A Wealth of Information

I tested NP/BizFlow-1000 at Network Computing's Real-World Labs® at Syracuse University using a NetOptics fiber tap. I set up the Coordinator through a basic CLI (command-line interface) environment, which required an IP address, subnet mask and host name. With the Coordinator up and running, you can configure the SmartProbe through a Web interface or the CLI. Once setup was complete, the SmartProbe began recording information about incoming traffic.

As administrator of NP/BizFlow-1000 system, most of your time will be spent inside the Internet traffic-manager application, a complex Java WebStart application. The latest version of JRE (Java Runtime Environment), included with NP/BizFlow-1000, is all you'll need to get started. But with so much information coming out, some network administrators could easily be overwhelmed.

Data Display

NP/BizFlow's Dashboard tool, which costs an additional $10,000, provides a view of SNMP-generated traps and user-defined alerts. This application separates server, network and client alerts into three categories of errors: critical, major and minor. The Dashboard displays the type of error and a small bar graph representing a timeline of previous events.

You can configure alert thresholds to populate the Dashboard using simple Boolean logic that can be applied to user-defined groups or single entities. There are a handful of canned alerts that come with the system, but you'll appreciate how easy it is to create new alerts based on dozens of variables.Reporting Capabilities

The interface includes basic traffic reports, including TCP throughput, fetchtime, outbound packet loss and outbound transmission rate. Trend report views allow the administrator access deep into the network cloud. You can choose to view trend reports in pie, scatter and frequency-distribution charts, and generate them according to date and time intervals. Report increments can be set to one minute, five minutes, one hour or one day. You can generate reports and view information based on TCP and UDP ports, and even drill down to the device that generates the greatest bandwidth.

NP/BizFlow-1000 gives you an end-to-end view of client's performance data, letting you assess which clients have performance problems in order to diagnose the cause. End clients are organized into AS (BGP Autonomous System number) groups. I found it simple to drill down to view client performance: Select the AS group, select the client and view performance charts populated with the most recent data recorded by the SmartProbe.

I found the charts and tables well laid out, and the displays, even those with complex information, were easy to read.

New to the NP/BizFlow-1000 system is the ability to capture packets between any business group or between end clients in your network. You can start the packet capture manually or automatically set it to capture TCP, UDP, ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol), ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) or every packet across the connection. Recorded packets are saved intcpdump file format, which must be viewed with an external network protocol analyzer. NP/BizFlow-1000 does not include a built-in feature to analyze the packets, but it's easy to set up third-party programs, such as the free Ethereal, via the Integration Manager.

In addition to letting you integrate third-party programs, NP/BizFlow-1000 lets you integrate other useful productsl. For example, you can export TCP information generated in traffic reports by simply selecting the data you want to export, right-mouse clicking and selecting the application you set up in the Integration Manager--very slick.

The NP/BizFlow-1000 system includes easy backup and restore to the configuration and data information saved in both devices. The backup-and-restore process is performed over FTP or SSH (Secure Shell) via the Web interface.

NP/BizFlow-1000 is a complete Internet traffic monitor for throughput under 400 Mbps. The data reported is useful for analyzing where your bandwidth is going and potential bottlenecks. Universities and organizations that have put a cap on bandwidth usage will appreciate NP/BizFlow's ability to monitor total bandwidth consumption. You also could use NP/BizFlow-1000 to check your ISP's performance and compare it to your service-level agreement.

NP/BizFlow-1000 really gets to the heart of your network cloud, but between the sticker price and the time it takes to capitalize on all the information available, you should be prepared to make your case to the man or woman who holds the purse strings and to your network administrator about purchasing this system.Andy Woods is a computer scientist for a federal law enforcement agency. You can reach him by e-mail at [email protected].

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