Fluke Networks OptiView XG v8 Optimised To Speed Troubleshooting In Virtualised Datacentres

Fluke Networks has announced a new version of its OptiView XG portable network analysis tablet, focused on providing increased visibility into both traditional and virtualised datacentres in order to rapidly identify issues and their root cause.

Virtualisation has revolutionised datacentre efficiency, but it has simultaneously made it more difficult for network engineers to physically trace information pathways, identify device locations and troubleshoot network and application issues. With server virtualisation expected to nearly double, claiming 75 percent of all datacentre machines in the next three years according to Gartner, Inc., network engineers need a quick, easy portable solution that lets them drill down, isolate a problem and see what is really happening within these complex virtualised environments.

New troubleshooting capabilities in OptiView XG allow customers to resolve issues in minutes, instead of having to use multiple tools and dedicating multiple hours for problem resolution. In addition to these enhanced troubleshooting capabilities, the OptiView XG tablet has also been upgraded to be compatible with high-availability datacentre technologies and protocols, including the Cisco Nexus Series switches, Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP) and link aggregation.

“OptiView XG is already the fastest way to see root cause in wired and wireless networks, and the next-generation features are focused on meeting the needs of our customers in the heart of their network - the datacentre - in a way that provides a rapidly deployable, cost-effective, portable solution,” said Gary Ger, Vice President and General Manager, Fluke Networks.

Two new troubleshooting features of the OptiView XG v8 are responsible for its ability to rapidly identify data paths and isolate problems within physical and virtual networks: the 1-Click NetTest and Automated Multi-Segment Analysis. With a single button push, the 1-Click NetTest finds the connection path in a single screen view.

Once the analysis is complete, engineers can provide a consolidated summary report which indicates whether the problem is with the network or the server, and is ideal for providing evidence to other stakeholders. If it is not a network problem and a more detailed application analysis is required, engineers can now use the new Automated Multi-Segment Analysis feature with another OptiView XG to capture and merge trace files from multiple segments to find where loss and latency are occurring.

“Continual technology advances like virtualisation benefit all of us by providing greater speed, flexibility and capacity, but these advances also create new places for problems to hide,” Ger said.