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ASG-Sentry Network Manager is a ready-to-run, Web-based SNMP network manager, built with our ASG-Sentry Framework system. It is a complete network management system providing real-time status, event detection and notification, event management, fault recovery, historical analysis, and a suite of powerful diagnostic and configuration tools for monitoring and maintaining small or large TCP/IP networks and enterprises. ASG-Sentry Network Manager evaluation copies may be downloaded from this site.

Using ASG-Sentry Network Manager, network administrators can achieve complete visibility of an SNMP-capable network and be automatically notified of network anomalies and threshold violations with high-level diagnostic messages. Additionally, ASG-Sentry Network Manager can take corrective action when problems occur, such as running your recovery programs, opening incident reports, and executing automation.

Most importantly, ASG-Sentry Network Manager requires no client software. It is completely run by your Web browser, from any location on the network. This provides a cost-effective solution to operator accessibility of network data from any seat. This also achieves a long sought solution for how to securely manage SNMP devices from a remote location on a public Internet.

ASG-Sentry Network Manager is not simply "Web-enabled" like many other network managers. This system is completely "Web-based". That means you perform all functions from any Web browser, including program setup, MIB compilation, diagnosis, report generation, and all other management activities. There is no need for a home console when using ASG-Sentry -- any Web browser gives you the entire range of SNMP management functions.

Features Overview

The ASG-Sentry Network Manager represents a new, powerful way of implementing network management. It cleanly integrates SNMP, HTTP, traditional network administration functions, and new innovations in network control and monitoring. It is a unique program which represents an evolutionary step in network monitoring, configuration, and control.

Specific features of ASG-Sentry Network Manager are as follows:

• Event Correlation, Notification, Recovery ASG-Sentry Network Manager continuously checks your network, and fault isolates failures and anomalies using configurable time- and rule-based algorithms. With your Web browser, you can also configure notification methods for network events, such as email, alpha-pager, or execution of your own scripts and programs. Event messages summarize (in clear, high-level terms) the precise network event that occurred. You have immediate, in-depth, and pertinent information regarding your network's performance.

• Graphical Depiction Of Network States and Business Views ASG-Sentry Network Manager provides a sophisticated "Map" facility that allows you to create both image-based maps (such as geographical maps) or process maps. These maps are created and maintained using your Web browser. Users can define their own maps, set their default map, and change associations to mapped devices or other maps. Each map provides you with well-defined levels, so you can drill down from your top-level depiction to a particular managed device and, further, to a particular managed object's real-time value.

• Trend Monitoring ASG-Sentry Network Manager provides a powerful trend monitor that provides you depictions of both short-term and long-term network trends. This includes Java graphing, data logging and reporting, statistical analysis of data, and forecasting. You can auto-configure the trend monitor by simply specifying the name of the SNMP device to be monitored. ASG-Sentry does the rest of the work for you.

• Interoperable ASG-Sentry Network Manager is itself SNMP-manageable. That is, the manager has its own SNMP agent and can be remotely configured and monitored via SNMP as well as with a Web browser. This capability makes ASG-Sentry Network Manager an ideal component in existing network management systems. It augments SNMP capability that may already exist on your network.

• Easy To Learn The operation of ASG-Sentry Network Manager is very intuitive and relies on the Web browser paradigm for all screens. This paradigm includes familiar features of Web browsers (such as screen history and point-and-click operation) and familiar Web tools such as search engines. Using the powerful framework of a Web browser dramatically decreases your learning time. ASG-Sentry can be used immediately with little or no training.

• Scalable In addition to serving as an excellent network manager for small systems, ASG-Sentry Network Manager is ideal for managing large networks, especially at sites separated by the public Internet. Because ASG-Sentry Network Manager is SNMP-manageable (as well as Web browser-capable), one copy of the system can monitor another copy of the system. By cascading ASG-Sentry, you can handle enterprise management of your entire network, especially within networks that are geographically dispersed.

• Secure SNMP Management ASG-Sentry Network Manager is intended to be a "secure" method for administering your network. It contains many features that can provide secure network management from remote locations, including a secure login facility, data encryption, and different layers of user access to the system. In addition to the built-in security of the login interface, you can leverage the well-known security elements of HTTP (including SSL), HTTP authentication, and authentication of HTTP proxies. The net result is a unique way to securely manage your network with SNMP.

• Cost Effective Because ASG-Sentry is operated from a Web browser, the number of operator seats is virtually unlimited. Complete management of your network site is possible from any desktop that supports a Web browser, with no additional licensing required as new seats are added.

ASG-Sentry Operation

Accompanying this SNMP polling agent are over one hundred different programs. These scripts query the SNMP Sentry monitor agent, displaying data in the form of HTML pages. Additionally, these scripts query other SNMP agents on the network, providing interactive, real-time Web browser screens.

Together, these elements furnish a complete, full-featured, interactive network management system that supplies configuration, control, and monitoring capabilities to operators via normal Web browsers.

ASG-Sentry Network Manager

For example, ASG-Sentry Network Manager can provide network management services to many corporate offices throughout the world, each with (potentially large) TCP/IP networks. ASG-Sentry Network Manager is well suited for this application because it handles the high network latency that exists on the Internet. If so configured, ASG-Sentry Network Manager allows SNMP operations to be performed at the LAN level where response times are quick and UDP packet loss is unlikely. The data is then transported back to a central management facility via reliable HTTP or HTTPS TCP protocols.

ASG-Sentry Network Manager is also well suited for secure network management using the security features of HTTP. A shortcoming of SNMP has been its lack of security. This problem is remedied if SNMP community names are stored at a remote site and care is taken to never transport these values across a public network. Management information (such as statistics and system states) can also be securely encrypted using HTTPS, ensuring total privacy.

While the ASG-Sentry Network Manager works well on small- to medium-sized networks, it is also works well as an enterprise management solution for handling many network devices. The system is highly scalable and capable of allowing management of hundreds of different remote sites, each containing hundreds of network devices.

Finally, because ASG-Sentry Network Manager processes are themselves SNMP-manageable, the system integrates well with existing network management strategies based on other commercial SNMP management software.

How to Acquire ASG-Sentry Network Manager

The ASG-Sentry Network Manager comes with ready-to-run executable programs, configuration files, integrated HTTP server, and 1000+ pages of detailed documentation to assist both programmers and non-programmers. Additionally, onsite setup, training, and development are available.

ASG licenses its ASG-Sentry Network Manager to individuals and organizations, with both node-specific and site-wide licenses available. To receive a quotation on this unique technology, contact us, stating your requirements. We would be happy to answer any questions you may have.