At the end of 2021, Infosim launched a new version of the StableNet network management and monitoring solution. StableNet Version 11 comes with new modules, enhancements to existing features, multiple graphical interface options, and extended compatibility. Many of the novelties introduced by Infosim are the answer to the users’ specific requirements.

Here are some examples of how new features and modules are enhancing the capabilities of the StableNet v11 solution:

Wi-Fi networks’ availability and performance monitoring

The instability of Wi-Fi connections is a common challenge for companies operating large, geographically distributed wireless networks or environments with high user density. However, the solutions provided by hardware manufacturers to address these issues only cover their own equipment, delivering a limited set of data, which cannot be automatically correlated with the information provided by devices from other vendors. As enterprise Wi-Fi networks are in most cases a conglomeration of hardware components (access points, wireless controllers, routers, etc.) and services (such as DHCP / DNS servers), proprietary management solutions cannot effectively monitor those networks due to restricted visibility and low integration capacity.

The Infosim StableNet v11 includes a StableNet Wi-Fi Portal module, specially developed to overcome these limitations, allowing companies to achieve in a single application:

• Remote troubleshooting of Wi-Fi connectivity issues;
• Obtaining higher levels of network performance and reliability;
• Real-time evaluation of the quality of the end-user experience.

To meet these requirements, Infosim’s solution uses StableNet Embedded Agent (SNEA) equipment that captures data about network performance. SNEA is a compact pre-configured Black box “Plug & Play” agent device that can be controlled and managed centrally. The agents’ enrolling and setting up process is simple and fast, as the equipment evaluates the entire suite of services and quickly identifies those that do not work and/or do not comply with the established quality parameters.

Once connected and configured, SNEA devices regularly send data – via Wi-Fi or, if the network is down, via LTE / UMTS connections – to the StableNet server and database where it is stored. With the provided information and the collected log files, companies have an important resource of their back-log data, which is useful in troubleshooting and servicing Wi-Fi networks processes.

StableNet Wi-Fi Portal can collect a wide variety of data about:

• Wi-Fi network status (WPA auth, WPA association, etc.)
• Wi-Fi network quality (RSSI, Bitrates, etc.)
• DHSCP State (Discover time etc.)
• Agent State (Default Gateway Reachability etc.)

To these are added extra monitoring services, such as External / Internal HTTPs Service KPIs or DNS State (for exempla DNS Lookup Time).

For more information on Infosim StableNet solution’s benefits, please read the article “Infosim StableNet, a solution that simplifies network monitoring“.

Monitoring vulnerabilities and product life cycle

Hardware and software companies periodically release updates and new versions of their products, and the end of business cycles – End-of-Life, End-of-Support, or End-of-Sales (generically called EoX) – creates vulnerabilities and security risks. In large networks, with thousands of devices from dozens of suppliers, manually checking each installed device and/or application generates high operating costs and security risks. Infosim StableNet eliminates this issue with EoX & CVE Reporting feature, which automates the verification and reporting process.

The infrastructure is automatically and constantly scanned by the XML Discovery engine, and the resulting data is collected in real-time in a centralized database, which provides an overview of all hardware, software, and configuration data. EoX & CVE Reporting functionality is designed to ensure maximum scalability, as well as a low rate of false-positive alerts, by customizing the notifications and alerts generated.

Once the scanning process is complete, the analysis and reporting engine provides various tools for viewing the obtained results. For example, Vulnerability Analysis (using Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures CVE databases) provides statistics categorized by Information, Warnings, and Errors. In turn, EoX analyzes provide information structured on the types and models of equipment, operating systems, as well as the number of courts affected, useful data in quickly detecting and resolving risks, and in compliance with specific requirements. All these results can be quickly viewed through customizable dashboards, which can generate detailed analysis and relevant security statistics.

Advanced analysis and high return on investment

The new Capacity Metric module allows companies to use predefined scenarios for sizing and pairing available network resources to achieve resilience goals, minimize risk, and reduce costs. With the Capacity Metric Map feature and estimated traffic values, companies can easily identify potential bottlenecks before they occur. Color codes allow to quickly differentiate warning levels.

The new statistics analysis features (such as Trend analysis or Quantile filtering) provide detailed information, and with the help of Capacity Metric Map, forecasts and simulations can be made that allow companies to act proactively to expand network capacity. The module facilitates the identification of optimal levels of performance so that companies can minimize investment in infrastructure, without affecting the quality of services and applications and the end-user experience.

StableNet version 11 also comes with a Data Science & AIOps module that can be used for advanced data correlation and analysis, along with other dedicated tools such as Jupyter Notebook.

Infosim StableNet Version 11, simplified usage

The Infosim StableNet solution version 11 brings numerous graphical interface enhancements, as well as new features enabling easier usage of:

• StableNet Portal, which replaces the old Web Portal, takes over its functionality and adds new ones, such as Dynamic Report Dashboard, Maintenance View, or Device Geo Mapping.
• Template Manager, which offers extensive template management capabilities that can be modified with the graphical and features editor such as Auto-suggest, Error display, etc. At the same time, in version 11, there is a clear differentiation of the life cycle of each version of the template – those in the Test phase can be modified directly, without changing the version, while those in the Production phase cannot be edited.
• Weather Maps, which comes with advanced configuration options, extended viewing (in the new version the static links and nodes are also visible), multiple filtering, etc.
• Extensive data collection capabilities – the Infosim solution version 11 is no longer limited to SNMP data but can collect data from any source (WMI, CVE, SNMP, telemetry, etc.) that it can use in various functionalities and modules.

Extensive services offered by Datanet Systems

For more than 10 years, Datanet has been the main Infosim partner in Romania, with various projects carried out for the management of large networks, with thousands of monitored devices. Based on our skills and accumulated experience, we can offer a wide range of services, from consulting in terms of the solution modules, its design, optimal set-up of monitored performance indicators, installation, configuration, integration, to license upgrades, template creation configuration, and customization of alerts and dashboards.

For more technical and commercial information about the Infosim StableNet solution, what’s new in version 11, and the services provided by the company, please contact us at sales@datanets.ro.