The Daily Network Monitor

If you think we’ve been quiet lately, that’s only because we’ve been busy. Today Ipswitch launches WhatsUp Gold Distributed, the long-awaited multi-site version of WhatsUp Gold Premium v11. Like the site says,

Built upon the award-winning WhatsUp Gold engine, Ipswitch’s new WhatsUp Gold Distributed Edition provides organizations of all sizes with a flexible solution that enables them to reliably manage complex, disparate client network environments. There is no limit to how many remote networks can be connected, and despite its comprehensive functionality, WhatsUp Gold Distributed Edition is easy to implement and use – it actually frees up the network administrator to devote more time to other strategic priorities.

Obviously, we’re really excited about it, and we think any IT manager who has to deal with networks across long distances will be too.

It’s like having your cake and eating it too. WhatsUp Gold earned a sweet first-place rank in CRN’s Network Management Solution Bake-Off, beating out solutions from Ad Rem and Solar Winds. It’s gratifying to see the WUG team’s hard work recognized not only for creating great technology but also for making the product so channel-friendly. The reviewer pointed out WhatsUp’s features and the benefits of Ipswitch’s partner program.

The application offers an intuitive interface and a high level of customization for its features. WhatsUp Gold Premium combines many network-management features and trending databases with extensive packet intelligence, supporting SNMP 1/2/3 and WMI devices.

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There’s no fee to join Ipswitch’s three-tier partner program, but it requires an annual revenue commitment and technical certification. Ipswitch gives leads to partners and offers pre-sales, post-sales and technical support.

The test center setup was a great simulation of a typical SMB network, with one Microsoft and four Linux servers running web, email, firewall and SQL server running on them, two workstations, two Cisco switches and an HP printer. Just to jazz things up, the engineers added an Apple MacBook to the environment partway through the test. These kinds of dynamic, heterogeneous networks are more and more common in businesses of all sizes. In these days of consolidation in the IT press, it’s good to see that CRN still takes the time to do thorough, real-world testing.

As you may know, Ipswitch recently partnered with Wiley Publishing to produce Ipswitch Network Monitoring for Dummies by Robert Armstrong. It’s not available in stores or even on Amazon.com, but if you visit us at one of our upcoming events, such as Network World IT Roadmap or Cisco Networkers, you just might get a copy.

When the idea was first floated, I was skeptical. Our customers are far from dummies. Some of them could teach classes on networking. Some probably do. But I was proven wrong (again) by the popular response. People with serious networking credentials love this book! Sure, it’s a tribute to the power of the “Dummies” brand, but it’s also a powerful message about simplicity and clarity.

Networking professionals have complex jobs supporting increasingly complex systems that make businesses run. Never underestimate their need for simple, clear, easy-to-use tools and information. This is a big part of what has made Ipswitch and especially WhatsUp Gold successful - making the complicated things easy, making the easy things effortless, and turning blobs of data into actionable information. This is what’s gotten WhatsUp noticed lately by PC Magazine, PC Pro and CRN, to name just a few.