Beta of ProbeView version 2.09 falls short

*Beta of ProbeView version 2.09 falls short. (HP's ProbeView/SNMP 2.0 add-on to HP OpenView 7.2 for Windows network software) (PC Week Netweek)
PC Week Sept 26, 1994 v11 n38 pN7(1)
PC Week Sept 26, 1994 v11 n38 pN7(1)

Beta of ProbeView version 2.09 falls short. (HP's
ProbeView/SNMP 2.0 add-on to HP OpenView 7.2 for Windows
network software) (PC Week Netweek)

by Blakeley, Michael

Abstract
HP's $3,560 beta version of its ProbeView/SNMP 2.0 for HP OpenView
7.2 for Windows network applications software offers enhanced RMON
(remote monitoring) capabilities, but still lacks certain vital features.
Among the missing elements is the need for ProbeView to be able to
share traps with OpenView. ProbeView is still incompatible with
popular networking hardware, such as Frontier Software Development's
NetScout diagnostic device. However, ProbeView appears to have more
compatibility with RMON agents from a variety of vendors. ProbeView's
installation procedures need significant work, requiring three separate
and distinct processes to setup ProbeView and ancillary programs
necessary for its operation. ProbeView is also bundled with NetManage's
Chameleon TCP/IP stack, while OpenView uses FTP Software's PC/TCP
protocol.

Full Text
In the latest beta release of its ProbeView/SNMP software,
Hewlett-Packard Co. has made some improvements but hasn't gone far
enough.

ProbeView/SNMP Version 2.0, a software add-on to HP OpenView 7.2 for
Windows, improves OpenView's ability to integrate multivendor RMON
probes on corporate networks. The new version also expands
ProbeView's reporting capabilities and user interface.

However, although PC Week Labs was pleased with the new version's
ability to manage multiple RMON devices from multiple vendors
simultaneously, ProbeView still needs more features -- such as the
ability to share SNMP traps with OpenView -- and interface
improvements to justify its $3,560 price. The package began shipping
Sept. 15.

PC Week Labs examined a late beta release of ProbeView/SNMP 2.0. We
tested ProbeView's multivendor compatibility with an HP LanProbe II,
Frontier Software Development Inc. NetScout probe, SynOptics
Communications Inc. LattisHub 2813SA probe, and Armon Networking
Inc. OnSite probe. The LanProbe and the SynOptics probe interoperated
with the ProbeView console seamlessly (both have been tested by HP),
but the NetScout was completely incompatible, and the Armon OnSite
proved only partially compatible.

HP has also tested ProbeView with RMON agents from Cabletron Systems
Inc., Chipcom Corp., Hughes LAN Systems Inc., Novell Inc., and
Technically Elite Concepts Inc., according to company officials. In
previous testing by PC Week Labs, most proprietary RMON consoles
displayed poor compatibility with third-party probes, typically because
of a reliance on proprietary extensions to the RMON MIB (see Netweek,
June 20, Page N/1). So, widespread interoperability may be ProbeView's
best selling point.

Interoperability comes at a price, however. ProbeView's user interface
isn't as intuitive as more proprietary RMON consoles from Armon,
Frontier, and Network General Corp. ProbeView relies on an almost
illegible button bar for tasks, whereas better-designed programs allow
the user to drill down into the network by double-clicking.

Three-step installation

The installation process for ProbeView was poor, even for a late beta
product. We had to install the bundled version of NetManage Inc.'s
Chameleon TCP/IP stack, confirm that TCP/IP worked, install a
specially patched version of HP OpenView 7.2, and then install
ProbeView.

One product should not require three separate processes for installation.
Worse yet, part of the problem stems from the fact that OpenView is
bundled with FTP Software Inc.'s PC/TCP, while ProbeView is bundled
with NetManage's Chameleon stack.

According to HP, the lack of reliable, standard implementations of
WinSNMP -- a standard for using SNMP over Winsock -- makes the two
TCP/IP stacks necessary. OpenView currently uses FTP Software's
version of WinSNMP, but ProbeView was coded for NetManage's
proprietary SNMP implementation because FTP Software hadn't yet
implemented certain API calls.

HP expects to ship a patch to ProbeView when stable versions of
WinSNMP become widely available. In the meantime, OpenView and
ProbeView can't share SNMP traps.

Hewlett-Packard, of Palo Alto, Calif., can be reached at (800) 752-0900.

Type: Software Review
Evaluation

Company: Hewlett-Packard Co.

Product: OpenView SNMP Platform 7.2 (Application development
software)
ProbeView/SNMP for OpenView 2.0 (Performance
analysis/diagnostic software)

Topic: Evaluation
Performance Analysis/Diagnostic Software
Beta Testing

Record# 16 261 140