NetCrunch Half Year Review
The year is more than half way through, 2019 is moving fast, just like NetCrunch! Here are a few of the new features, we have released so far this year!
New and Improved Remote Probe
The NetCrunch Remote Probe can perform numerous tasks. Now it can monitor not only all 75 network services, but monitor all 50 NetCrunch sensors, such as WMI, cameras, SQL, Radius and more. The Remote Probe supports automatic network service discovery and nodes monitored by it can use the service discovery feature like regular nodes. You can also set alerts on the Remote Probe node and get a notification if the probe connection is down. We are constantly improving the remote probe so make sure to subscribe to get all the newest features. Why you should care? The improved Remote Probe will enable you to monitor nodes beyond your local network using all NetCrunch network services and sensors.
Speed — Performance Enhancements
NetCrunch is one of the fastest network monitoring solutions on the market, but made it even faster. Performance has especially improved for monitoring networks with over 25,000 interfaces and over 300,000 metrics, event rules processing is now about 20 times faster. Before, updating 80,000 of monitoring rules took about 80 seconds, now it takes about 4 seconds on the same machine. The access to trend data is much faster; now even multiple series on the chart show up near instantaneously.
Why you should care? NetCrunch can use your machine to the max. Newer hardware will benefit greatly from the optimizations.
Network Interface Status
Looking at large amounts of data can be a challenging and confusing. We always want to make NetCrunch sleeker and easier on the eye. Now you can easily access traffic data on switch interfaces, right from Layer 2 maps. Looks nice, right?
Why you should care? Attention to detail is important and displaying information in a way which is easily digestible enables the user to better understand the data collected.
Port Mapping Search
Finding specific nodes connected to a switch just got a whole lot easier. Port mapping view allows searching through all nodes connected to a switch. Just type the name or number of the nodes you are looking for in the search bar and it is located, quickly.
Why you should care? A more general and expanded search enables you to locate whichever port you are looking for more efficiently.
More Language Options
NetCrunch is used by IT professionals in over 100 countries. It is truly global product. However, we know some people may be intimidated to buy software which does not support their native language. For that reason, we have expanded our supported languages to German, Japanese and Polish. We want our users to feel as comfortable as possible using a product which they can understand.
Why you should care? Expanding the language option is important for all NetCrunch users. It allows us to gather feedback and suggestions from users we do not in the past. More feedback equals a better NetCrunch. We value your opinions!
REST API
NetCrunch REST API is an impressive feature that enables you to get information, remove and modify nodes, views, folders, policies, and even sensors. You are able to program configure with the HTTP protocol with languages like cURL, Python and JavaScript.
Why you should care? NetCrunch is all about the user. We want to offer as much customization and configuration as possible. However, every NetCrunch user’s needs and wants are different. This enables you to create a NetCrunch which better suits your needs.
Active Directory Groups Integration
Now you can manage access to NetCrunch by assigning access profiles to Active Directory groups. You no longer have to create separate NetCrunch accounts for every user; they just need to be a member of the linked Active Directory group. The member will be able to login into NetCrunch using the Active Directory credentials, and they will receive a NetCrunch account automatically.
Why you should care? This has simplified the account creation process tremendously. We know that monitoring your network may be more than a one person job; this enables you to share the responsibilities with others without the headache of creating separate accounts.
New Sensors for Windows
Three new Windows sensors have been added to NetCrunch — AD Replication Sensor, Windows Updates Sensor, and Pending Reboot Sensor. The AD Replication Sensor checks the Windows Domain Controller for Active Directory replication errors. The Windows Updates Sensor monitors the status of updates in a computer. It will keep track of installed updates as well as updates which are available to installed and not installed. The sensor also permits you to be alerted if the installation of an update is not successful. Finally, the Pending Reboot Senor checks a Windows machine for pending reboots using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).
Why you should care? These three new Windows sensors will help you better understand and manage your Windows machines and enable you to act if something does not go according to plan. Updates and reboots are vital for your machine’s performance.
This is just a very short list of some of the top new features which have been added to our NetCrunch this year. For a complete list, you can read more here.
