Network Instruments
Link Analyst v 5

Link Analyst is a robust network monitoring solution that provides powerful reports, inventory capabilities, configurable alarms, active discovery, and device and route mapping. From small and mid-sized businesses to large corporations, Link Analyst provides insight into the devices on your network and the routes that connect them.

Integrates with Observer® for Complete Network Analysis

Start packet captures on selected devices or device pairs, create filters on selected devices or device pairs, review real-time statistics on any selected probe or SNMP agent, export Link Analyst maps into Observer alias tables, and import Observer alias tables into Link Analyst maps.

Stay alert, stay informed, and make better network decisions.

Download the Link Analyst Brochure

With Link Analyst you can:

• Reduce Troubleshooting Time
• Detect Network Abnormalities, and Device and Route Failures
• Configure Alarms for Instant Notification Alerts via Program, Pager, or Email
• Quickly Create Maps of Even the Largest Networks Locally or Remotely
• Log Response Times with Historical Logging Function
• View Historical Data and Current Map Status From Any Web Browser
• Graphically Arrange Display for Easy and Quick Viewing
• Complement Other Diagnostic/Troubleshooting Solutions
• Easy to Install and Use

Create & Monitor Business Groups

Manage Infrastructure by Business Groups
Using Link Analyst 5, engineers can organize the network infrastructure into device groupings, known as Business Groups, which allow devices to be classified by department, function, device type, location, or other categories. The administrator can then monitor resources, view reports, or track inventory by Business Groups.

Not "What's Up?" But See "What's Down"

While some may ask the question "What's up?" Link Analyst answers the question "What's down?" and "What device may be going down?". Trigger-based warnings provide early notice of the state of any monitored device. While a station or device that is down may represent a critical problem and an action that needs to be taken, knowing historical response time statistics (including, possibly, degradation) may solve little problems before they become big ones.

Link Analyst will show you graphically which systems are up, which systems are down, and which systems are performing within unacceptable or marginal parameters.

Link Analyst is a cost-effective, software-based Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP solution that is easy to install and use. You'll quickly realize the time and cost savings of being able to identify trouble spots before they turn into a crisis. Link Analyst is the perfect tool for monitoring and maintaining a network's QoS (Quality of Service), or a service provider's adherence to the terms of a SLA (Service Level Agreement).

With Link Analyst, you can monitor the severity of degradation and spot trends that may indicate an impending failure.

Additionally, Link Analyst's complete facility to monitor WAN links provides up-to-the-minute route analysis, point-to-point route response times, and the display of each hop in a specific route, as well as response time statistics for each hop. Graphical device mapping is combined with real-time response-time monitoring. Route response times and specific link path information are logged and can be easily accessed for comparison to current conditions.

Link Analyst provides graphical mapping of network devices, uptime monitoring of device response times, a trigger-based active notification system to warn of network problems as they happen, and web reporting. Link Analyst provides both local and remote monitoring on any connected network, allowing system administrators schedule flexibility along with the confidence of instant notification in the event of a problem.

Dynamic Reporting

Customize, view, expand, and compare reports for in-depth analysis on routes, devices, and groups. Track statistics over time for use in network trending and analysis.

In-depth and Comparative Reports
Link Analyst continually polls network devices and provides real-time information on device inventory and status. Engineers can use the information to create reports within Link Analyst and compare them to analyze routes, devices, and groups. Statistics are gathered over time and can be used in network trending and resource planning. Reports can be created based on alarms, Business Group Status, device events, and inventory logs, and can be accessed remotely through web reporting.

Report types include:

• Alarms
• Business Group Status
• Device Events
• Response Time
• Alarm Log

Link Analyst Pinpoints the Problem You Focus on the Solution

While a station or device that is down may represent a critical problem and an action that needs to be taken, knowing historical response statistics (including degradation) may solve little problems before they become big ones.

Total response times are kept in a database and any changes in routes that may give reason for change in response time are noted and identified. Historical routes and response times can be viewed graphically for any recorded event or timeframe.

User-configurable service tracking is available for any device. Triggers can identify a server where a particular service is malfunctioning or responding in an unacceptable timeframe. For example, your SMTP server may respond to a ping, but email may be down Link Analyst knows the difference and lets you know visually or via a user-defined alarm such as email or a pager instantly.

Event Notification

Be alerted when a device is unreachable or has poor response time. Choose sound, pager, or e-mail alerts, or set Link Analyst to launch a program or generate a trouble ticket.

• View alarms by Business Group/Route
• Drill down for device status details
• Graph and compare alarm data over time

Keeping Track of Network Device Changes

A powerful feature of Link Analyst is its ability to keep track of device inventories and monitoring for changes. This can include identifying removable hard drives and storage devices as well as installed software. Managing inventories is important for pinpointing the source of a device conflict, identifying unauthorized network devices, and performing inventory audits.

Real-Time Device and Route Monitoring

IT managers can take advantage of SNMP and WMI data to monitor network resources including MS Exchange Servers, Oracle Servers, and SQL Severs, as well as create custom monitors. Now network managers will know at a glance which devices, routes, and IP services are up or down and can validate QoS settings and Service Level Agreements.

Complete Traffic and Infrastructure Management with Observer

Link Analyst 5 integrates with Observer allowing the engineer to monitor network and application performance as well as overall infrastructure health. This means the network manager can start packet captures and create filters on selected devices or device pairs from within Link Analyst, export Link Analyst maps into Observer alias tables, and import Observer alias tables into Link Analyst maps.