The Packet Scoop

Few products can address all network management needs so most IT infrastructures are managed by dozens of disparate point products. What this means for IT departments is a patched-together network that has too many parts to manage, little-to-no integration and support calls to different help desks. And while every network management vendor says its solution is “easy-to-use”, I think we all agree with eWeek’s networking editor Paula Musich when she says, “Vendor solutions are getting too long in the tooth.” In addition to the above, today’s products lack good network visibility, are expensive, and often have steep learning curves.

The Solution

Today’s IT departments need a straightforward, simplistic and comprehensive network monitoring and diagnostic solution that does what it says it does. Following is a list of recommended features and functions when evaluating a network management solution.

Time to Productivity – Takes less than 15 minutes to implement. Quick implementation usually means the network management system should have network discovery feature, as well as switch port mapper, and fast configuration capabilities.

Good visibility – A solution that includes a monitoring dashboard with charts or graphs that display the health of your network at-a-glance. Your solution should also include the ability to easily change your perspective from your network to a remote office network for troubleshooting and remediation purposes.

Integrated – The most efficient and effective way to manage your network is to implement a solution that provides monitoring, diagnostic, troubleshooting, and remediation capabilities. In other words, your solution should enable you to monitor your network, alert you to a problem, diagnose it, and then drill-down further. For example, a solution that has a traffic-flow tool that allows you to find the traffic issue and then integrates other tools that allow you to shut down a port if unauthorized traffic is sucking up resources.

Setting Baselines – IT managers are riddled with “false positive” alerts that take up time and effort. A solution that allows you to set baselines customized to your network is an important way to eliminate the “false positive” issue.

Historical Reporting and Alerts – IT managers constantly need to battle for every dime of their budget so a network management system that includes database features that enable historical reporting allows users to present actual data about the issues relating to the network.

Organizations must look beyond the conventional approaches and toward network management systems that incorporate the best in component technologies. To do less will probably assure being an early casualty of the tremendous changes coming to the network. The best of the most comprehensive offerings are by HP, IBM and CA, but they are also the most expensive and complicated to maintain. AdventNet and PacketTrap provide good alternatives that focus on usability, affordability and incorporation of only the most critical and necessary features.

Steve

In late February, Digital Defense, an Internet security company, found a minor (certainly not “critical”) vulnerability in an early version of pt360. The vulnerability basically allowed someone with intimate knowledge of TFTP servers, to use our software to access privileged directories on target machines. That is, our software wasn’t the problem per se, but that someone could maliciously use our software to access priviledged directories. We patched the software to prevent the improper use about five hours later in conjunction with Digital Defense, and issued a press release. Not one report surfaced of even one malicious use of our software. That was seven months ago. That was the end of the story….until now.

Promisec is a security company that got some PR from IDG for its online encyclopedia. We were included on their list of “top 5 threats” because they had dated/incorrect information from the February incident. Their warning is factually incorrect on too many levels to describe in a blog, however let me mention just a couple.

First, the problem was solved within five hours. This was not noted by Promisec even though this problem was solved months ago. Second, because Promisec didn’t do their homework, they relayed their incorrect information without checking with us or with Digital Defense to substantiate their position to the good people at IDG, who in turn published the article. Shame on IDG for publishing the article without checking facts and double shame on Promisec for their reckless unsubstantiated allegation that our software is a “critical” threat to the Internet as a whole (or was ever a “critical” threat). Now, I am a huge fan of the work of IDG and remain one of their largest advocates. In fact, their rags provide the most in-depth knowledge of our space (network management) in the industry. But lets be clear, only 106 people downloaded the affected software. As of this writing and the Promisec’s article in IDG, only 4 (that’s right – FOUR) of those users had used the software since March. While we’re honored to be mentioned in the same company as Google, MySpace and Skype (the other companies on the “critical” threat list), we’re baffled how our 106 users (err 4 - and we know them all) of that version of our software are anything more than a minor nuisance to themselves, much less a “critical’ threat to the 4.5 billion people on the Internet.

(by the way, for all of you Ethereal / Wireshark users - they also said that WireShark was a threat to the Internet. So, that does put things is Perspective I guess)

We’ve spoken to the editors of IDG News Service, as well as the online editors of PCWorld and InfoWorld (where the article was published). We expect a correction in the next day or so. Digital Defense may also be quoted in the correction, stating that the issue was resolved months ago. I am sure that Promisec does good work, and I surmise that this was just an oversight on their part.

Steve

SMS alerts and email notifications are essential to any network monitoring system. But getting the alerts is only half the solution. That is, getting an SMS alert that your email server is down is worthless unless you can log in from your phone and solve the problem. Why wait until you get home to make sure the salespeople you support can get to their email. That’s where PacketTrap Perspective comes into play. Weather you’re using Apple’s new iPhone or Opera on Blackberry or countless other browsers on mobile devices, you will be able to log into Perspective from anywhere you have a connection and solve problems.

When it’s your day off, enjoy your free time without thinking about your network. Perspective will have you covered.

Get access to a Perspective before the general public. Join our Early Access Program at www.PacketTrap.com/product.

Steve

We are pleased and excited that we are on schedule for the release of Perspective™, our comprehensive and affordable network management solution. We released the solution into Phase 1 of our Early Access Program (EAP) recently, and we expect to start Phase II users soon, with a General Availability release date o early September.

The feedback so far has been strong. Clearly, there is work to do, but we are encouraged by the response and feedback. If you are interested in the Early Access Program, please go to www.PacketTrap.com/product and complete our questionnaire. Early Access Program members receive discounts and, as importantly, get direct access to our Engineering and Product Management teams. That is, early access users become an extension our company. After all, we can’t build great solutions without strong and direct input form our users.

Early positive feedback includes the intuitiveness of the interface, the Load and Go Network Discovery, and Smart Policies that allow users to logically group devices. We’ll continue to update you on this blog.

We’re almost there, and we are excited to have your support!

Steve

I was recently asked to write a blog entry on Age of Innovation, a Tech Web property, about technologies I thought were important in interacting with customers. I couldn’t think of a better one than the telephone. Maybe I’m just old school. Check it out here.

Networks are complicated; Network management doesn’t have to be (and calling your customers doesn’t have to be either).

Steve

We recently completed a survey of over 800 network engineers and other IT professionals who perform network management duties inside companies with more than 100 employees. An astonishing number, 49%, of respondents answered that they did not have a comprehensive network management system in place. Over 50% of the 49% said they use a combination of point products to manage their networks. Further, of the 49%, 75% said they would like to implement a network management system over the next 12 months.

While this is exciting news as it demonstrates a large underserved market for comprehensive network management systems, it also surfaces the question of “why.” That is, network management system technology is neither the newest on the market nor the least mature. So, why haven’t these companies implemented solutions?

The answer is price and functionality. That is, there are a limited number of affordable less complex network management systems to choose from. With HP Openview costing 100k plus, and products such as What’s Up Gold limited in functionality, until the last several years there has been no middle ground. SolarWinds has done an admirable job of building a solution for this middle ground, the middle market. They are the only vendor that has made it a focus to serve this market with a purpose built product.

PacketTrap Perspective will also serve this market in an effort to make network management less complicated for companies that lack enormous budget, but still have enormous pain.

We think you’ll be impressed. Networks are complicated. Network management doesn’t have to be.

Steve

Network management systems are not much different than cell phones, digital cameras, and video cameras. Many of these devices are overkill on features that only a very small fraction of buyers use. When was the last time you used all those advanced features on your digital camera?

Network management is no different. Needlelessly complex, hard to install, over-featured, and non intuitive network management systems are the rule in our industry. The net result is a costly implementation of shelfware that collects dust and rarely gets use.

Recently, fed up with video cameras, my wife purchased the Flip from Pure Technologies. All it does is record (saves up to an hour), and zoom in and out. It’s the size of a small digital camera. It has a USB device onboard, so you just connect the bugger to your computer and your memories are saved instantly. So simple, none of the extra features that 95% of us don’t use, and priced right.

PacketTrap takes guidance from these laws of simplicity. Check out Perspective when it comes available soon, I think you’ll get the picture (err, no pun intended).

Steve

We are please and proud that over 30,000 users are seeing value in our pt360 Diagnostic Tool Suite. You may have seen the release this morning that we have registered over 1 million runs of our network management suite. For a product that was released less than six months ago, we are happy that we’re on the right track, and that users are coming back to the product time and time again.

I recently had lunch with a friend who said that the mantra of his company is to “build products that people lust for.” While at first it sounds a bit corny, when you apply the ramification of that statement into your product analysis, design and development process, it starts to make a lot of sense.

Why would a network engineer lust for our product? First, it needs to solve a pain point that is specific and quantifiable, and it needs to save the user either significant time or money. Second, the interface must be intuitive, simple, and easy to use. Believe it or not, the top feedback we get is how easy our products are to install, configure, and use. Not only does this keep users coming back, but it also provides a user experience that is differentiated in the market. It’s amazing how many products on the market are “designed by network engineers for network engineers”. However, our user community knows all too well that they’re better at building and managing networks than creating the most intuitive GUI and product workflow.

So, as a company, as my friend said, they concentrate less on keeping up with the competition feature by feature, instead they talk to customers in a continuous feedback loop, and ask them what products and features will they lust for. In this age of rapid software development and deployment, feature differentiation is no longer a leading competitive edge, but if you build products that users lust for they will continue to come back to you. Seems subtle, but it’s not.

We are looking into implementing a lust factor into our process here at PacketTrap. Every feature we build should have a lust factor. But it’s not just the feature; it’s also the workflow, the interface, and the overall experience.

Rather be corny and make our customers happy, then just build another network management product “designed by network engineers for network engineers.”

Steve

Great article today by Andy Moon at Tech Republic. It’s clear that video streaming is a straining factor on the corporate network and handling it is becoming a larger and larger challenge. I’m not speaking just about YouTube, I’m really referring to the streaming of live video where workers watch news, dramas, and, this summer, the Olympics.  What will happen when all 3,000 employees in your company want to watch Michael Phelps go for his 8th Gold Medal live?

Network Management Software is critical to helping you understand what’s draining your bandwidth. Our Netflow Listener solves this problem in a graphical format so you can pin point which IP address is streaming video.�

It’s absolutely shocking to me that the number one complaint we hear from customers about software vendors is support. In a vacuum, you would think customers would complain about new features, bugs, and pricing models more often than support, but it seems that software companies continue to miss the mark.

When we started PacketTrap several years ago we decided to put support ahead of everything – ahead of marketing programs, ahead of product management and engineering, and certainly ahead of sales efforts. If you talk to our customers and partners I think you will find that we set the bar for customer support in Silicon Valley. But that’s just words, specifically what do I mean by support?

Here is what I mean:
1. Sales: First, there is no such thing as sales in our company. It’s called Account Management. It may sounds like semantics, but it’s really not. Sales implies hard core in your face sales. Our company doesn’t work that way. We build strong long term relationships with every customer we work with. You will have a direct phone line to your Account Manager. You will not be thrown into a phone queue. Account Managers can answer just about all of your questions during your evaluation and trial process. We are here to answer your question. Our products speak for themselves.

2. Support: Second, there is no such thing as Support in our company. It’s called Relationship Management. Once again, it may sounds like semantics, but it’s really not. We are not only here to support you, we are also here to make you more effective in your job. Similar to Account Management, you will not be provided just a number to call into. You will be provided a direct line to your Relationship Manager – Jonas, Bryan, Elisabeth, Steve, Patrick, etc. These people are technical. They can solve your technical questions, help with configurations, and also point you to other IT resources that PacketTrap may not be able to provide. You will know this person by first name. You have a question, just call Jonas. We wont waste your time asking you to press 1, then 5, then 7, then telling you that the next support rep will be with you in approximately …….twenty-six minutes.

3. Access to Product Management and Engineering: You need to speak with someone in Product Management about our roadmap or have a question that only a very technical engineer can answer? Your Relationship Manager can put you in direct touch. Unlike most Silicon Valley companies, our product management and engineering teams are not insulated from customers, in fact they are actually customer facing.

4. Access to Leadership: It’s another shock that in many technology companies I’ve worked for the CTO, VP of Engineering, and VP of Product Management have such little contact with customers. You want to speak with a senior member of our team, just phone in. While they may not be available at the moment (they usually are), they will get right back to you.

I really hate clichés, but it’s actually true for PacketTrap. Our customers do come first. They are the most important part of our company; in fact they are an extension of our company. We view our customers as partners. We help our customers manage their IT networks and our customers help us build better products. It’s just so surprising that all companies aren’t this way.

By the way, the direct line policy applies to everyone in our company. You can reach me anytime at 415-348-0700 x112. You won’t get an admin, that’s a direct line. You may get voicemail, but if you’re a customer (err partner) I’ll get right back to you.

steve goodman | ceo | steve@PacketTrap.com | w: +1 415 348 0700 x 112
http://www.PacketTrap.com
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