Menlo Park, California-based Network General Corp has introduced Expert Sniffer Network Analyser version 5.0, promising network managers greater visibility into high speed networks, Oracle and Sybase databases, NetWare networks and the World Wide Web. The latest version of the network analysis tool is geared for high-speed network technologies such as Fast Ethernet and FDDI, and uses the company’s proprietary Experience Technology which links advanced network protocols with expert analysis capabilities to simplify network fault and performance management. Network General claims that because the amount of traffic passing through a high speed segment can overload the capture buffer of traditional network analyzers, Experience Technology now includes a filtering system which can focus on specific network conversations, allowing for the quicker pinpointing of problems. For FDDI users, Sniffer 5.0 provides the identity and location of users along the ring, enabling managers to see whether performance problems reside at the physical layer and, if not, to extend analysis all the way up the Open Systems Interconnection model to the application layer. The company’s Database Module for Oracle7 – now with expert analysis – and Database Module for Sybase promise a clearer view into the performance relationship between the database and network. Sniffer Network Analyzer 5.0 can now monitor the percentage of network utilization attributed to the Internet and identify top users. In addition, Sniffer’s Experience Technology and protocol decodes for Novell networks. Sniffer 5.0 will perform decodes of numerous Novell Inc NetWare Directory Services commands and several new NetWare Directory Services-enabled Expert Symptoms and Diagnosis. For Banyan Systems Inc Vines users, Network General claims Sniffer 5.0 has the most complete Vines decodes of any network analyser and the only expert analysis system. Version 5.0 will be available in July, priced at $10,000 for the Ethernet or token Ring versions. For Fast Ethernet and FDDI, it will cost $15,000. The portable personal computer version will cost $10,000, while the Oracle7 and Sybase database modules both cost $3,000.
