NT COMPAS:
A Heavy-Duty Swiss Army Knife
By Jay Milne
To help you win the network support fight, consider adding Microtest's NT COMPAS to your arsenal of weapons. NT COMPAS is a software module that works with NetWare COMPAS, a handheld network monitoring and diagnostic tool. This hardware and software combo not only lets you perform physical level tests on IP, NetWare and Windows NT networks, but lets you perform at a higher level than your physical-layer testing tool.
Compact Yet Powerful
NT COMPAS is 8x4x2 inches and very light, making it easy to carry around. It's certainly a lot more convenient than a larger, full-blown network analysis tool.
To determine how this device fared, we used it on the network of our corporate lab partner. In this location, there are thousands of nod
es spread across many NT domains and hundreds of servers spanning a multinational WAN. NT COMPAS worked quite well, and impressed everyone I showed it to.
NT COMPAS has two RJ-45 jacks and a coaxial cable connection, supporting only 10-Mbps Ethernet connections. (100-Mbps Ethernet will be available later this year.) We were somewhat disappointed to find it doesn't support Token-Ring, which many large corporations still use. Two DB-9 serial ports let you test serial cables--a very useful addition.
In the heat of the battle, a support person cannot be burdened by trying to figure out some arcane menu. NT COMPAS is easy to use after you've worked with it for an hour or two.
The unit does require some installation, but we were pleased to find it supports Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and can retrieve a valid IP address on the network. On the corporate network, it performed flawlessly and easily handled the subnetted network without a hitch. In addition, you can configure NT COMPAS with up to
50 specific IP addresses and when the unit is turned on, it will autodetect which IP address to use.
NT COMPAS ca
n perform a variety of tests. A basic physical cable test lets you measure the amount of crosstalk on your network or measure the length of cable between you and the hub. A neat feature causes the port light on the hub to blink repeatedly, so you can determine to which port you are connected.
Toothpick, Scissors and Modules
We were most intrigued by NT COMPAS' Internet, NetWare and NT software modules. These modules let NT COMPAS seek information on your network that is vital to resolving a complex network problem.
On the NT side, NT COMPAS can locate the Primary Domain Controller (PDC) and Backup Domain Controllers (BDC), as well as the Master Browsers (MBR). This is very useful when troubleshooting NT domain and browsing problems. NT COMPAS also can perform DHCP discoveries and NT pings on any machine.
The Internet module gathers vital statistics, such as which protocols ar
e on the network and their relative percentages. Its ability to locate duplicate IP addresses is a noteworthy feature. The NetWare module enables IPX ping and local segment testing.
The network monitoring tests display useful information, including segment utilization and the display of the top traffic generating and broadcast devices.
Jay Milne can be reached at jmilne@nwc.com.
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