theGuard! NetworkManager comprises powerful tools for the displaying, evaluating and saving of performance data – Performance Manager and History Server.

The momentary utilization of a WAN connection, localizing the cause behind ineffective throughput at a mail server, these are just a few of the tasks, which would not be solvable without Performance Manager. Performance Manager consists of two components, the History Server and the Performance Monitor. While the History Server handles the provision of data, the Performance Monitor primarily serves its visualization and evaluation.

Simple, effective evaluation and interpretation of real-time and historical performance data is the objective. Extensive tabular and graphical displays and evaluation functions are the means. Each user can custom-configure the appearance of his or her own analytical functions; a profile is set up to manage all graphical options, window positions, etc.

 

Analysis monthly transfered capacity

Analysis of utilization over more periods

Analysis of utiliztaion last 20 min.

Upon preset thresholds being exceeded (based on empirical values), a warning (event) is issued, these events themselves can also be prioritized. Should a certain value be determined – for example, an inadmissible number of errors per data packet transfer – it is indicated in color-coded fashion. Using the integrated, context-sensitive Help function, a user can call up information about the type of error message, its possible causes and responses. Users can also set their own thresholds for each individual attribute, from a managed object to a counter. The polling of thresholds ensues at minimum time intervals of 10s. The current polled value is compared with the preset threshold, any exceeding results in an event being triggered and an entry made in the log.

The History Server runs in the background, reading data from the network and system components. Calculations performed on the raw data are based on set defaults and then written to the database in fully computed form. If desired, the raw data can be included. Each configuration can be set up via the Scheduling mechanism to reduce the collection of data to specific times, thereby allowing a user to receive a specific targeted snapshot of network performance.

Methods are additionally provided for compressing the data. This is done, for example, by converting minutes into hour values (mean averages), whereby the degree of detail can be set so as to include non-compressed data for a certain preceding period of time. The long-term database functions as the central store of knowledge, enabling network event reproducibility for any point in time.