Monitoring networks, managing IDs

Turning the TAP on optical networks
Keeping up with optical networks is a big challenge, said Network Instruments as it announced an nTAP (network Test Access Port) capable of full-duplex data monitoring on a 10Gbit/s connection. The device splits the signal between the network and the monitoring device, transferring all the data on the link, including errors.

"That way you can be confident you are obtaining a realistic picture of the network," said nTAP sales director Pete Hage. "If usage exceeds 50 percent, a SPAN or mirror port will not keep up with the traffic. On the other hand, TAPs never drop packets, regardless of bandwidth saturation."

The £475 10Gbit optical nTAP works with a variety of security and network management tools, including the Network Instruments Observer family, he added, and is transparent to the network so it does not interfere with the data stream.

Toolkit adds embedded wireless control
The µWeave M2M telemetry system enables equipment at remote sites to be monitored, controlled and managed wirelessly via the mobile phone network, said developer Comtech Holdings. It said the system comprised a central Web-based management application, remote GSM/GPRS modules, M2M services, and development tools that companies can use to add wireless telemetry to their existing applications.

The remote monitoring device logs data from machines via a simple AT-command serial interface, and delivers it to the µWeave monitoring application via GPRS and the Internet. Comtech claimed that because it is ready-made, µWeave makes it possible for companies to build M2M technology into a wide range of services and systems without having to start from scratch.

Suite promises simpler user ID management
Identity management has become vital as enterprises seek to simplify how they deal with user access rights, comply with regulations and protect sensitive data. So said BMC Software, as it introduced a suite which it claimed would seamlessly and comprehensively integrate all its identity management applications.

The software can link entire user populations to processes, systems and business services, according to BMC. The company added that its BMC Identity Management Suite builds on its acquisitions earlier this year of Calendra and OpenNetwork, and said that it uses open services, data abstraction and adaptable workflow technologies to let customers build adaptable systems, including homegrown and third-party applications where necessary.

BMC identified five key areas where customers could achieve benefits from integrated identity management: directory management and visualisation; access management; password management; user administration and provisioning; and audit and compliance management. It said that today its products that address these five areas are integrated at the user interface, next it will give them a unified Web-based interface, and then it will integrate them at the back end as well.