The Challenge

The complexity of Diagnostica Stago's business model necessitates the existence of a highly efficient and accessible computer network. Among the company's many mission-critical network-enabled processes, one should mention order entry, CRM, internal and external synchronization of service programs, help desk, intranet, internet, and email as well as customer access. The hardware foundation on which these processes reside is made up of 19 servers, the Cisco 4506 switching system, 2 Cisco 1720 routers, 2 Nokia Internet appliances, Cisco 3620 and various smaller switches and hubs.

Making all the components work together ceaselessly and seamlessly was not an easy task, especially with limited resources and only one IT professional in charge. As a result, visual control and detailed, up-to-the-minute views of network status were becoming major concerns for the company. “Previously, our network visualization techniques were limited to a static view in Microsoft Visio,” says Gregory Ritz, IT Manager at Diagnostica Stago, Inc. “Novell ManageWise had been used many years ago, but did not fare well after the implementation of Windows 2000 and Active Directory”.

Consequently, the decision was made to scour the network management software market for a solution that would introduce a more time-efficient, proactive and automated approach to monitoring the company's midsize network. Gregory Ritz was won over by NetCrunch's graphical presentation abilities and its wealth of features. “We needed a comprehensive monitoring tool that would provide a good visual element for our network layout, as well as the alarms and warnings to monitor our data center. Prior to selecting NetCrunch, I tried IPSwitch WhatsUp Gold but it did not have the necessary depth of features available”.

The AdRem Solution

According to Ritz, “The implementation of NetCrunch took about a day, and was handled completely by a single network specialist. Within 3 days, the entire network was mapped and monitored.”.

The IT professional at Diagnostica Stago didn't have to wait long to see improvements. Instead of the previous static view of the network, NetCrunch provided him with the much needed dynamic view that reflects all the real time changes in the behavior of network devices such as servers, routers or switches, along with network and application services running on them. Not only is the current of view of the network dynamically updated to accommodate newly-discovered devices and network services, but it is also considerably more comprehensive and includes the physical and logical network topology.

Ritz especially appreciated the web access feature in NetCrunch that offers almost the same depth of visualization and monitoring functionality as the Windows version of the program. This allows him "to view and visually identify network problems from the convenience of a web browser, which untied me from the workstation on which the program is installed". When a problem occurs, the program flags a device on the map with a warning icon or issues a sound alert.

Ritz reaped additional benefits from NetCrunch's alerting system by arranging to be notified when certain systems fail or near their capacity. The program's rich notification arsenal includes email messages, text pages and SMSs, along with automatic responses such as the execution of external programs or scripts. In addition, a historical perspective on the network is possible with NetCrunch's reporting system.

Ritz said, “NetCrunch is definitely a cost-justified solution ideally suited for small-to-midsize heterogeneous networks like ours. Its monitoring capabilities and reports on anomalous behavior in the network have given us a better handle on what is happening in real time on the network. What's more, it's easy to setup and use, contains comprehensive administrative tools, and provides an excellent visual view of your entire infrastructure.”