Bake-Off: 3 Network Management Solutions Put To The Test

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Nowadays, connecting a device to the network is generally as simple as just plugging it in. On the other hand, knowing what's on the network, understanding what's happening and troubleshooting problems is getting more complex.

Knowledge is power; intelligence on network traffic is critical to making any decisions about the network. Vendors have combined network monitoring tools, packet sniffers and network probes to create suites that can observe and manage network traffic. The products also add network troubleshooting capabilities.

For this review, CRN Test Center engineers compiled a list of network management products that would be suitable for small-to-midsize businesses, looking for offerings that included troubleshooting tools, network topology mapping and management capabilities. Engineers then excluded appliances to narrow the list to a handful of software applications. The final three products compared here are AdRem Software's NetCrunch 4.3, Ipswitch's WhatsUp Gold Premium v11 and SolarWinds' LANSurveyor 10, which the company picked up in its acquisition in May of Neon Software.

Engineers tested the products on a mixed network consisting of four Linux servers, one Microsoft Windows 2003 server, two workstations running Windows 2000 and XP, one networked Hewlett-Packard printer and two Cisco Systems Linksys switches. Toward the end of the test, an Apple MacBook was connected to the network for the software tools to discover and add to their databases. The Linux servers handled a variety of Web functions, including mail and firewall. The Windows 2003 server had Microsoft SQL Server installed.

Engineers rated each software package on the following criteria: features, ease of deployment, scalability, support and integration capabilities.

Next: Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold Premium v11

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