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web
directory software
I am looking at software to build a web directory. Has anyone got any recommendations
or stories? I am needing more features than what the standard link manager software
has to offer.
HTML
parse as PHP using .htaccess problem
I am running on a Unix server and have been able to add the following lines to
my .htaccess file in the past to parse HTML as PHP. AddType application/x-httpd-php
.html AddType application/x-httpd-php .htm On this particular server adding these
lines does not work.
Help
setting up home office network
I am currently trying to set-up my home office network to share my adsl but I
am having a few problems. Here's what I had working before the adsl: 3 PC's (2
running XP, 1 running W98se) Lanart fast ethernet switch
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09.07.05
Network
Management And Monitoring Software
 By
Bruce Warner
Many products on the market today provide analytical information to those who
are responsible for the management of networked systems or what the users of those
systems commonly call "The Network".
The discussion below clarifies the general use of the terms Management
and Monitoring, outlines the broad product categories, discusses the costs
of poor system performance and describes the specific monitoring functionality
of network management software.
Monitoring and Management
Many of these product types tend to be described as Network Monitors, which
is a very generic description. Monitoring is one of those terms that can
get confusing as many products are positioned under this broad category. And,
without a doubt these products monitor, although they may have very specific functionality.
It is important to get past the Network Monitor terminology and understand what
a product really monitors or analyzes.
The Management aspect of these products comes from statistical reporting
and event notification that is triggered by the monitoring. This is sometimes
referred to as fault management. Statistical reports can be generated from continuous
data collection to baseline the network, client and server. This reporting can
be used to be proactive in providing adequate resource for the monitored system.
Event notification alerts administrative users to high or low thresholds above
a baseline or the existence of adverse conditions.
Hardware components need to be configured and software agents will need to be
installed. The sophistication of the agents and the placement can require detailed
knowledge of client, server and network architecture. For example, understanding
application and user utilization of network bandwidth requires tapping into the
wire and capturing packets at strategic points on the network.
Broad Product Categories
No one tool will satisfy all needs. The reason is fairly straight forward, as
functionality dictates the architecture. Tools needed for troubleshooting may
require passive architectures, where reporting and monitoring can be quite active.
Some products can sample information and others may need to capture all of the
data. Other features that include expert analysis for troubleshooting or security
may require different development skills than those needed for server monitoring.
Also, the user console design is dependent on the functionality.
The categories described are general in nature and can have crossover functionality
in a number of products.
Some Examples:
• Enterprise Management - Complete solutions for the enterprise,
with integrated network & system management, database management, application
management. Service Level Management is also a component that measures actual
quality of service to agreed targets. It is not unusual for these products to
be comprised of modules and be very encompassing including features such as Job
Scheduling. Many older Enterprise products can be very complicated to use and
configure. Newer products with more modern architecture will still require days
to configure.
• Network and System Monitoring - Enhanced commercial network
& system monitoring tools. This user might be a NOC (Network Operations Center)
wanting to manage Network and Servers. The functionality can be very similar to
the Enterprise management.
• Network Traffic Analysis & Performance Monitoring - Traffic
flows through and between critical network devices, utilization statistics; performance
monitoring of network traffic.
• Application Monitoring - monitor application behavior and
performance. Is it the application, network, client or server? It also can get
very specific focusing on specific databases or e-mail systems.
• Device Monitoring - Record and view activities of Servers
and Devices in a network environment. Can be as simple as up or down.
• Security Monitoring - Security monitoring of network, workstations
and servers. Generally any product that is used to protect or audit threats.
• Web Monitoring - Web monitoring and web analyzing tools.
• Protocol Analyzers and Packet Capture Tools - Packet capture
tools, network sniffers and packet monitors.
All these tools have the same objective - keep systems operating efficiently and
if not, get to the root cause of the problem and resolve the problem so systems
run efficiently.
Cost of Poor System Performance
Ever call a company for information only to be told they can't help you because
the system is slow or down. What is the cost?
Without tools those responsible for these systems need to use very labor-intensive
methods to root out problems. In some cases without some sort of tool the root
cause of the problem would be impossible to discover. The proper tools can provide
a substantial reduction in costs. The following graph illustrates just one of
the costs, user down time or response time. But there can be many costs when performance
issues arise, such as lost or unhappy customers that translate into lost sales
or the lost time Network Engineers spend to resolve problems.
Read
the Rest of the Article.
About the Author:
Bruce Warner is the owner of Operative Software Products www.operativesoft.com.
He has over 20 years experience in the computer field, primarily providing software
solutions for managing enterprise systems. Operative Software Products operates
in the United States and Canada and markets software that builds, tests, diagnoses
and operates the IT infrastructure. |
