NetRule 5.0 Release Notes

NetRule 5.0 added features to automatically set up and validate a baseline model. You can use the automation with

• lists of your network components (which can be obtained from your network measurement software).
• one or more representative traffic measurements:
• utilization data, which you can easily obtain
• traffic flows
• actual traffic captures.

With these features, NetRule completes the critical (and often intimidating) baselining step and moves you quickly into results for your project-- the part where you get the payoff.

Follow the process instructions in NetRule, include all the scenarios you want, and get accurate results. You no longer have to spend weeks collecting data about your network and labor over setting up the model. Even a novice in modeling will be able to make a useful model with practical results.

NetRule will make the traffic profiles and jobs for you. You can even identify your traffic by application and get application profiles. Once you have your baseline model completed, you are ready to assess impact from IT changes, such as server consolidation, application additions or upgrades, and network changes, such as router upgrades, bandwidth increases, traffic shaping. Once you become familiar with NetRule 5.0, you will wonder how you ever dared to make network and IT changes without it.

New features and capabilities in NetRule 5.0 are:

• Autobaseliner (Patent Pending)- This feature is the fastest way yet to build your baseline model. It cuts weeks off your project by automatically adjusting model parameters to give a “best fit” baseline of your network. NetRule will adjust your job profiles, to make a best match to the actuals that you load up - and the actuals can be utilization values, traffic flows, or traffic captures. The resulting baseline model is validated by your network measurements.
• Server CPU and disk processing adjustment - This feature in NetRule automatically adjusts your computer profiles to best reflect a server's computing power, for the offered traffic to the actual, measured utilization.
• Exception Identification - NetRule 5.0 has expanded reporting and graphical displays for exceptions. Exceptions are those components or applications which do not perform within requirements. NetRule looks for goodness of fit between your specifications and every component and application in your network. Those with predicted measures that are “high” or “too high” are put in the exception report, with information about the level of variation. This report is printable and exportable. You can also see these exceptions on your network diagrams. Exceptions are coded in yellow or red to indicate the level of the exception. Previously NetRule reported and displayed utilization; the following are now included in NetRule 5.0 reporting:
  • unused capacity
  • baseline error
  • user delay
  These displays and reports enhance your power to work effectively as you deal with IT requirements, day-to-day operations, and Service Level Agreements.
• Additional Graphical Display- NetRule 5.0 adds the option to display on network diagrams
  • actual utilization
  • PVC allocation
  • baseline error.
• Enhanced import capabilities- To make the new features of NetRule 5.0 more practical to use, NetRule has expanded import capabilities. Now you can import all or any part of a network and its parameters. A simple dialog will lead you through the steps to loading up your models. Additionally, these new options are available in the NetRule 5.0 Import process:
  • server detection option
  • user defined application identification
  • job profile generalization..
• Java Help system- NetRule has a full Java Help system implemented with its 5.0 Release. The Java system is a more organized presentation of the help documentation and will be included with your NetRule license. Printed manuals are available also. Please contact Analytical Engines to order manuals.
• Device failover designation- In Netrule 5.0, servers and nodes will have an additional field for designating their failover devices. NetRule will automatically send jobs to the failover device if the originating device is disabled. This feature will make it easier for you to model disaster recovery and redundancy scenarios.

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