For years we've been ranting on about the importance of continually monitoring your network - being pro-active - yet still the first time most administrators call for the use of such a tool is when they experience a problem with their LAN.

Chevin CNApro will certainly help you in such troubleshooting situation, but it really comes into its own when it is left running to monitor the day-to-day activity on your network. From the wealth of statistics and reports that can be gleaned, it is then possible to manage the network on a more pro-active basis, perhaps spotting problems before they become serious enough to inflict down-time on your users.

Installation is simple enough, with detailed instructions being given on how to add and bind the low-level network drivers necessary for packet capture. As well as generic NDIS drivers, there are also direct-to-hardware drivers written for the 3Com family of NICs. If you are lucky enough to use these, performance is enhanced even more.

One of the first things you notice with CNApro is the lack of any obvious monitoring screen when you first fire it up. Instead it looks more like a general network management console, as it goes out on the network to auto-discover all the nodes it can find. Once they are on screen, it is possible to move them around to create a representation of your physical network layout, and even overlay maps and office floor plans.

With each of the on-screen icons, CNApro uses colour coding to visually identify problems on the network. The software also provides automatic diagnosis of problem nodes identifying exactly where the problem lays, and responds with alarms (visual and audible) based on pre-set, adjustable threshold levels being exceeded, again in the style of a typical SNMP management system.

One of the areas the Chevin software really scores over the competition is the ability to monitor multi-segment networks using remote software “PODs”, all reporting back to a central console. These communicate using a highly efficient proprietary protocol, though the latest release also provides full RMON support for those daft enough to want to use it.

As well as catering for the large scale WAN overview, the Chevin software also lets you focus down to a single node. For example, you can take a node "snapshot" at the click of a mouse, or you can monitor a "conversation" between any two or more nodes.

Packet capture can be initiated at any time, with full automatic decode. The decode window shows the different OSI layers of the packet, each of which can be switched off or on, and both packet capture and decode options have extensive filter options.

Any number of nodes can be made into a "group" and monitored independently of the rest of the network. Excellent use is made of multiple windows, so you can get a lot of information on-screen whilst keeping it easy to read. Any element of the network being monitored can be highlighted and viewed in great detail. For example, for each specific protocol active on the network, windows showing both numerical and graphical detailed breakdowns are available.

A wide range of real-time traffic statistics can be brought up on-screen at any time while the network is being monitored. These include statistics boxes showing real time graphical displays of network loading, together with numerical data on the packets and bytes being transmitted. The number of active nodes, protocols in use and traffic peaks are also displayed. One very useful feature is a display of the top ten busiest nodes, along with their names and addresses, the percentage use of each node, and their error statistics - again in both numerical and graphical form.

Chevin has made tremendous efforts to produce hard-copy output which is genuinely readable, and complete network health-checks can be output and formatted automatically into a Word document – ideal for consultancy operations.

Minor gripes with CNApro would focus around the interface, which is slightly dated in places (though improving with every release, especially with the new Explorer interface), less than complete protocol decodes, and the use of a dongle for copy protection. However, even this latter gripe has a plus side, since it allows you to install the software on multiple machines (perhaps on different client sites if you are a roving consultant), and then use the dongle to enable it each time you want to use it.

Verdict:�

Extremely versatile and very easy to use once set-up, with flexible views of protocol decodes. Although it looks expensive at first glance, it scales extremely well and is at its most competitive when used on larger multi-segment networks.

Contact: Chevin Software Engineering�� 01943 465378

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