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Contents 
Introduction
Packet shaping/bandwidth compression
Observer 10.1
AppManager v6.0
Lightspeed Systems Bandwidth Management
Specifications
How we tested
About RMIT |
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Observer by Network Instruments is a network protocol analyser, monitor, and troubleshooting tool. Observer isn't limited to only monitoring wired networks, it can also monitor your wireless network to provide you with an overall network monitoring solution. The Wireless Site Survey can see a, b, and g devices. What's really impressive is that it can show you what the link quality is like, the encryption status, and other information like the up time of the device and when the device was first and last seen on a per-device basis.
The Observer package has three levels of licensing; the standalone Observer which is what we looked at, the Expert Observer which enables you to pinpoint network problems through expert analysis, and the Observer Suite which includes the Expert Observer plus additional network management and analysis solutions.
The standalone Observer or console includes a local probe that makes the local network visible to it. In order to monitor multiple networks from a single console you have to install what is called a probe. These probes collect and report network traffic and report it back to the console.
The installation of the Observer was straightforward. There are only a few screens to get through and you're done, it really doesn't get much easier. Then the quickest way to collect information from your network is to run Discover Network Names function. All you have to do is specify your network range of addresses then what Observer does is resolve DNS names and IP addresses to give you a list of all your network devices.
You can then select the Top Talkers, which has to be one of the easiest functions to use. It allows you to see which devices are sending and receiving the most traffic on the network.
Router's can be examined for bottlenecks by using the Router Observer while Internet usage can be monitored by using the Internet Observer. The monitor here can determine which Internet protocols are in use and which Internet sites users are visiting.
In real time, it can also display the amount of bandwidth being utilised and how your network has been trending or performing over time.
Other features include packet capture and decode. Application analysis, which is included in the Expert Observer and Observer Suite can monitor your critical servers to make sure they are performing satisfactorily. It can show you response times as well as error counts associated with your servers. The Real-Time Expert, which is also part of the Expert Observer and Observer Suite can analyse a problem on your network then give you a reason for what may be causing the problem.
The overall design and layout of this tool was excellent. It makes it easy for someone to gaze over and quickly see what's happening on their network. Network data can also be viewed in a variety of formats including lists, dials, and 3D pie. It can also be exported into easy to read Web-based reports.
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