LAN analyser checks user satisfaction

OmniAnalysis Enterprise 4.0 monitors web application performance

Network analysis firm WildPackets last week released version 4.0 of its OmniAnalysis Enterprise packet analysis software.

The new release introduces Enhanced Application Analysis, Network Forensics and VoIP Expert Analysis. WildPackets also launched a specific package for workgroups and smaller firms, called OmniAnalysis Workgroup.

The main feature of OmniAnalysis Enterprise 4.0 is an application analysis capability using the Application Performance Index (Apdex) – an application performance metric promoted by the Apdex Alliance.

Chris Bell, European technical sales manager, said, “This release focuses on the end-user and their perception of how the application is running.”

Bell said that Apdex focuses on tasks and how long they take to complete. “If you had a number of users looking through web pages, Apdex would score the users, giving basically a percentage on how well your web application is performing.”

Bell added that this Apdex score could be broken down for individual users to pinpoint those having problems. “This would then give IT something for the CIO to take into the board meeting and say, ‘Here’s the areas where we need to improve.’”

One feature upgraded in the enterprise version is VoIP Expert, which treats VoIP as a specific application and uses RTP Control Protocol Extended Reports (RTCP XR) to give more information on call quality. The forensic analysis abilities of Omni have also been upgraded, with pre-configured capture templates and local processing of data to avoid transfering large data files across expensive WAN links.