Halcyon Network Server Suite 4 review

Halcyon's Network Server Suite 4 offers a range of network-monitoring and management tools for network and SNMP-capable devices. Each device can report the status of a number of different processes to provide an overview of the health of the servers on the network. The system can alert support staff via the Enterprise Console display or by email, pager and mobile phone.

Setup is straightforward, and the installation wizard will install .NET 2 if it isn't already present. There are two main administration components: the Central Configuration Manager (CCM) console and Enterprise Console. The CCM is used to set up the various monitoring options, while the Enterprise Console displays the results of the monitoring processes and gives access to the reporting and analysis features. All performance data and filters are stored on the Enterprise Server created during installation. The Enterprise Console software can be installed on several systems, communicating with the central server across the network.

Once installed, the software can be set to monitor a range of parameters on any device. Mail, FTP and web servers can be monitored by periodically sending a command to them and checking to see if the correct response is received. Other types of servers can be monitored using the generic TCP/UDP monitor configured to use user-defined commands and responses, while SNMP-capable devices such as routers, switches and firewalls can be monitored using the SNMP Trap monitor.

If you wish to determine whether a device is alive, the simple Ping monitor will issue a ping request at regular intervals and raise an alert if all isn't well. Windows servers can be monitored in more detail by installing a management agent. This tracks the state of such things as CPU, memory and disk usage, and examines the system event log for messages, triggering an alert if any monitored item falls outside acceptable limits or a specified event occurs. Linux systems don't enjoy this level of reporting, but the system attempts to redress the imbalance by filtering any syslog messages received from them for specific conditions. In practice, this works well and allows for better management of mixed networks.

Servers can also be assigned to groups, allowing easier identification, and used to associate actions with groups and individual systems.

Performance monitoring is extensive. Reports can be generated daily, weekly and monthly, and items examined in detail and reports printed out for both individual servers and groups as needed.

Network Server Suite's wide range of monitoring tools provides the means to effectively manage a mixed network using a variety of monitoring techniques, without the need to install extra software on most monitored devices.

Author: Ian Parsons