An example of MG-SOFT Net Inspector Java Client desktop displaying the topology of the monitored network (central window), list of active alarms (bottom window), list of user views with hierarchical map structures (left window), and resource utilization details of a monitored device (right window).

The Discovery Panel dialog box lets you discover all devices on the network that respond to SNMP or ICMP Ping requests, automatically add subnet maps with devices and their connections to the Net inspector workspace (a particular user view) and start monitoring the discovered network, all in a highly productive way. The discovery operation can be performed on a local subnet, on the user-specified address range or as the SNMP-based network scan. More than one discovery operation can exist and run at the same time in Net Inspector. Furthermore, discovery operations can be scheduled to run daily at the specified time.

The maps window graphically displays the network topology and nodes on the network. This presentation is based on a principle of organizing devices into maps and sub-maps. Devices and maps are presented as icons on the Net Inspector workspace. Device icon colors reflect the current status of devices, while the small balloons above device icons indicate the number and severity levels of active alarms associated with devices.

The General view of the device's Properties window lets you view and configure device's basic properties (device name, address and description). It also displays all active (open) alarms associated with the given device and lets you manage them (acknowledge, manually clear, comment, etc.).

The Interfaces view in the Properties window lets you monitor the status, utilization rates and network traffic statistics for all network interfaces on a given device.

Net Inspector continually monitors and displays the status and system performance information for all devices providing this information through SNMP. For systems supporting the HOST-RESOURCES-MIB, this includes also memory, CPU, and disk utilization rates.

The software triggers and display alarms whenever significant network events occur (e.g., if a monitored service stops responding, if an SNMP variable crosses the threshold value, if a device reports an event via SNMP Trap message, etc.). Alarms are displayed in a separate window, which lets you view, acknowledge and sort alarms by any attribute (e.g., severity level, date and time, source, etc.). Alarms are colored according to their severity levels (critical, major, minor, warning, etc.) allowing network operators to have a clear overview of open alarms. Net Inspector can notify users about alarms via e-mail, SMS or by launching external applications.

Net Inspector can load any number of standard and private MIB modules that were previously compiled with the enclosed MG-SOFT MIB Compiler. Loaded MIB modules let you perform SNMP configuration and monitoring activities in a user-friendly manner (e.g., query particular OIDs, resolve queried OIDs to names, identify and display SNMP Trap and Inform notifications messages by their names, etc.).

In addition to sending e-mails and running arbitrary commands, Net Inspector can now notify users about important alarms also by sending SMS (Short Message Service) text messages through the attached mobile phone with a built-in modem. Supported are 3 different methods of sending short messages (through GSM modem directly or through SMS center via UCP or TAP protocol). Arbitrary alarm details can be included into e-mail and SMS messages by using the reserved words. Furthermore, the software lets you configure and set up filters in order to notify you only about those event and alarms that match the filter criteria.

Net Inspector lets you configure and assign different user views to users. A user view is a specific view of the network that can include either all managed objects in the supervised network (e.g., an administrator user view), any subgroup of those objects, or even individual devices (e.g., user views assigned to users with limited access rights). This principle facilitates the division of the supervised network into smaller units and enables efficient delegation of the network supervision activities to different staff members or even end-users (e.g., in case of ICT infrastructure and services providers).

The included Net Inspector HTTP server enables users to download and launch Net Inspector Client from anywhere in the network by clicking the relevant link in a Web browser. This mechanism significantly simplifies the deployment process, as the software only needs to be installed on the server computer. The Client software is then distributed to individual users on their request through the Java Web Start mechanism. Furthermore, Net Inspector HTTP server provides also a Web-based access to Net Inspector documentation in electronic form.

The new Ping and Traceroute Console window provides a convenient interface for performing the standard Ping and Traceroute operations on arbitrary network devices. Besides, the integrated MIB Browser window lets you explore the graphical MIB tree and query arbitrary OIDs, parts of, or the entire MIB tree on SNMP devices.