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What is WhatsUp Gold?
WhatsUp Gold is an easy-to-use tool for monitoring TCP/IP, NetBIOS, and IPX networks. WhatsUp Gold initiates both visible and audible alarms when monitored devices and system services go down. WhatsUp Gold can also notify you of problems by digital beeper, alphanumeric pager, sound, WinPopup, e-mail, or voice message. WhatsUp Gold provides a web interface so you can view network status from a web browser on any computer on the Internet. You can configure WhatsUp Gold and start monitoring your network without any special training.
Mapping the Network
WhatsUp Gold can map your network in several different ways, including an automatic "discover and map" capability that can scan files and the Windows network. You can also create a network map by scanning for SNMP information, scanning a range of IP addresses, loading a hosts file, scanning a network neighborhood, or drawing it.
The WhatsUp Gold scan methods:
- Poll devices on the network to which your computer is connected
- Identify any TCP/IP, NetBIOS, or IPX devices
- Create a network map with an icon for each device (workstations, servers, hosts, bridges, routers, subnets, containers, LAN boxes, hubs, printers). Each device is associated with a specific address.
Note: To scan and poll IPX devices, you must have Microsoft NWLink IPX/SPX Compatible Transport installed and running on the system on which WhatsUp Gold is installed. For more information, see "System Requirements".
Monitoring the Network
Once you have created or loaded a network map, you can set WhatsUp Gold to continuously monitor the network, or you can initiate a single "poll" of the network. One poll of the network involves checking each monitored device in the network map. Each "check" consists of WhatsUp Gold sending a poll request to a device and tracking the response.
For each monitored device, you can choose from a set of options in the device properties to determine how the device is monitored and define what action to take if the device does not respond to a check.
On each TCP/IP device in your network map, you can determine which services are running on that device (such as HTTP, SMTP, POP3, DNS) and you can select those services you want to monitor; WhatsUp Gold monitors a service by communicating with the default port that the service runs on.
When you open the network map window, WhatsUp Gold automatically begins monitoring the network.
Note: Unless you have the express permission of the owners of particular devices, do not monitor host systems, workstations, or other devices that you do not control.
WhatsUp Gold is in either Monitor Mode or Edit Mode. Monitor Mode is the mode in which WhatsUp Gold polls the network. Edit Mode is the mode in which you make changes to the map; you can use Edit Mode to refine the network map, add devices, draw connecting lines, and convert icons to a different icon type. For more information, see "Manually Drawing a Map" .
Getting Information from the Network Map
In Monitor Mode, the map gives graphic indication of potential and actual problems on your network. If an event occurs such as a device going down, the name of the device becomes highlighted on the map.
In addition, colors and shapes indicate the status of the various devices. By default, devices that respond to polls are displayed in green, those that have missed one poll are light green, those that have missed two polls are yellow, and those that are not accessible (or have not responded to four polls) are red. You can change the default colors and shapes. See "Setting Map Colors".
Getting Status for a Device
In Monitor Mode, you can display up-to-the-minute status information about a device by right-clicking the device icon, then selecting Quick Status, and then clicking Status.
Reporting
WhatsUp Gold logs two types of data: changes in network status (called events), such as a device going down; and, polling statistics for each device.
From this logged data, WhatsUp Gold can create several reports and graphs that show the status of your network in different ways. From the Reports menu, you can create the following:
Performance Graphs. Show devices by best or worst performance based on aggregated polling statistics.
Event Reports. Show device up and down events, service up and down events, and WhatsUp Gold events such as map open and close.
Statistics Reports. Show the accumulated polling statistics by device.
 Ipswitch, Inc. http://www.ipswitch.com |
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