Network General also announced Sniffer Enterprise Administrator 4.0, designed to enhance centralized management, administration, and security of Sniffer resources. With Enterprise Administrator 4.0, administrators can configure hundreds of options on a single Sniffer agent, and then clone them across other agents through the network. It also provides a single console view across multiple Sniffer appliances, enabling single sign-on and administration from one console.

Finally, Network General upgraded its InfiniStream  network analysis product to Version 2.5, which provides continuous line-rate stream-to-disk capture of up to 4TB of network data. Combined with Sniffer Decodes and Expert Analysis, InfiniStream provides Retrospective Analysis, historical and real-time analysis of recorded network traffic, including VOIP traffic.

"Analyzing terabytes of data to pinpoint performance issues is like trying to find a needle in a haystack," said Rich van de Groenekan, product-line manager at Network General. "The new solution makes it easy to look back in time to examine volumes of data to observe trends, isolate anomalies, perform deep packet analysis, generate summary reports, and ultimately quickly find the root cause."

Pricing for the Sniffer Enterprise Solution Architecture starts around US$3,000 and can go as high as several hundred thousands of dollars, depending on the configuration.

Network Instruments Dials In to VOIP With ObserverNetwork Instruments unveiled Version 11 of Observer, the company's flagship network analysis solution. Among improvements, the company has injected enhanced VOIP support throughout Observer line with VOIP Expert, designed to provide in-depth diagnostics of VOIP performance. For example, administrators can assess call metrics such as call status, current jitter, duration, and more on an individual phone calls. The solution also can record phone calls to be replayed later.