Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold Central Site Edition 11 review

At first glance, you might wonder what the difference is between this edition and WhatsUp Gold 11 Premium Edition (web ID: 110719). But take a closer look and you'll find, along with all the standard WhatsUp Gold features, this version allows several separate networks to be monitored at one time. The data is displayed at one central location - a big timesaver for any organisation with more than one network.

The Central Site software is installed at the main network and needs to be configured. Then, each remote network needs to have the Remote Site software installed and configured to participate in the monitoring process. Once complete, all the expected reports and facilities are available through a suitable web browser in exactly the same way as in the standard software.

This version retains the comprehensive device-discovery features from the previous version, and can detect and identify connected devices using a number of resources. Windows systems will generally be detected using responses from the Windows Management Interface (WMI), while other devices can be found using their SNMP responses. The software also looks for responses on known application ports, so if a device is running neither SNMP nor WMI but an application such as a web server, it will be detected. It can also search using Windows Network Neighborhood and local hosts files. This enables the software to detect Linux systems and other networking devices such as routers and switches.

Detailed device monitoring produces large volumes of data that need to be managed carefully. Displaying the data correctly is essential if administrators aren't to be overwhelmed by a mass of incomprehensible numbers. Fortunately, the Dashboard display is well designed and provides a clear summary of network activity organised into workspaces. These can be customised to suit individual requirements and new workspaces can be created. Workspaces can display data in tabular and graphic forms, and offer extensive drill-down facilities. Reporting is comprehensive and reports can be distributed electronically and as printouts. Some customisation of report formats and date ranges is possible, but there's no report-writing facility for producing site-specific reports. However, since the reports on offer cover all aspects of system activity, this shouldn't be a problem. Workspaces also provide tools such as Telnet and ping, and can make remote desktop connections to Windows systems. It's also possible to create new workspaces and to allocate devices to groups.

Network monitoring is of little use if the system can't detect abnormal situations and alert support staff. Apart from the standard email messages, the system can display pop-up warnings at specified workstations.

By combining the successful WhatsUp Gold facilities with the ability to manage remote networks from a central location, this product should be considered by any organisation that needs to manage several separate networks.

Author: Ian Parsons