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F E A T U R E

Peregrine Perches Atop the Pack

May 14, 2001
By Bruce Boardman

Executive Summary

Network-Management Platforms

Once upon a time, network-management suites were hyped to the high heavens. Need port-level Layer 2 discovery? Want total exception management? Have a hankering to know what the future holds for your network? No problem! Just hand over 50 percent of your company's profits and your first born. Sadly, despite all the money and sweat invested, those sagas rarely had happy-ever-after endings.

Times have changed, however, and expectations have gotten more realistic. While network-management products still aren't magic bullets, they have improved, evolving from frameworks with grand designs of managing everything, everywhere, to concise suites of tools that offer functionality without a lot of up-front work.

Frankly we were surprised to find ourselves giving the Editor's Choice nod to Peregrine Systems' catchily named InfraTools Network Discovery. This appliance doesn't come cheap, but it is extremely accurate because of the diligence of Peregrine's tech support and the free, automatic upgrades the company offers for all fixes and improvements. To see how the other products fared in our tests, see our online-only reviews.