Network Connectivity Probe

Summary:
The Network Connectivity Probe monitors a collection of devices (routers, switches, servers, etc.) and TCP services (FTP, HTTP, POP3, etc.) for connection response. It also measures the time it takes to complete a connection. All connectivity and response time status data is analyzed and displayed in graphical enterprise consoles, performance reports and SLA reports.

To assure business continuity the Network Connectivity Probe ensures that end-users and business consumers have access to business critical network devices, services and applications.

Primary Features:

• Monitors connectivity to, and between, network devices and applications
• Monitors connectivity response times and network latency
• Broad device support (routers, switches, servers, … and more)
• Broad services support (FTP, HTTP, SMTP, … and more)

Additional Features:

• Flexible and strategic connectivity probe deployment
• Root cause and impact analysis for broken connectivity
• "Off-network" alert notification and data transmission option
• Probe has full-function GUI to facilitate Admin and Operation's tasks
• Drag-and-drop connectivity monitoring setup
• "Profile-based" monitoring definition
• Realtime alerting, performance and SLA reporting

Network Connectivity Probe

Connectivity monitoring - broad device and services support

The Network Connectivity Probe includes connectivity monitoring for network devices such as routers, switches, servers, applications, printers and practically any other device. The Network Connectivity Probe uses the ping command (ICMP ECHO) to verify network connectivity between the host where the probe resides and the targeted remote system. The probe will also test connectivity to TCP based services such as telnet, http, etc., or any other application with a designated service port.

Connectivity response time and latency monitoring, reporting

Through the process of connectivity monitoring, the Network Connectivity Probe will record response times to and from network devices, services and applications to aid in pinpointing areas of excessive network latency. The probe will record connectivity test results and round trip sample data for availability and performance trend reports. Report data can be leveraged for SLA creation, monitoring and reporting.

Connectivity device configuration - drag-and-drop list setup

To simplify setup of network devices requiring connectivity monitoring, the probe supports a drag and drop IP list feature, for example an /etc/hosts file can be dropped into the probe GUI for automatic device population. The probe's GUI also offers an intuitive interface for manually adding new devices, applications and services. At any point during the configuration of new devices and services, it is possible to test connectivity by selecting the GUI-driven connectivity 'status' test button. The results of this test will appear in a pop up window (as depicted in the figure above) - all devices and services will be listed with a color-coded connectivity status icon in the left most column.

Connectivity path configuration - building device relationships with traceroute

The Network Connectivity Probe provides a trace route function to determine and diagnose connectivity paths - a simple push of the button will list the network hops required to reach a destination device. This facility is extremely useful for building a network and application tree structure with dependency paths. This structure can then be leveraged for identifying the root cause of connectivity failures and identifying impacted devices. The probe's GUI supports a drag and drop function, whereby it is possible to drag and drop trace route results into the probe's GUI to automatically build ping-poll path dependencies. Common network elements resulting from multiple traceroutes will be overlaid on top of existing path definitions - this will create a proper path and network tree structure with shared routes and separate network segments branching out accordingly.

Connectivity failures - root cause analysis

For determining the root cause of network and application connectivity failures, the connectivity probe will reference the network tree resulting from the trace route functionality. Once the root cause of a connectivity failure is determined the connectivity probe will automatically suppress ping fail alerts for devices and applications beyond the broken network link - only the alert for the root cause device will display in the NimBUS Enterprise Console. To facilitate problem diagnosis and path validation, the network connectivity probe provides a graphic interface containing a listing of all connectivity paths that are being monitored. Additionally, where path connectivity is broken, the probe will indicate root cause and symptom devices with color-coded status indicators. An example screen shot which depicts this functionality is listed above.

Connectivity Probe - Flexible deployment

The Network Connectivity Probe has extremely flexible deployment options to ensure connectivity testing is being performed to and from applications and network devices that warrant close scrutiny. Unlike other market offerings, which only support centralized polling from a management server, the lightweight network connectivity probe can be deployed strategically throughout the business infrastructure. For example, in a distributed application environment, the network connectivity probe can be deployed directly on application servers and configured to test connectivity to the end-users who need to access to those business critical servers. Conversely, it is possible to deploy the network connectivity probe directly on end-user workstations to monitor for connectivity to the applications servers that the user community need access to. Businesses with branch offices may consider deploying the network connectivity probe on edge devices to monitor link connectivity between the IT data center and the branch offices.

Flexible and reliable notification option when connectivity is broken

The Network Connectivity Probe provides flexible and reliable alert notification and data transport options. In cases where the network link between the probe and NimBUS management console is disabled, the probe will buffer alert and performance data locally until a failed network connection has been resolved. More interesting, the connectivity probe supports cellular communications for off-network alert notification and performance data transmission. This feature will remove reliance upon a potentially broken network for data transport.

"Profile-based" polling configuration

Understanding that each network device may require unique polling and alert generation requirements, the Network Connectivity Probe supports flexible "profile-based" monitoring configuration. The probe can have multiple profiles, each of which have their own monitoring definitions. Profiles will define unique polling intervals, alert severities for problem conditions, unique alerts messages, and more. Each profile contained within the probe can be comprised of single or multiple polled devices.

The NimBUS Network Connectivity Probe currently serves an integral component of the broader NimBUS for Network Monitoring solution.

The NimBUS Network Connectivity Probe requires minimal effort for implementation, training, and will not require extensive ongoing maintenance.

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