9 Key Points for the CIO/Network Manager to consider in choosing the right Network Traffic Analyzis/Bandwidth Monitoring solution
1) Consider what kind of solution it is ? Hardware based / Probe based / Packet sniffing based / Pure-Software Based
2) Choosing the vendor – See beyond today
a.Do not buy a solution considering today?s requirement alone.
b.Typically opting for a company that has a whole range of network-management-allied products is a very good decision. In addition to monitoring your whole enterprise network bandwidth, you may want to monitor the performance of applications in your network or analyze your firewall logs etc tomorrow
c.Visualize the future needs of your network and chose the competent vendor
3) Consider the cost of the solution ? demand to know the likely cash out-flow to own the solution over atleast a 5-year horizon
a.Clarify the cost associated with software upgrades
b.Costs associated with having a personnel deployed in case of eventualities
c.Cost associated with having a telephonic support etc.
4) See the cash-outlay Vs ROI metrics.
a.A product that far outweighs the ROI it generates is never the right solution.
b.Bandwidth Monitoring is a function that is meant to add value to the enterprise? bottom line. It should not end-up casting the Network department the ?cost-center? image
5)Evaluate the kind of support you are likely to get
a.Often more than the number of PhDs / Masters a company has on its rolls it is the number of responsive staff available that makes difference to you as the end-customer
6)Demand to know the legacy of the company/product
a.Typically a company that has been in the business for more than a decade and has managed to remain profitable is a good choice to go with
b.Typically a product / base-product that has had the support of thousands of customers from across the globe is a testimony to strong engineering ability and a rock-solid support
c.Factor the above two points when you have narrowed down to almost two vendors/solutions
7)Do an evaluation at your pace
a.Seek extension of trial license as and when you need
b.A company that does not oblige to extend license or has cumbersome procedures may not be the best bet going forward
8)The ?Forums? is the ultimate index
a.See how active and vibrant the forums is
b.It is an index of how popular and how responsive the product and the product teams respectively are
9)Finally don?t fall prey to consultants and marketing gimmicks!
S.Sankara Subramanian
NetFlow Analyzer
AdventNet Inc.,
