Sniffer Launches Protection Platform

The launch aims to redefine Sniffer as a provider of proactive network assessment and protection instead of reactive performance management, executives said.

A key component of the platform is the s6040, a high-speed hardware appliance for network monitoring and analysis. Designed for the core of the network, the device features 8-Gbps line rate capture and multisegment aggregation, said Christopher Thompson, vice president of marketing at Sniffer, based here.

The appliance has a rack-mounted chassis and can support four full-duplex media modules, or ports. Its blade-based architecture will allow Sniffer to add new capabilities such as intrusion prevention, Thompson said.

Sniffer plans to integrate intrusion-prevention technology from IntruVert Networks, which Network Associates moved to acquire last month, into its platform in early 2004, he said. The acquisition was completed Wednesday.

The s6040 targets the data centers of large enterprises or carrier networks and starts at $40,000. Sniffer is working with a small group of channel partners to train them on the product, executives said.

To provide companies with a higher level of visibility into their network at the edge, Sniffer is releasing a new version of Sniffer Distributed fault and network management software, Thompson said. Sniffer Distributed Version 4.3 features enhanced remote monitoring (RMON) capabilities.

Sniffer also is rolling out an updated version of its Network Performance Orchestrator (nPO) Manager with multitrace capabilities that provides quicker identification of network problems, role-based accessibility, a new GUI and support for a broader set of authentication methods.

By giving companies a view into their networks from the core to the edge, Sniffer is providing them "with a whole new level of visibility they didn't have before," Thompson said.

"We're redefining the network security and availability market as network protection," he said.