So an operator can concentrate on what the problem is and not use valuable time to troubleshoot. Sun Microsystems Inc. Ultra workstation in Ward's branch office. When Wang tried to run the application on a Sun Sparcstation 20, it took nearly 30 minutes to boot and run the program. But lower-end Unix machines would work fine for monitoring networks less complex than DISA's, Ward said. For DISA, the program opens with a screen showing a global view of the networks and systems the agency supports for DOD users worldwide.
Red dots represent trouble spots.
A data capture example from the app showed a broken network switch at a military base in South Korea. Clicking down through the network layers increased the level of detail about the problem. Ward zeroed in on the broken switch and traced its detrimental effects on network traffic. Besides the ability to reroute traffic around trouble spots, administrators watching the system can fix minor problems from a desktop half a world away. Telnet access lets users reinitialize switches, reboot machines or even write new script files.