Network Performance Daily: The Enterprise UI, Part 1: Why UI Design is Important – and so Difficult – in Enterprise Apps
SearchNetworking.com: Cisco adds WAN optimization, tunnel-less VPN to ISR
Network World: 10 things you need to consider before deploying video on the 'Net
Network World: Cisco puts WAAS and more in router
More below the fold...

Continue reading "Daily Links: The Importance of UI Design, WAN Optimization, Video Deployment and Networks" »

by Chandra Hosek

Dr. Cathy Fulton, NetQoS’s chief technology officer, will be at the Computer Measurement Group’s (CMG) 32nd annual conference in Reno, Nev., on Thursday, discussing the trials and tribulations of achieving and maintaining optimal application performance across enterprise wide area networks.

In a session entitled “Best Laid Plans: Enterprise Network Performance Case Studies and Lessons Learned,” Cathy Fulton will share real-world case studies that demonstrate how well-intentioned network and systems engineering efforts can sometimes produce unexpected results - and how to avoid these mistakes - drawn from her years as a leading network engineering consultant and her in-the-trenches experience working in large enterprise network environments. Examples will include the results of implementing caching devices to improve application response times for remote users, improper application of QoS techniques, active agent monitoring software running amuck, and others.

NetQoS will also present a vendor training session at the CMG conference, from Dr. Steve Fulton, our director of product management, called “Why Utilization is not a Proxy for Performance.” Many IT professionals monitor utilization as a proxy for network performance, but modern techniques are proving this is not the best approach, especially with the advent of WAN optimization technologies. The most meaningful performance metric is end user response time captured by measuring real user transactions which, when combined with traffic flow data and traditional device statistics, enable network managers to optimize performance and accurately assess infrastructure needs. In his presentation, Steve will provide best practice examples that illustrate this new approach.

Ed Tittel, contributor to Network Performance Daily, has provided a rundown of events from the CMG 2006 conference at NetPerformance.com.

Chandra Hosek is Public Relations Manager at NetQoS.

• Network Performance Daily: Identifying the Source of Network Delay
• EFYTimes.com - Cisco Introduces Visual Quality Experience Technology
• EETimes.com - For telcos, all about access
• ITSM Watch: MRO Software Launches Web Resource
• IT Skeptic: VOIP is not cheating anyone. It is simply the future arriving

Continue reading "Daily Links: Network Delay, VQE Technology, Online Network infohub, VOIP is the future" »

by Joel Trammell

Microsoft released Windows Vista (along with the new Office suite and Exchange server) to business customers today.

From a networking perspective, there have been several changes in the networking stack in the move from Windows XP to Windows Vista. We’re doing a fair amount of work, because we understand what Microsoft says they did, and we’re doing a fair amount of work to find out if that’s the way things actually work in reality. There’s testing that needs to be done, once network engineers understand the new Vista network stack, changes in the way that network engineers need to think.

For a networking person, I think Vista’s a pretty big deal, whereas some of the other Windows upgrades, maybe from a pure networking perspective, weren’t. You’re going to see some changes because of it. We'll have some details about how networking is different in Vista on this blog soon.

Joel Trammell is the CEO of NetQoS.

by Cathy Fulton

For any technical mistake, there’s usually a technical solution. Losing time while a problem persists is embarrassing, but you can recover from such delays. Much bigger problems occur when you try to change the workflow of the people who use the software. That’s when IT projects become difficult.

It’s extraordinarily difficult to get people to change the way they’ve been doing things. If you deploy an expensive piece of software in the expectation that people will automatically change the way that they normally do their jobs as a consequence of the switchover, you will greatly reduce your chances of success.

Continue reading "Perspectives on What's Missing in the Field of Network Management" »

by Carol Schiraldi

I’m not a gamer myself, but the recent launch of the PS3 and Wii consoles (podcast from Gamingbits available here) makes this a good time to discuss game programming and the idea of performance in the enterprise.

Austin is a big center for video game development – NCSoft, Midway Studios-Austin and Retro Studios are all located here – and I know many game programmers. I think that game programmers are some of the best programmers out there, and a lot of performance enhancements are coming from gaming.

If you code for gaming, there’s a different mindset. Emphasis on performance is included (and essential) by design.

Continue reading "Performance-Driven: Why enterprise developers (generally) use Java and game programmers (generally) use C++" »

• Network Performance Daily: Best Practices for Monitoring Business Transactions, part 2 of 2
• ComputerWorld: Gartner predicts hot, cramped time for data centers
• CIO: Is VoIP Set Up to Fail?
• ITSMWatch.com: IT Costs, Value and Role of ITIL
• ZDNet: Quality IT service comes at a price

Continue reading "Daily Links: Active vs. passive monitoring, data center heat, VoIP hype, ITIL value and costs" »

• Network Performance Daily: Best Practices for Monitoring Business Transactions, part 1 of 2
• Byte and Switch: Cisco Salvo in 4-Gig FC - Storage Networking News Analysis
• Network World: Ethernet, media focus force telecom shift - Part 1
• Network World: NYC telecom journey Day 2: Getting sucked into IP's black hole and awaiting a network endpoint explosion - Part 2
• Macehiter Ward-Dutton: IT service management - road maps, not short cuts
• erp4it: ITIL and ITSM politics

Continue reading "Daily Links: Business transaction monitoring, new Cisco switch, network endpoint explosion, plus more" »

by Cathy Fulton

Monitoring business transactions over the network has never been more critical to operational efficiency. Yet, there’s much confusion over methodology.

The implementation choices consist of different deployment strategies (client-site or server-site, agent or appliance) and distinct monitoring technologies (active or passive). Each of these options has individual strengths and weaknesses. This series of articles discusses industry best practices for effectively monitoring business transactions in a global environment.

Part 1 of 2: Deployment Strategies

One of the most important decisions is the deployment strategy for the business monitoring solution. Should monitors be deployed at the client sites or should they be deployed at the data centers? Should software agents or hardware appliances be used? While this may seem like a minor matter, it has the most serious ramifications from both an immediate “headache” and long-term recurring cost standpoint.

Continue reading "Best Practices for Monitoring Business Transactions, part 1 of 2" »

NetQoS VP Steve Harriman is attending the Gartner Enterprise Networking Summit this week in Las Vegas. It's the first time for the event since the industry downturn in 2001 and NetQoS is exhibiting there because we feel that the role of Networking has been elevated in importance to the point at which it warrants an executive focused event. And, Gartner events are always very educational and well-attended. It's the right place to be.

In addition to Dr. Malone's keynote and NetQoS's Solution Provider Session, I also went to a talk by Thomas Shelman on the second day of the Summit. Shelman is CIO of Northrop Grumman Corporation, the second largest defense contractor in the world. As you might imagine, he runs a very large IT organization. Seven CIOs from different business units report to him.

He said his greatest challenge and most rewarding experience, although devastating too, was leading the organization to restore computing and networking infrastructure and services after Katrina pounded two key Northrop Grumman facilities in Louisiana and Mississippi.

The two NG data centers in La. and Miss. were fully configured for redundancy with hot fail-over between systems in both locations. To ensure both data centers would not be affected by “traditional” disasters, such as local power failures, flooding, accidents, etc., they were located 150 miles apart. Unfortunately, the destruction of Katrina was more than 150 miles wide and took both data centers out. (Northrop Grumman put out a press release describing the devastation they encountered.)

Continue reading "Notes on the Gartner Summit in Las Vegas, Part 3" »