Version 12.3.1 of this popular Windows-based network discovery and monitoring platform expands real-time monitoring capabilities and plug-in visibility.

by Lisa Phifer President Core Competence [December 23, 2008]

When your network is your livelihood, availability counts big time. Network discovery, monitoring, and reporting tools can help any business, large or small, keep tabs on unexpected changes, failures, and critical service metrics, providing the automation and intelligence needed to react quickly and effectively. But such tools can come with steep learning curves and/or hefty price tags.

Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold 12.3.1 strikes a balance by delivering powerful insight with relatively little pain.

WhatsUp Gold Premium v12.3.1 From $995 (25 monitored devices) To $10,995 (2500 devices) Ipswitch, Inc. Lexington, Massachusetts http://www.whatsupgold.com

Evolving and growing
When we test-drove WhatsUp Gold v5 back in 2000, we found it to be a solid entry-level tool for maintaining a 24/7 vigil over small-to-midsize ISP networks. Here, we take a second look at its considerably matured descendent, WhatsUp Gold v12.3.1.

We tested WhatsUp Gold Premium Edition, which can poll between 25 and 2500 devices using the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP v1-3) and/or the Microsoft Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI). Businesses that don't need WMI real-time monitors for SQL, Exchange, or SMTP services can save a few bucks with the Standard Edition, starting at 25 nodes for $595.

Both Premium and Standard Editions are limited to monitoring a single site. Enterprises with multiple sites will need the Distributed Edition, priced from $1195. Providers that need to monitor many independent customer networks and give customers access to alerts and reports can spring for the MSP Edition (no published price).

All members of the WhatsUp Gold family share a common underlying architecture and GUI; upscale Editions simply add features required to accommodate network growth and administrative diversity. This makes WhatsUp Gold more approachable than enterprise-class Network Management Systems (NMSs) that are more complex from the get-go. With WhatsUp Gold, companies can start small with Standard or Premium Editions and grow into Distributed or add Plug-In functionality. On the flip side, small businesses can buy a full-featured turn-key network monitor for less than a grand.

Ultimately, larger enterprises and providers may find WhatsUp Gold a bit narrow. In particular, WhatsUp Gold is a monitor, not a network element manager—if you need to maintain device firmware and configuration files, look elsewhere. But when it comes to surveillance, WhatsUp Gold continues to add meat to its network layer-focused bones. New layer two, VoIP, and NetFlow plug-in modules have expanded this product's visibility, while split-second web graphs now provide real-time status.

Getting going
A significant part of WhatsUp Gold's appeal is its "quick and easy" configuration. WhatsUp Gold can run under Windows XP, Vista Ultimate or Business, or Windows Server 2003 or 2008. Nearly all of the program's features can be accessed through your choice of Win32 console or web-based GUI accessed via Microsoft IE 6.0 or Firefox 2.0.

Under the covers, WhatsUp Gold Premium requires a minimum 2 GHz CPU, 1 GB RAM, and 3 GB of storage. We tested on a dual-core 2 GHz XP SP3 laptop with 2 GB of RAM and didn't come close to stressing any limits. After two months of watching perhaps two dozen devices, the included Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express database had grown to just a fraction of its 4 GB max. But those who do need to retain more monitored data can install their own full-blown SQL Server database.

For obvious reasons, WhatsUp Gold requires reliable connectivity to the entire monitored network. The product can be configured to understand polling dependencies (i.e., which devices are "behind" others), but it is still important to think about traffic flows when deploying any kind of network monitor. For example, devices hidden by firewalls cannot be polled unless ports are opened for the necessary protocols (e.g., ICMP, SNMP, WMI). After early tests, we moved our WhatsUp Gold deeper into our test network, adjusted internal firewall rules, and enabled SNMP on a few more nodes to increase the product's reach.

WhatsUp Gold also needs a web server to deliver local or remote HTTP or HTTPS access to its web interface. The product auto-installs its own server by default but can optionally be paired with your existing Microsoft IIS server. Finally, generating pager or SMS alerts requires an analog or GSM modem connected to the WhatsUp Gold platform.