Review

From Network Computing Vol 18 No 05 September/October 2009

Network and application performance monitoring and analysis can be an expensive business, and particularly so when the product requires a dedicated platform to run on. iTrinegy's latest AppQoS Live! arrives as an interesting alternative; it allows support staff to 'borrow' any 64-bit laptop, desktop or server, and temporarily convert it to a network analysis appliance. The software is supplied on a bootable CD where it loads Ubuntu Linux and the AppQoS Live! application. Nothing is permanently installed on the selected host system, and as soon as you've finished your analysis session you can reboot the host device, where it's returned pristinely to itsprevious condition.

Hardware requirements are minimal as along with a 64-bit processor, AppQoS Live! can run in 1GB of memory. We loaded the CD on a server with Windows Server 2008 as its main operating system, and had it converted in a few minutes. Worry not, if you're unfamiliar with Linux, the main interface is very intuitive and opens with a quick configuration routine. This displays all writable drives on the host system and it's important to note it only uses available free space to store its database. This directory can be removed when the host system is booted back to its original OS, or you can use a USB stick instead, which can also be used to store the licence key.

We configured a span port on the lab's main switch to allow the system to see all traffic, but you can use an in-line network tap or even a simple hub. The price includes an integral detector which monitors one network segment, capturing and analysing packets. AppQoS Live! carries out real time analysis and doesn't store any captured data, avoiding any security risk. Both the local and remote web consoles are very intuitive and open with a graph showing the top originating applications. We could drill down by clicking on the relevant bar to reveal a wealth of reports and graphs. These range from application response times, jitter or loss, to the top IP addresses generating traffic, along with theirdestinations.

Within minutes of loading, AppQoS Live! identified all the systems on our network subnet and showed clearly what applications were using up available bandwidth. We could see email and web traffic plus FTP and HTTPS and even found one system illicitly running an iTunes client - we could see Apple's DAA protocol - plus the participating source and destination IPaddresses.

The software includes modules specifically for monitoring HTTP, VoIP and Windows Networking traffic. The HTTP module provides detailed information on clients, web servers and all sites being visited along with the top twenty URLs, who accessed them, and the associated response times. There's even a new section specifically for identifying social networking traffic; an aidto managing bandwidth.

The Windows Networking module is equally forthcoming and lists all clients and servers involved in file copying, along with their IP addresses and associations. There's more, as it provides full details of all files transferred, their sizes, and source anddestination addresses.

The VoIP Measurement module is very handy as it can provide a complete breakdown of all callers and recipients. You can see who has made calls and what numbers they had dialled, and selecting an entry offers plenty of graphs on bandwidthutilisation and packet loss.

AppQoS Live! is an ideal network troubleshooting tool for support staff or consultants who can't justify the expense of a dedicated system or laptop. It can run on virtually any hardware platform, takes minutes to load, and provides an incredible amount of information about network traffic and user activity.NC

Product: AppQoS Live!
Supplier: iTrinegy Ltd
Telephone: 0845 226 1900
Web site: www.itrinegy.com
Price: Starts from £2,000 excluding VAT

Review