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Network General Provides Insight Into Complex Multicast Network Performance

SAN JOSE, CALIF., April 6, 2005 As the demand for Internet delivered audio and video services continues to grow, IP Multicast provides an efficient way to distribute a single copy of a message or multimedia service to multiple recipients. However, the ability of telecommunication networks to manage these services has been lacking. Network General Corporation, the pioneer and global leader in enterprise application and network performance analysis, today announced the capability to decode the multicast protocols Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM) and Internet Group Membership Protocol (IGMP) to help ensure smooth and timely delivery of information over those networks.

PIM and IGMP are key protocol standards that facilitate the flow of multicast application traffic. Applications that take advantage of multicast include stock trading applications, video-on-demand, corporate communications, distance learning and distribution of software and news. 

"The financial impact that multicast delays can have on a financial institution, for example, would be huge as traders depend on consistent delivery of real-time stock information in order to place timely orders. If information is delayed, it may no longer be true and orders will be placed incorrectly affecting revenue and customer satisfaction," said Sangram Dange, product manager for Network General. "The ability to decode multicast traffic ensures that problems are identified and resolved quickly and efficiently. When revenue and customer satisfaction are involved, it is imperative to ensure that any problems are resolved before customers ever see them." 

To ensure optimal performance in a multicast environment, it is necessary to be able to identify network configuration issues, as well as monitor and measure factors such as seek time, transfer time and network latency. Network General's multicast protocol decodes give IT professionals the ability to identify and resolve network configuration issues such as a misconfigured designated router on a multicast tree or an overloaded rendezvous point that serves one or more multicast clients to ensure that information is flowing to customers in a timely manner. IT professionals can also measure the time between a request and response to see if there is a delay, then drill down to determine if the delay is due to a misconfigured server, if additional server capacity is needed, or if there have been multiple re-requests which can cause a back-up and slowdown in the delivery of information.  

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