ISPPlanet NMS Series - MG-SOFT NetInspector and MIB Browser

Management by Plug-In:
MG-SOFT NetInspector and MIB Browser

by Lisa Phifer VP Core Competence, Inc. [August 9, 2000]

Administrators don't adopt a network management system because it does a great job of managing a single device. Ideally, an NMS should offer integrated monitoring and control for every device and every mission-critical service in your network. Too often, this is not the case. Applications and entire devices that do not speak SNMP can leave gaping holes in an SNMP manager's view.

Development kits can be used to create an SNMP agent for the "missing" device or application—if you have the access, expertise, and interest in doing so. Or, you can teach your NMS to speak another language. Robust management systems used by large enterprises and carriers usually have APIs for integrating "non-standard" events. An integration API in an inexpensive NMS is less common.

In part four of our series on under-$1K network managers, we evaluate MG-SOFT's NetInspector and MIB Browser. NetInspector employs a plug-in architecture to poll agents that speak SNMP, ICMP, a dozen standard application protocols—or any protocol you want to add.

• NetInspector LITE 1.5    ($499) • MIB Browser Professional Edition 6.0    ($349 with SNMPv3) MG-SOFT Maribor, Slovenia http://www.mg-soft.si

Getting Started With Plug-Ins
MG-SOFT's NetInspector LITE 1.5 ($499) is supplied with three Proxy Front-end Server (PFS) plug-ins: SNMP, ICMP Ping, and UDP Echo. We also previewed a new Internet plug-in being developed for the next release (v2.0, available later this year). If you don't find the protocol you're looking for in a standard plug-in, you can write your own using the separately-purchased Software Development Kit ($400). A PFS API defines the interface between agents (devices or applications you want to manage) and NetInspector. New plug-ins can be added at run-time, without recompiling or reloading NetInspector.

NetInspector is available in Client/Server and LITE versions. We tested the LITE version, a combined Win95/98/NT polling engine and GUI. The Client/Server version ($998, not tested) separates these two functions, allowing Win32 or Java GUI clients to monitor several remote polling engines that distribute management workload across the network. ISPs who manage several POPs from a central NOC may prefer the Client/Server version to reduce management traffic overhead on backhaul links.

NetInspector is a network discovery and monitoring tool. When you need more SNMP depth, there's MG-SOFT's MIB Browser Professional Edition 6.0 ($349 with SNMPv3, $144 without SNMPv3). MIB Browser does not use plug-ins; it speaks SNMP exclusively. But it supports all three versions of SNMP and can handle device-specific SNMP agents by adding enterprise management information bases (MIBs).

We installed NetInspector and MIB Browser on a PIII 500 running Windows NT4 SP5, using the supplied setup programs. We then added Internet plug-in files so that we could preview this feature. Installation couldn't have been simpler. After that, you're on your own. Like many, MG-SOFT Help files describe what, not why or how. Adding to the quandry: NetInspector and MIB Browser are entirely independent products with slightly overlapping functionality. Those familiar with other NMS products will figure things out for themselves, but first-timers will wish they had a "Getting Started" guide.