First look: Fluke Networks' OptiView XG

Fluke Networks' OptiView XG is the latest in a line of all-in-one hardware-based, small portable network analysers from the network management and troubleshooting firm.

The XG is designed to be portable enough for those times when network engineers and technicians need to be able to make a site visit or investigate wiring closet network problems and physically plug in the device using the various onboard network connections to troubleshoot such hardware as routers, servers, switches and other network appliances [see picture].

We looked at the top-of-the-range model, which had all the options installed, including the small form-factor pluggable (SFP+) transceiver port for monitoring 10Gbit/s at line-rate and the dual wireless monitoring cards.

10Gbit/s ports are increasingly being deployed in datacentres on server and storage connectivity, switch interconnects, video streaming and virtualisation, so being able to monitor such links is critical for enterprises.

Pricing for the OptiView XG, launched in June, ranges from about £16,000 for the basic model to around £25,000 for the all-singing, all-dancing model.

Who needs an OptiView XG?
There are four markets that Fluke Networks is targeting with its tools:

•    Traditional data communications installers who can use it for certifying cable and fibre networks;
•    Telcos and service providers;
•    Enterprise application performance management/monitoring; and
•    Portable network analysis section for enterprise networks – both datacentres and wiring closets [see picture].

There are five models in the OptiView XG range: a 1Gbit/s wired-only model – the OPVXG-LAN; 1Gbit/s and 10Gbit/s models, which can analyse wireless connections – the OPVXG and the OPVXG-10G; and two models that have both wifi and Spectrum analysis modules onboard, differing only by their headline LAN speed (1Gbit/s or 10Gbit/s) – the OPVXG-PRO and OPVXG-EXPT.

Network connections
There are two standard RJ-45 gigabit Ethernet ports, an SFP 100Mbit/s/1Gbit/s  Ethernet transceiver port, and an enhanced small form-factor pluggable (SFP+) 10Gbit/s Ethernet transceiver port.

The XG supports a range of small form-factor pluggable optical modules, including short-haul 1000Base-LX (220 metres) and long-haul 1000Base-ZX (70km) options.

Finally, there is an RJ-45 1Gbit/s Ethernet port used for out-of-band (OOB) management (basically a dedicated port specifically used for connecting to or managing the XG remotely), while the other ports are being used to collect network data.

The XG is capable of 10Gbit/s full line-rate capture and has a 4GB dedicated capture buffer – this is in addition to the system memory in Windows.

There are also three USB 2.0 ports (two on the side and one on the back), an eSATA port (also on the side) for connecting external hard drives, and a VGA port for connection to external display devices.

Device specifications
The device weighs in at 2.5kg and is tiring on the arm to hold for long periods, even though there is a holding strap at the back. There is a pull-out stand on the back of the XG for times when the strain is just too much, and a flat surface can be found to rest the XG on [see picture].

Fluke Network's proprietary hardware – network processors and the network packet capture buffer, which is needed to keep up with 10Gbit/s network speeds at full line-rate – delivers the results to the Fluke applications run under Windows.

Windows runs off a separate system board using an Intel Core Duo 1.2GHz processor and 4GB of system memory. There is a 128GB solid state device (SSD) used for running Windows and storing network data on.

The SSD is removable and available pre-configured with the different software images for the different XG models. The display is a 10.25-inch 1024 x 768 resolution LCD touchscreen system.

In use
Any network expert who has used Fluke Network's Integrated Network Analyser (2007 vintage) will have no trouble using the OptiView XG.

Fluke Network's GUI is still easy to use, despite the extra functions (both hardware and software) now available on the XG.

The main question firms invariably end up asking themselves when systems slow down is: "Are our IT problems down to the network, application or server?"

The XG has the correct tools to answer that question, especially since Fluke Networks acquired application performance experts ClearSight in February 2010, and in August 2009 acquired one of the leading wireless monitoring vendors, AirMagnet.

Both these technologies have now been integrated in the XG stack, giving tools to let network engineers answer the 'network, application or server' question much more easily.

We found it easy to pick out the top network conversations – the network traffic utilising the network – and it was easy to pick out hosts that were taking too much network resource; for example, users transferring large (multi-gigabyte) files over wireless networks.

We could also quickly pick out devices the XG can categorise by type, such as printers, routers, servers and switches, as well as hypervisors and virtual machines.

A key feature in the XG is the ability for users to configure traffic-light dashboards that can be customised to different business units or locations, or even for specific users, such as the chief executive, for example.

We could easily set up dashboards and management reports, and the XG can also analyse VMware virtualised infrastructures from virtualisation market leader VMware to check that firms' VMware ESX virtual servers are working efficiently and have no performance issue related to inadequate physical server resources.

Aside from analysing wired or wireless network problems, the XG can also be used to generate traffic to test whether network configurations can stand up to the strain of defined amounts of network traffic passing over them.

Battery life
Fluke Networks claims a three-hour life from the two 45W hot-swappable Lithium ion batteries, which is also the time required to recharge the system from flat.

Conclusion
The OptiView XG can troubleshoot most networks – wired and wireless – except ones requiring line-rate test data off 40Gbit/s and 100Gbit/s network ports.

The leading question for CFOs poised with a pen over a cheque for £25,000 could be what the return on investment would be.

The answer from network admins would be that a significant outage in the firm's enterprise network dealt with through the use of an XG would mean the device pays for itself there and then, and such outages aren't that rare.