Industry Standard, Software-Based, Remote Advanced or RMON Data Collection for the Observer Console OR any RMON capable management or reporting Tool. 

Observer’s software-based Probes can operate in one of two modes: Advanced or RMON, and any Probe can be installed as either. The Advanced Probe offers a superset of RMON for administrators who will only be using the Observer console. The RMON Probe is an industry-standard RMON2 (including full RMON 1 and RMON 2) compliant Probe application. Observer’s Probes convert a standard PC into a complete remote network monitoring data collection device.

Advanced Probes offer:

RMON Probes offer:

 Advanced Probe

The Advanced Probe collects data on remote LANs, local/remote segments or switches. When using an Advanced Probe, all Observer mode data (switched and shared) is available at the Observer console.

The Advanced Probe System
The Advanced Probe software runs on a standard, non-dedicated Windows 98/ME/NT2000/XP PC and requires no additional hardware. (For Ethernet suggested NICs and Network Instruments ErrorTrak™ drivers provide extended error information - but are not required.) The Advanced Probe display shows a convenient quick snapshot of current LAN or switch conditions.

A single Advanced Probe must be installed on at least one remote system for each remote LAN, segment or switch to be monitored. For Windows NT/2000/XP, the Advanced Probe can be configured to run as a service.

Advanced Probe Resources
When gathering real-time statistics, Probes consume very few system resources, keeping local traffic to a minimum with as few as two to three 64 byte packets per minute. In Packet Capture mode, Probes collect packets in a local buffer and transfer captured packets to the Distributed Observer console only on demand. Distributed Observer provides a built-in chat utility that allows the network administrator to communicate in real time with a Probe PC(s).

Advanced Probe Unattended Mode
The Advanced Probe can be configured to collect Trending data completely unattended - no connection to an Observer console is required. Trending information can later be downloaded and viewed at an Observer console. This is often used to keep a historical baseline of network or switch conditions on a remote site without a connection or any network traffic generation.

Advanced Probe WEB Snapshot
A WEB-based snapshot with auto-update is available to any browser when the Observer console is not available, or is not installed for a quick view of a remote LAN’s condition.

Advanced Probe Redirection
Advanced Probes report to a single Observer console, but can be redirected to any Observer console that has rights for redirection.

 RMON Probe

The RMON Probe is an industry-standard, software-only, RMON compliant Probe application.

The RMON Probe System
The RMON Probe software runs on a standard non-dedicated Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP PC and requires no additional hardware. (For Ethernet suggested NICs and Network Instruments ErrorTrak™ drivers provide extended error information - but are not required.) The RMON Probe display shows a convenient quick snapshot of current LAN conditions.

A single RMON Probe must be installed on at least one remote system for each remote LAN or segment to be monitored. For Windows NT/2000/XP, a RMON Probe can be configured to run as a service.

Pure, Full RMON 1 and 2 Support
All 19 RMON groups are supported with full adherence to RFCs 1513, 1757, 2021 and 2074. Common RMON 1 and RMON 2 statistics can be configured to automatically begin on Probe start-up.

Multiple Management Station support and Extended Security
The RMON Probe supports multiple management station reporting. The number of management stations the Probe reports to is limited only by the memory on the RMON Probe PC.

A RMON Probe can report to any RMON or SNMP management console that supports RMON and that has sufficient access rights configured. Security options include separate read and write community strings, security by management station IP address, or IP address range.

Multiple Concurrent Interfaces
RMON Probes can support up to 10 interfaces concurrently. Interface topologies can be mixed, allowing reporting on both Ethernet and Token Ring simultaneously.

Full Trap Support
The RMON Probe can be configured to report Traps to one or more management stations.

Observer Suite Compatibility
The RMON Probe can report to a Observer Suite console.

System Requirements
System Requirements - Minimum: Pentium 166 w/64MB RAM, Windows 98 and a supported network adapter 
Platforms: For Ethernet, Token Ring - Windows 98/ME and Windows NT 4.x (server or workstation) or Windows 2000/XP. For Wireless 802.11b and FDDI - Windows 2000 and XP.
Topologies - Advanced Probe: Ethernet (10/100/Gigabit), Wireless 802.11b, Token Ring (4/16/100Mb), FDDI. RMON Probe: Ethernet (10/100) and Token Ring (4/16).
Switch Requirements (Advanced Probe only) - Switch must support port mirroring and have telnet or SNMP management interface that can control the port mirroring.
Network Interface Cards Supported - Any network adapter card with a NDIS 5.x/4.x/3.x driver that supports promiscuous mode. For Wireless 802.11b Cisco Aironet 340-350, Symbol Spectrum24-41x1, Intel 2011b and Nortel 41x1 adapters or compatible.
Licensing - Advanced or RMON Probe’s  license is for one PC on one site on one LAN. If the Probe is to be installed on a laptop, each laptop must have a separate Probe license.