nGenius Analytics Extends Network and Fault Management Capabilities of HP OpenView with Flow-Based Proactive Performance Alarms

WESTFORD, Mass., August 14, 2006 – NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTCT), a leading provider of application and network performance management solutions, today announced that its NetScout nGenius® Analytics product has achieved a certified integration with HP OpenView Network Node Manager and HP OpenView Operations. The integrations enable nGenius Analytics to provide highly qualified, proactive alarms of network and application performance anomalies to HP OpenView to help customers prevent and resolve operational problems faster, improving business service reliability and IT efficiency.

nGenius Analytics’ certified integration with HP OpenView is another step in NetScout’s Application Fabric Performance Management (AFPM) strategy, which includes delivering timely evidence-based performance alerts from the nGenius Performance Management Solution to IT operations centers via an enterprise and business service management console. nGenius Analytics complements the strength of HP OpenView in enterprise network and systems management with its unique capabilities to automatically learn behavior patterns, and identify and alert on performance anomalies in live application flows across the network without the manual configuration and guesswork of setting static thresholds.

nGenius Analytics’ performance anomaly alerts enhance the existing integrations with HP OpenView to provide a ‘single-pane-of-glass’ view of network fault, performance and business services. Adding the full nGenius Solution to HP OpenView is designed to decrease the impact of network and application problems on business services by cutting problem resolution times through a seamless workflow between the companies’ products. The early-warning performance alerts sent from nGenius Analytics to HP OpenView include an initial diagnosis of the performance problem. From there, first responders in a network operations center or help desk can triage, resolve or assign trouble tickets to the appropriate personnel, who can then access extended evidence in the nGenius Solution from HP OpenView.

“Our integration with HP OpenView further solidifies NetScout’s reputation as a trusted application and network performance management technology,” said Alan Fink, vice president of corporate development at NetScout. “The integration provides IT organizations with access to a comprehensive infrastructure management solution, which now has contextual information associated with anomalous performance events. This detailed information is intended to help IT organizations achieve more efficient problem identification and remediation.”


“HP is pleased to be working with NetScout to deepen the integration between the nGenius Solution and the HP OpenView suite,” said Bob Steiner, director for network services management, OpenView Business Unit, HP. “This extends the capabilities of HP OpenView by offering early warning and enhanced insight into how applications are performing over the network.”

The integration between nGenius Analytics and HP OpenView expands the previously certified integrations between the rest of the nGenius Performance Management System and the HP OpenView suite, including both HP OpenView Network Node Manager and HP OpenView Operations. Following are details of the integration points between the products, including alarms sent from the nGenius Solution to HP OpenView:

• Intelligent alarms from nGenius Analytics provide notification of pending network problems, detailing the behavioral irregularities in the application and link utilization of physical and virtual segments, including Quality of Service classes.
• ‘Power Alarms’ from nGenius Performance Manager alert on application response time, availability and link utilization that has risen or fallen beyond pre-defined levels, providing a detailed description of the applications and conversations active during the event.
• Standard RMON and MIB II performance alerts from nGenius Performance Manager indicate that utilization or errors have gone above or below pre-set levels.
• All alarms from the nGenius Solution provide a URL to HP OpenView users to launch a context-sensitive view in nGenius Performance Manager or nGenius Analytics to enable a fluid pathway for further analysis and network troubleshooting, reducing the mean-time-to-repair of network performance issues.
• HP OpenView Network Node Manager discovery topology map displays nGenius Probes, nGenius Flow Collectors, nGenius Flow Recorders and nGenius Performance Manager Server for full accounting of networked devices.
• nGenius Performance Manager and nGenius Analytics can be launched directly from the HP OpenView console and various alarm browsers for simplified workflow.

Availability
The integration between the nGenius Solution including nGenius Analytics is now available for no charge to joint customers. It is implemented by running an integration utility that ships as part of the nGenius products.

About NetScout Systems
NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTCT) is a market leader and pioneer of integrated application and network performance management products and solutions that help IT organizations assure critical business services across the enterprise. More than 3000 leading companies and government organizations worldwide have deployed NetScout's nGenius® Performance Management System to increase their return on infrastructure investments by optimizing the performance of networks and applications according to business priorities. NetScout is headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts and has offices worldwide. Further information is available at http://www.netscout.com.

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