Conference netcad::hub_mgnt

    All the major vendors, including Digital, have their hub/switch/router
    management on the major unix platfors, i.e HP-UX, SunOS, and IBM AIX. 
    We need to have our products, including our newly announced
    hub/switch/router management products on unix.  This is what large
    customers want, as pc network management is really not there yet,
    especially for large networks.  I'll take a more robust Unix OS anyday
    over a PC for reliability, although it is more difficult to administer.
    
    Just my opinion,
    
    Mike Walsh
    Network Management Services
      

My notes just a few back (3407/8) are relevant here too....

We are seeing a shift of our management offerings into the ClearVISN arena which 
are aimed squarely at the Windows/NT platform. *SOME* of the tools will make it 
to UNIX platforms in line with .1 - however, in dialogue with Product Mgt 
(Jack the NAC::) it is questionable if all these main platforms will be viable.

I have a customer with Sun Netmanager and...... ?! 
Get in touch if you want chapter and verse ! ;^)

Regards

Rog
[Posted by WWW Notes gateway]

I agree partially with .1, but:

1)
Many Customers don't like UNIX, because the OS is too complicated to
administre.
Therefore a lot of our Customers are intersted to have NW-Mgmt on MS-NT.

And really, NT is easier to handle, than the UNIX OS, never changed since
developed. Today a customer wants to "Drag and drop" and not to 
be a Command-Line Guru!
This is a Trend, I am seeing.

2)
For NW-Mgmt an UNIX Platform is better I think, but customers are tending
very much to 1).

3)
Why we are porting SW to foreign HW? 
Shall a Customer buy Netview from IBM and only HUBwatch from Digital?
Why other Vendors (e.g. CISCO) are not porting their SW to Alpha???

4)
Why I can see same Version of HUBwatch always a little bit later on
UNIX than on PC, if Reply 1 is OK?


Many regards
Peter


PS: I hate vi and UNIX Parameters (-x not equals -x)

[Posted by WWW Notes gateway]

    Thanks for the replies.
    
    I head that Digital will be providing ManageWORKS at no cost to the
    user.  I also heard in the same breathe that HUBwatch for Windows for
    also be available at no cost.  Is this true.  It appears that we're
    providing manageablility at no cost to increase the value-added for our
    systems e.g., ClientWorks for PCs and ServerWorks for the Alpha and
    Intel servers.
    
    	Regards,
    

     > I also heard in the same breathe that HUBwatch for Windows for
     >   also be available at no cost.
    
    No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! and No!
    Not true!  False!  Incorrect!
    (Unless someone didn't tell me)
    
    HUBwatch is being turned into two products:
    - clearVISN Stack Manager.  Low-cost (about the same cost as
      current HUBwatch) management for lower-end devices.
    - clearVISN MultiChassis Manager. Higher-cost management for
      higher-end devices; more features, more functions.
    
    Both are being SOLD.  From the preaching I've been hearing, we're
    getting to a position where we can start making some money with
    our software.  No, we are NOT giving-away HUBwatch (or whatever
    it may be called next week).
    
    Tom Hood
    clearVISN eng

>3)
>Why we are porting SW to foreign HW? 
>Shall a Customer buy Netview from IBM and only HUBwatch from Digital?
    
Many, many, customers have several equipment from other manufacturers
and have already made an investment in a managmente platform.
    
    Now I have a customer whose corporate standard is Cabletron hubs and
    CISCO routers, all with Cabletron's Spectrum management in Solaris
    
    They need a high performance backbone for a critical mission environ-
    ment so it's a good chance for us to sell several FDDI GIGAswitches,
    a good point for us is that even HubWatch does not integrate with
    Spectrum as it does with Polycenter, OpenView, etc..., it can be
    run in the same HW/SW platform (SPARC/Solaris) as Spectrum.
    
    Want more examples?, I have several of them ...
    
>Why other Vendors (e.g. CISCO) are not porting their SW to Alpha???

    Definitively, Polycenter Netview is not a leader platform, it has
    10% or less  market share, I don't remember the numbers.
    
                                                   

>1)
>Many Customers don't like UNIX, because the OS is too complicated to
>administre.
>Therefore a lot of our Customers are intersted to have NW-Mgmt on MS-NT.

    Yes, and that has forced several suppliers (IBM, Digital) to
    push versions from its enterprise products (Netview, Polycenter) to NT, 
    problem is that they are not developing NT apps, they are just using
    tools (like Nutcracker) to port their UNIX development to NT.
    
    Analists say that none of that apps take a real advantage from NT.
    
    I think software suppliers are seing NT just as a niche, not
    a strategic platform
                                                           
>And really, NT is easier to handle, than the UNIX OS, never changed since
>developed. 
    
    OK, NT version 4.0 will change the user interface for a Win-95-like,
    3.5 involved a complete redesign of network architecture, do you
    know something about what Cairo will be like?
    

>    Today a customer wants to "Drag and drop" and not to 
>be a Command-Line Guru!  
    
    
    Yes, they also don't want to have to know about registry parameters
    for customization of its environment for example ;).
    
    
    Carlos
    A Windows NT Certified System Engineer
                          
    

                                                        

>I think software suppliers are seing NT just as a niche, not
>a strategic platform

Why Mr. Billy is soo rich??
Better Marketing?

>..do you know something about what Cairo will be like?
In Network Architecture? No!

>Yes, they also don't want to have to know about registry parameters...
I too!

Are there Studies about Market-Trends? Because Customers argument often is
to have it easier. And they are crying like the Vendor-Marketing is singing.

Happy Easter
Peter

[Posted by WWW Notes gateway]

>>I think software suppliers are seing NT just as a niche, not
>>a strategic platform

>Why Mr. Billy is soo rich??
>Better Marketing?

    Sorry, I was talking specifically of Network Management
    products, definitively is not the same for products like
    Sybase, Lotus Notes, Exhange, etc.
    
    It's real, there are only a few vendor designing
    net mngmnt products for NT.
    

>Are there Studies about Market-Trends? Because Customers argument often is
>to have it easier. And they are crying like the Vendor-Marketing is singing.

    Don't know about software, let's talk net management since
    is what this conference is all about ;) .
    
    There's a study conducted by Infornetics Research Inc.
    (Sn Jose Cal). By 1997, lan segments will
    grow 115%, but companies plant to grow its staff
    by only 10%.
    
    In this environment is easy-to-use software a need?
    
    Good luck!