows NT, and the Optivity StackProbe Series 2000 family of RMON/RMON2 probes. These new services further the company's Adaptive Networking strategy by offering aggressively priced network management tools that reduce the burden on network managers. "Bay Networks Adaptive Networking strategy is based on the premise that networks and network management should be worry free," says Peter Stutz, network management specialist at Bay Networks South Africa. "The products announced today strengthen our network management market leadership position by making worry free networking a reality." Optivity Analysis 8.0 With the Network Response Time Monitor feature in the Optivity Analysis 8.0 application, Stutz says network managers no longer need to manually compute service-level performance from raw data - the application automatically collects, analyses and displays response time using user-defined rules. This allows proactive monitoring and the detection of reduced performance before it results in user complaints. Whereas competitive offerings require data collection devices (such as the Optivity StackProbe) at both ends of the network connection, the network response time monitoring feature in Optivity requires the device at only one end, potentially saving the user tens of thousands of rands. In addition, this feature removes the need for monitoring devices on the remote side of a wide area network and can measure network response time through the WAN cloud. The RMON2 Protocol Extender feature of the application allows network managers to define proprietary network protocols and collect data as if they were standards-based, enabling the manager to collect and analyse previously unrecognisable data. Optivity Analysis for Windows NT Stutz says Bay Networks recognises the importance of the Windows NT platform within enterprise networking environments. "The introduction of the Optivity Analysis for Windows NT network management application underscores the company's commitment to providing customers the tools they need to manage their networks while maintaining the freedom to select the operating system that best fits their needs." Because Optivity Analysis for NT is a true 32-bit application, it can be run on Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 on a wide range of computers, from powerful desktops to portable notebooks, offering customers a variety of deployment options. The application is fully compatible with the Bay Networks Optivity Campus management application and is offered independently or as a bundle. Optivity StackProbe Series 2000 Family Successful management of complicated network traffic flow requires a comprehensive set of network management applications and intelligent instrumentation distributed throughout the entire network. Without intelligent instrumentation, traffic visualization and system-level monitoring are not possible. The Optivity StackProbe Series 2000 family of network monitoring devices will initially consist of six models: two for FDDI and four for Fast Ethernet environments. The Optivity StackProbe Series 2000 family introduces full-duplex RMON/RMON2 probes that break the $10,000.barrier. The second-generation standalone probes are standards-compliant and compatible with any standards-based network management application. The devices are designed to operate in legacy or new environments and provide half-duplex and full-duplex monitoring for both copper and fiber connections, using fault-tolerant PassThru technology to ensure no impact on link performance is incurred. Pricing and Availability All products included in this release are shipping and currently available. The Optivity Analysis 8.0 application is part of the Optivity Enterprise suite of network management solutions. Optivity Analysis software can be purchased separately at a list price of $5,995 or as part of the Enterprise suite at $17,995. Optivity Analysis for Windows NT is currently available as an individual purchase, listing at $2,495 or bundled with the Optivity Campus offering at $4,495 There are currently four shipping models in the Optivity StackProbe Series 2000 family, with price ranges between $4,995.00 and $11,995.00 of their respective holders.
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