Perhaps in hopes of offsetting net.Analysis' clunky interface and complex setup, the vendor has a special service called FastStart aimed at enterprise users. For $2,000 a day for a two-day program, excluding travel expenses, net.Genesis will send a technician to deliver the product, install and configure it, run several imports and provide end-user training. Given the complexity of net.Analysis, it may be more of a necessity than a luxury.

Marketwave Corp. Hit List Enterprise 4.0

Marketwave has quite a bit of work ahead of it before Hit List can truly compete with the other ODBC-compliant log-analysis tools we tested. Although Hit List worked with our SQL Server, setup was no picnic. Site Server, net.Analysis and Enterprise Suite all needed a data store roughly three times the size of the log file we wanted to import. Hit List did not have a database wizard, so we went ahead and created a 300-MB data store. When that didn't work, we created a 400-MB data store--no luck there either. Finally, at about 600 MB, the import worked. In conversations with Marketwave, we learned that Hit List isn't optimized for ODBC-compliant databases, and that ODBC connectivity is scheduled to be one of the key improvements in the next release.

While Hit List does create adequate reports, there is nothing within them that gives the product an edge on its competitors. For instance, Hit List can create advertising reports, but it will only count the clickthroughs if you first redirect them through a Marketwave script. Site Server, Enterprise Suite and net.Analysis all can create full advertising analysis with relative ease.

And the size of Hit List's database isn't its only problem. Importing the 100-MB log file into SQL Server and performing title and DNS lookups took more than 11 hours, or nearly eight hours longer than Enterprise Suite (and this doesn't take into account that net.Analysis crashed after four hours). Finally, at nearly $7,000, Hit List's pricing is out of the ballpark. n

Jeffrey H. Rubin is an adjunct professor with the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University, and a consultant for Internet Consulting Services. Ricardo Reimundez is an independent contractor based in Syracuse, N.Y. Send your comments on this article to Rubin at jhrubin@istweb.syr.edu or Reimundez at ricardo@reimundez.com.

Enterprise Solutions vs. Workgroup Solutions

No matter how you slice it, performing thousands of DNS lookups and hundreds of title lookups takes time. But at least when you log into a database, the information is stored for future use; by the second or third time you run your software, you'll see significant performance gains.

But let's face facts: Many Web sites do not receive millions of hits per day. Though you may be looking for an easier way to analyze your log traffic, a smaller operation may lack the computing power or software (specifically a relational database) to benefit from an enterprise solution. If so, workgroup software such as Aquas' Bazaar Analyzer Pro, Netrics.com's SurfReport, Sane Solutions' NetTracker and WebManage Technologies' NetIntellect may fit your needs.

These workgroup solutions have one important drawback compared with the enterprise log-analysis tools we tested: While they adequately analyze Web traffic and produce reports, they do not allow you to import your log files into an ODBC (Open Database Connectivity)-compliant back-end database.

Using an ODBC database enables you to produce historical reports, which could help identify trends over time and provide a clearer picture of Web-site usage (such as keeping an ongoing record of the most frequently used keywords or a list of all the sites that link to your site). Finally, logging into an ODBC database lets you combine your log profiles with any other customer information you may have in a separate database.