| Issue 7 | February 2008 | ||
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industry spotlight Virtualised IT Infrastructure 
Objectronix was formed in 1998 as a fully managed network security service provider, delivering security expertise and solutions for internet services. Since 2006, the portfolio has specialised in enterprise application virtualisation and mobility solutions. The virtualisation market has matured, as enterprises strive to dramatically simplify and regain control of their IT infrastructure. It is no mean feat to consolidate delivery of services and to support the innovative technologies that promote business growth as demanded by executive management. Objectronix has been demonstrating network performance using Highlight since 2002. It understands that intuitive visibility of network infrastructure acts as a foundation stone on which to build a platform of security, compliance and virtualisation. Monitoring and support underpins services, while providing customer with true visibility is the ultimate proof of purchase. Jonathan Brierley, Objectronix sales manager explains: "Our clients, such as Channel 4, Virgin, Morse and Camelot, trust in our expertise to deliver a fully managed service which includes virtualisation and security over high availability, global networks. The quality of network performance is everything." For more information, please contact Jonathan Brierley or call +44 (0) 113 205 0000 notworking Who was it who first said: "A picture is worth a thousand words"? Was it Confucius? Barnard? Turgenev? Maybe Napoleon? The jury (well, the wiki anyway) is still out, but one thing's for sure, instead of saying it, they should have just used a picture, shouldn't they? The human brain can assimilate information much more rapidly and accurately if it is illustrated visually rather than purely textually. Why put up a sign saying 'Emergency exit this way!" when a running man and an arrow will do the job better? If my network or servers are down, please show me some high visibility Highlight red heat-tiles and send me a graphical News Insight email! On his website, comic artist and comedian Scott Meyer has been drawing up weekly 'Basic Instructions' for nearly two years now that make up "an all-inclusive guide to a life well-lived". You'll find it invaluable reference material on topics from 'How To Pick a Password', to 'How To Teach Someone To Use Their Computer'. When people get tricky, just mail them a link to the most appropriate Basic Instructions and the likelihood is they'll leave you alone and enjoy some quality browsing time. 
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welcome ...to your February 2008 issue of The Monthly Highlight. This is a regular newsletter created exclusively for NetEvidence customers, partners, and users of our core product, Highlight. This month we take a look at virtualised IT infrastructure in IndustrySpotlight, provide some pointers for real-time filtering in FeatureUpdate, and bring news of an important Performance Insight upgrade in FeatureFocus. You can also enjoy some peaceful moments of network stability catching up on some recent NetworkNews or checking out the NotWorking section. Please do get in touch with me to talk further about any items in this newsletter or share your own ideas for The Monthly Highlight. I hope you enjoy this latest issue. All the very best regards, - Jeremy
Jeremy Edwards, NetEvidence services director network news
It seems like the long awaited migration from IPv4 to IPv6 is finally underway, following an announcement from global Internet naming coordinator ICANN that the first IPv6 addresses have been added to six of the world's root servers this month. The four billion unique addresses allowed by old IPv4 limitations will now be expanded to more than 340 trillion, trillion, trillion possibilities. IPv4 will continue to run in parallel with the incoming system – seven root servers don't support IPv6 at all yet - but DNS servers will at least now be able to access IPv6 addresses natively. Tony Holmes, chair of ICANN's Internet Service and Connectivity Provider Constituency said: "IPv6 will be an essential part our future and support in the root servers is essential to the growth, stability, and reliability of the public Internet."
A new survey has revealed that 56 per cent of UK broadband customers are regularly annoyed by the level of service they receive from their service provider, with nearly a quarter of users already planning to switch ISPs in the next three to six months as a result. Silicon.com reports that speed issues are the biggest gripe highlighted in the report commissioned by 02 broadband to assess the satisfaction of 1500 broadband users nationwide, confirming the findings of a 2007 report by price comparison website uSwitch which uncovered much the same frustration, commonly spurred by hyperbolic advertising claims. As a side issue, this month's report also discovered the country's savviest users lived in Brighton, those most in need of support lived in Sheffield, and the angriest customers were to be found in Cardiff.
According to the BBC, a new 'sport' has taken off in a big way during the last month which sees IT professionals competing to unravel the mass of wires typically found beneath computer desks in offices the world over. 'Speedcabling' sees contestants faced with a tangled mass of up to twelve Ethernet cables of various lengths up to 25 feet which they must separate in the fastest time. To replicate the conditions of the wires in the wild, the networking spaghetti is tied in complex figures of eight then cycled in a tumble dryer. "After that, they're pretty much how they appear in nature," confirmed eccentric Speedcabling founder Steven Schkolne. The first Speedcabling competition took place in an art gallery in Los Angeles and was won by LA-based web developer Matthew Howell. |
feature focus New Release - In August 2007, Highlight's Performance Insight (PI) capability was extended to provide additional testing capabilities beyond ICMP ping tests, such as HTTP page loads and TCP port connection tests. 
From March 2008, PI extends again with a much anticipated capability that enables testing to multiple network targets with the additional results appearing as extra PI panels on the location detail report. This update makes PI extremely powerful, creating an enterprise wide safety net of application aware performance visibility. Just think of the possibilities with PI:
Whether you have a single network link or want to test delay through each MPLS class of service, PI provides the baseline data that is key for deploying sensitive, centralised applications over IP networks such as SAP, Citrix, Notes or VoIP. Please contact our support team if you would like more details. feature update Real-time filtering 
When you have access to a large number network locations, the main content panel in Highlight can get quite lengthy. We often get asked if there is a way to filter out conditions or if it is possible to continually display the current situation throughout the day – and of course there is. The buttons on the right of the Network View title bars are sometimes overlooked, but are well worth checking out. They can pre-sort the display based on your queries, such as, "Where is most congested?", "Where have there been most outages?" or perhaps "What's changed through the day?" Most people make Highlight one of the opening tabs on their browser, so that it can be checked regularly throughout the day. Why not filter to hide healthy locations, display locations with errors sorted by when issues began, and set the browser to auto-refresh every three minutes so that changes in service appear automatically? Not everyone thinks to use the OHP to create a 'mission control' display on the wall, but perhaps we'll encourage more folk down this route in future by adding an optional 'machine that goes ping' sound effect for enlightened auto-refresh users! ;-) |
highlight archive You can access previous issues of highlight by following this link. how do I get highlight? NetEvidence provides Highlight in a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model through partnerships with service and solutions providers (http://www.net-evidence.com/Partners/partnersTab.asp), who provide performance visibility to their customers. If you're interested in more information about Highlight, or need your login details resetting, please email support@net-evidence.com and we will liaise to action your request. unsubscribe This email was sent to [merge:EmailAddress]. If you would like to unsubscribe from this newsletter please click [lunsub:"here"], or if you are experiencing any problems receiving or viewing it, please contact newsletter@net-evidence.com. disclaimer You are receiving this newsletter as a reseller or user of NetEvidence's Highlight solution. If you want to stop receiving this newsletter, please click [lunsub:"here"]. NetEvidence is aware of its responsibilities regarding the Data Protection Act and will not share any of your personal information with third parties without your explicit authorisation. |
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