Nectus Feature List ( Build 1.2.16)

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Here is the most complete list of features available for Nectus customers

FeatureComments
Network Monitoring ICMP, SNMP v2c and v3
Network Discovery1200+ platforms
Netflow CollectorSupport for v5, v9, IPFIX Netflow
Command ScriptingAutomate Config changes to routers and switches
Configuration BackupConfiguration backup for routers and switches
Basic Server MonitoringSNMP and WMI
SQL Server Monitorng50+ SQL related metrics
Network Topology VisualizationAutomatic L2 and L3 topology generation
Syslog Server Store unlimited number of Syslog messages
SNMP TrapsProcess incoming SNMP traps
GSM based alertingReceive Alert notifications directly to your cell phone
Email based alertingReceive Alert notifications directly to email
URL MonitoringMonitor UP/DOWN and latency for any URL
Configuration DiffsEasily find differences in configs before and after the change
L3 Traffic Path VisualizationSee how packet travels from A to B
MAC Address searchEasily find MAC address in your network
Web based SNMP Walk Utility
Web based Ping plotter Up to 10 IP Addresses
Web based SSH clientSSH to any device from your browser
LDAP Integration
Custom Dashboards
SmartNet verification for any device
Multiple SNMP profilesSupport for different SNMP parameters

 

 

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Challenges with deploying SNMP v3 based monitoring tools in diverse environments

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One of the biggest challenges with SNMP v3 deployments in diverse environments is a lack of consensus

among hardware manufactures on what set of Privacy Ciphers has to be supported/included in standard SNMP v3 stack.

Even Cisco was unable to unify list of supported v3 Ciphers in different product lines (ASA vs NX-OS vs IOS-XR).

Partially this was caused by the lack of RFC that defined AES-192 and AES-256 implementations  for SNMP v3 but this didn’t stop top-tier hardware

vendors from implementing  those Ciphers internally and partially it was  caused by slow v3 adoption rate that put very low pressure on hardware vendors.

In any case it is very unlikely that you will be able to pick single set of  SNMP v3 Authentication/Encryption parameters that will be supported on all of the devices

in a good sized enterprise network. This results in having to use and support different encryption ciphers in different devices and what most important this

will require your Network monitoring tool to support multiple SNMP profiles based on device type. Your monitoring tool has to discover what SNMP profile

is compatible with each device, “remember” it and only use compatible SNMP parameters when communicating with specific device.

Nectus is the only tool that was built from ground up with support for device specific SNMP profiles and it deploys patented discovery logic that allows it to match

compatible SNMP profile to each device in sub-seconds. Nectus supports up to 1000 SNMP profiles and used by multiple customers with 10K+ routers.

60 days Nectus Trial

 

 

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Enjoy best Network Discovery Tool on the market for 2 months.

We have had several customers (well, not yet customers) who are in network consulting business and who keep using Nectus as part of their Network Discovery service offering portfolio. They don’t buy the software , but only use it within the 60 days that we allow for free trial.

We are very happy to see that they depend on us and return to us again and again, even though they don’t buy it yet.

This is the best indicator that we did something right. There are several tools available on the market for Network discovery that offer Trials but they keep coming back to Nectus.

If you ever need to map your network, run a network discovery, create a complex network diagram, monitor Internet link utilization or SQL server metric feel free to download Nectus and use it for 60 days.

It is totally fine if you use it again and again without buying it .

Building relationships is as important as making sales.  We understand that CapEx may take some time.  We will be there for you.

Best Network Discovery Software in a Planet

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New version of IP Port Scanner released

New version 3.2 of our famous Smiley IP Scanner application has been released.

It features improved user interface and faster more reliable operation.

Supports all modern Windows OS.

Scans for live IPs within specified range and checks for open TCP  ports for each live IP address.

Scans for open TCP ports even if IP address does not respond to Pings.  Export results to a CSV file.

Check for other useful apps in our  Network Engineer Goodies Box

 

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Nectus NetFlow collector VM sizing

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When selecting specs for Nectus VM that will be used for Netflow collection storage we recommend following specifications:

RAM: Amount of RAM has to be not less that Netflow DB size growth in one week.

Example:  Your Netflow  storage grows by 10GB every day. Recommended RAM amount is 70GB

CPU: Number of logical cores has to be not less than number of Netflow senders

Example: You have 16 routers sending Netflow data. Nectus creates one thread for each sender so ideal CPU configuration is with number of logical cores not less than 16.

Storage: We only recommend dedicated SSD based storage with minimum 200,000 IOPS rating.   We had very good experience with PCI-E Intel Optane SSD.

With recommended specs we should be able to support  close to 30Kfps Flow rates

Download best Netflow collector

 

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Secrets of creating the best Network Management Software

Very often I am invited to review new network related software products from other companies as an expert

in workflow and UI  optimization.  I always start with asking who designed the User Interface

and I see that in many cases user interface designer and a coder is the same person  and that where all the problems originate.

Golden rules of best software design:

User interface defines functionality so start with it.

User interface has to be designed by Subject Matter Expert not by a coder.

Person who designs UI may haven’t written a single line of code in his life, but he knows the work flow of the trade.

Start coding it only after UI is complete.

Additionally..

If you developing best Network Management software, SME has to get involved in DB design in very early stages:

It is Network Export who must decide how to call fields in SQL table that will be holding BGP session information not a DBA.

It is Network Expert who must decide how to call columns in JavaScript table that User will be seeing in reports not a Web designer.

It is Network Expert who has to check with C++ coder how he named those procedures that will be used to read ISIS peering info.

This may sounds like micromanaging, but this is what my 20 years experience in managing software development projects  tells me..

Download Best Network Management Software

 

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Cisco SmartNet validation automation with Nectus

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One of the key features of Nectus is ability to get instant SmartNet validation for any piece of Cisco hardware  you have.

SmartNet validation is implemented via “Cisco Smart API” interface available for selected customers with SNTC (SmartNet Total Care) or

Partners with PSS (Partner Support Service) agreements.

Nectus SmartNet validation requires API account (Client ID and Client Secret). Contact your local Cisco rep to apply for one.

Following SmartNet reports are currently implemented in Nectus:

  1. SmartNet coverage status
  2. End of Sales Status
  3. End of Support Status
  4. Current list of Bugs for each platform + IOS combination
  5. Recommended version of IOS for each hardware platform

To access SmartNet reports to go “Reports -> Cisco SmartNet Reports” in Nectus GUI

 

Download Nectus 60 day trial

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Using Nectus for Cisco VIRL Topology monitoring

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One of the limitations of VIRL that it does not provide real-time visual Up-Down status for Interfaces in your VIRL topology.

Pairing VIRL with Nectus give you best of both worlds. To allow Nectus to monitor your VIRL topology

enable and configure SNMP on your VIRL routers and ensure L3 reachibility  between your VIRL subnets and

Nectus Server IP address.   Define VIRL subnet in Nectus  “Settings” -> “Network Discovery”  and manually start discovery or

define discovery frequency which can be as low as every 6 min.  After Discovery finishes your should be able to see your VIRL topology in Nectus GUI.

Enable monitoring for Interfaces to allow Nectus to send SNMP polls every 30 sec to each virtual router’s interface.

 

Download 60 day Nectus trial

 

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Nectus Licensing and Pricing

Nectus is licensed by module with the following modules available:

  1. Basic Network Monitoring
  2. Network Topology Visualization
  3. Wireless Monitoring
  4. AWS Monitoring
  5. Windows Server Monitoring
  6. Linux Server Monitoring
  7. NetFlow Collector
  8. Syslog Collector
  9. MS SQL Monitoring
  10. HTTP Server Monitoring
  11. Cisco SmartNet Reporting
  12. IPAM
  13. Configuration Backup and Management

 

Each module has different pricing brackets based on number of supported devices.

Annual Maintenance and Support is 20% of the license price.

Contact sales@nectus5.com for your personal quote.

First Year Support is free.

Download 60 day trial

 

 

 

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Nectus version 1.2.15 released.

Build 1.2.15 released for selected POC customers.    Download

Current list of major features that are available out of the box without special licensing:

  1. Network Discovery
  2. Network Monitoring (SNMP v2/v3)
  3. Netflow Collector (requires second VM for storage)
  4. Syslog Server
  5. SNMP trap Server
  6. Network Topology Visualization
  7. HTTP URL Monitoring
  8. SQL Server Monitoring (new feature)
  9. Windows Server Monitoring
  10. Command Scripting
  11. Routers Configuration backup and change tracking
  12. Ping plotter
  13. Web based SSH client
  14. SNMP Walk with GUI

 

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Why managing some network monitoring tools is a full time job?

Recently I was pinged in LinkedIn by some recruiter for a job with a title “Splunk Network Architect”.

I am not a job market but I guess some of the keywords it my profile rang a bell in their matching script
but what startled me is the job title: “Splunk Network Architect”.. Since when managing software tools becomes a full time job?
The golden rule here is: When software tool takes more times to manage than it saves, it is time to get rid of it.

With Nectus you don’t have to write custom Perl/Python scripts to get what you need, It is our developers’ job.
With Nectus you don’t have to install third-party macros… It is our developers’ job.
With Nectus you don’t need more than 5 mouse clicks to get any report. We actually counted it.
With Nectus you don’t have to hire full time Architect to manage it.
Nectus GUI is very intuitive, we have seen CEOs login and use it without any formal training 🙂
The most common words we hear when people see our Demo is: “Cool”, “Awesome”, “Where were you when we bought [network tool name]”?

Try it yourself for 60 days
https://nectus5.com/download/

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Nectus sets new record in Netflow Collector speed: 50,000 flows per second

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Today we have achieved a new millstone with our Netflow collector performance:
50,000 flows per second processing speed was reached in Windows Server 2016 VM.
This rate was reached on VM with 64GB RAM and 1TB M2 SSD.
To simulate this flow rate we used 10 isolated instances of Netflow generator from Virtual Console (www.vconsole.com) with each instance generating 5Kf/sec.
There is no Netflow collector on the market that we are aware which can sustain this Netflow packet rate.
This explains why large cloud providers turn to Nectus for their Netflow processing needs when other tools fails to deliver.

Download 60 day trial:     Nectus Download

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We will update all of your network diagrams while you asleep..

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Keeping your Visio network diagrams up-to-date is a full time job and not a fun one.
For any decent size network there are always changes happen every day and it is almost
impossible to keep track of those not to mention about adding those changes manually in Visio files.
The time of manual, static network diagramming is over.
Nectus (www.nectus5.com) is a a tool that makes all the manual work from network diagram creation process obsolete.
Nectus is the most advanced network discovery tool on the market that can generate network diagram
of any part of you network. You only need to pick a starting point, right-click and Select
“Expand Network Topology” and awesome looking network topology based on information from daily network discovery
will be ready in seconds. Network diagrams are based on database of “interconnections” discovered
via CDP and LLDP protocols which Nectus uses during its scheduled discovery jobs.
So as long as you run your discovery every night you can wake up every day knowing that that all of your
network diagrams are up to date.

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Microsoft SQL Server Monitoring added to Nectus 1.2.16

Version 1.2.16 released on November 15, 2017 added ability to monitor Microsoft SQL Servers. Monitoring for 75 different SQL server metrics.
Server, Instance and Database level statistics.

Dashboard Example:

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