Network Instruments New Observer v9.0 Expands the View of Traditional Network Monitoring, Analysis and Troubleshooting-

New user interface, Application Analysis, Advanced Multi-Probes and 4GB Memory Buffer simplify collaboration, extend troubleshooting to the application level and increase data capture.

September 15, 2003, Minneapolis, MN -- Network Instruments, LLC, the industry leading developer of superior, user-friendly and affordable network monitoring solutions today announced the release of Observer 9.0. Observer 9.0 builds on the Network Instruments Distributed Network Analysis (NI-DNA‰) architecture by introducing new products, numerous features, and increased capabilities to ease network monitoring and troubleshooting. Observer 9.0 provides unified network monitoring across most any topology (LAN, 802.11, WAN, Gigabit), which gives enterprise customers one solution that reduces training costs and insures complete coverage as their networks grow.

Additions to Observer 9.0 include:
• New Advanced Multi-Probes for multi-interface, multi-topology and multi-session remote monitoring and collaboration
• New Application Analysis functionality lets network administrators view and troubleshoot application performance,
then drill down to conversational problems
• A new industry first 4GB reserved memory capture buffer for high-capacity networks - resulting in the ability to
capture 40 times more troubleshooting data

The Observer 9.0 product line offers the most feature-rich, enterprise-level network monitoring solution in the market - packaged in a new enhanced, intuitive user-interface. With NI-DNA – a completely distributed multi-site architecture – Observer simplifies network troubleshooting and management, reduces total network management costs, and lets administrators monitor remote sites without the cost and time of travel. Additionally, the Observer product line now includes Application Analysis, providing detailed performance metrics for critical applications such as VoIP, SQL and Oracle. No longer is there a need to purchase separate application monitoring tools and analyzer products – Observer now does both.

“At Network Instruments our reputation for delivering solid, comprehensive, scalable solutions continues with Observer 9.0,” said Douglas Smith, president of Network Instruments. “In the past, network administrators used one tool to find application problems but needed another tool to solve them. Today, with the latest release of Observer, both tools are integrated into one. And, as gigabit and wireless networks continue to gain ground in the enterprise, our solution continues to lead with a wide range of protocol, application and topology support. Observer 9.0 is uniquely positioned to help administrators get their job done quickly and efficiently. ”

Observer 9.0 introduces a new product – Advanced Multi-Probes. These robust, remote probes support up to 64 different network interface cards simultaneously and allow for multi-session remote monitoring. Advanced Multi-Probes offer a new level of remote monitoring and problem solving collaboration.

“The new Advanced Multi-Probe lets multiple administrators collaborate by viewing a single interface from different locations.” says Andriy Oliinyk, vice president of development at Network Instruments. “It helps both in getting a problem solved quickly, and lets expert administrators share knowledge with their staff. This feature is unrivaled in the industry, and while difficult to develop, will certainly become the standard for flexibility and visibility.”

Additional product enhancements include a new Network Summary Mode providing a single view of network traffic, statistics, errors and protocols in one easy-to-view format. The new product line also includes a Wireless Site Survey Mode offering seamless, consecutive channel scanning of 802.11a/b/g networks, a single view of all Access Points, and an organized statistics view providing better wireless network security monitoring.

Observer’s distributed analysis console and probes have delivered answers to network troubleshooting challenges since 1994. Broadcast storms, bottlenecks, security weaknesses, and inefficiencies have all been discovered through the use of Observer’s troubleshooting and analyzing abilities. Chris Berry has used Observer for over two years at PC Fix, Inc, a company that provides complete outsourced IT solutions to enterprises worldwide.

“We manage networks from all over the country which requires a lot of time and expense,” said Berry, president of PC Fix. “The NI-DNA architecture that Network Instruments brings allows us to control multiple networks from a single location. Our customers appreciate that we can resolve challenges quickly and save key dollars in unnecessary travel expenses. With Observer, we can immediately demonstrate to customers that the network is dumping unnecessary traffic resulting in wasted bandwidth and junk traffic.”

About Network Instruments
Network Instruments is the developer of Observer®, Expert Observer® and Observer Suite®, a line of protocol analyzation products that offer the ability to detect network abnormalities and report device or route failures. Network Instruments also develops and sells Link Analyst™ device mapping software. Network Instruments is a privately held company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with a European sales office in the UK and distributors in over 45 countries worldwide. Information on the company and its products can be obtained by calling (952) 932-9899 or by visiting the company's web site at www.networkinstruments.com.

Please click Observer for more product information or for further details please email sales@openreality.co.uk or call 01235 556400 and ask for more information.