eTelemetry: Taking the Mystery out of Network Management

Datamation content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More .

No one will argue that good IT staffer are worth every cent. But why are highly paid workers performing menial tasks?

When something goes wrong — a workstation spewing worms or otherwise causing trouble, for instance — these same workers are tasked with getting to the root of the problem. It is not uncommon in these instances for seconds stretch into minutes, if not hours.

Surely, IT workers have better things to do than to correlate an IP in a log with a system and trace network cables back to an offending workstation. Even when a system is tracked down with relative ease, it usually takes a little more digging to discover exactly who was logged in and when.

Annapolis, MD-based eTelemetry has launched Locate 4.0, a server and a passive 1U node combo that matches users (Active Directory/LDAP support) to their IPs, even in single system/multi-user environments.

The thinking goes that any admin worth their salt can protect against threats to the perimeter. However, the glaring blind spot for most organizations is the interior of a network. Here, unauthorized access, worm outbreaks and all sorts of misbehavior can take place because administrators aren’t expressly looking for it, though it’s not for a lack of trying.

Indeed, Locate 4.0 can help IT workers deliver a good, speedy scolding to a destructive end-user, but the product has other uses. New features in this revision help with asset tracking, facilitate help desk duties for thousands of users and give compliance and acceptable use policies some bite.

The latter is accomplished with the built-in Instant Assist feature. This remote desktop-like capability gives admins one-click access to a PC for off-site (or across-the-office) management and repair.

Should a system prove especially troublesome, admins can invoke Isolator, which blocks systems at the switch port level, shielding the rest of the network from infections or unauthorized access. As far as keeping tabs on hardware, Motion Detector provides alerts when switch ports are swapped, when users access other systems, or when new hardware appears on the network.

All of these are activities are governed by a web-based management console with familiar forms, drop-downs and clickable fields. Here, IT staff can click on an identity, IP, or MAC address and drill down to the details of a session, including past history of up to five years. Reports are presented in easy-to-read graphs and charts, with exporting capabilities for more fine-grained reporting or for correlation with other management systems.

Ultimately, Locate frees up resources, eliminates time consuming chores and keeps IT budgets in line, according to eTelemetry CTO Alan Schunemann.

In a statement, he addresses that all-important business metric. “Customers are ecstatic about the ROI,” states Schunemann. The reason: “The people-to-computer-to-switch port match is performed in real-time and automatically updated, eliminating the errors and expense of manual asset tracking, cable tracing, and log reviews.”

Locate 4.0 is currently shipping. Prices start at approximately $10,000 for a server, and $7,500 for a node.

This article was first published on EnterpriseITPlanet.com.