thwack

Cisco Live

Dawn_L — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:52:00 GMT

Take a peek into Cisco Live and the SW booth! See the pictures here!

Come see SolarWinds at Cisco Live! next week in San Francisco!!!

Josh Stephens — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:45:00 GMT

Booth #931 Free swag (T-shirts, USB keys, geek pins) Free geek drawings (yeah, like my avatar but of you) Free Mountain Dew (hey, we all get thirsty) Technology presentations every half hour by yours truly (hence why I get so thirsty) Follow the event thru Twitter if you can't attend in person (trust me, it'll be worth it) Enough said? Josh - Follow me on Twitter...(read more)

Weekly Update 6/25/09

Dawn_L — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:05:00 GMT

Certification is here!

I know we have been teasing you forever, well the wait is over! Congrats to the Beta participants that are now SolarWinds Certified Professionals! For info on what the test covers, links to study materials and info on taking the test visit the SCP pages.

Going to Cisco Live?

Are you going to Cisco Live next week? We are, and we would love to talk with you! Come by booth #931 and see us.

Upcoming Technical Workshop!

Josh is hosting a technical workshop at the Hyatt Dulles on July 15th. If you are in the D.C. area, come join us! Register here.

Josh Says:

If you missed the recent blog posts on "Raising the Visibility of IT and Network Operations" and "Understanding Netflow" then take a look!

Raising the visibility of IT and Network Operations

Josh Stephens — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:55:00 GMT

One of the things that I tend to talk alot about is how to raise the visibility of the IT and network engineering groups within your organization. If you get this right, not only will your job get easier but you'll find that getting budget approved for projects, staffing, and even pay raises takes a lot less effort. Calvin Sun over at Tech Republic makes some great points in his recent blog post on this same subject and with the financial crisis that is occurring right now there couldn't...(read more)

Understanding NetFlow and its role in traffic analysis and as a transport protocol

Josh Stephens — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:21:00 GMT

Over the last few days I've been writing and talking a lot about NetFlow. This is a smokin' hot topic for network engineers nowadays and so we've created some new videos and webcasts to help explain the technology and how you can leverage it. One of the subjects that kept coming up is how to get NetFlow data from your Cisco ASAs. I had to do some research to verify my understanding of how this worked but now that I'm done I thought I should share it here. When most of us think about...(read more)

New SolarWinds Webcast on Thursday - Exposing the Hidden Secrets of Cisco IOS

Josh Stephens — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:24:00 GMT

This Thursday we're hosting a new webcast on some of hidden secrets of Cisco IOS. Specfiically, we're going to dive into Cisco IP SLA, NetFlow, and EnergyWise. I'm pretty excited as my buddy Jimmy Ray Purser (co-host of Cisco TechWise TV , Network World Blogger , and Security Expert/hacker extraordinaire) is going to be co-hosting and when you get two redneck supergeeks like us together it's bound to be interesting... You can sign-up and read the full description of the webcast here...(read more)

Weekly Update 6/16/09

Dawn_L — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:42:00 GMT

New Webinar: Hidden Secrets of IOS

Josh is excited to welcome Cisco Geek Jimmy Ray Purcer for a discussion about the benefits of using IP SLA, NetFlow, and EnergyWise as part of your daily network management tactics. Register Now!

IPAM Changes

In response to your feedback, we have released an update to Orion IPAM which will no longer count unused/available IPs as managed IPs. For more information see the release notes.

Good things come in 3s.

If you missed it, see the "Three New Orion Products" Newsletter.

Toolset 10

Josh discusses Toolset 10 in his blog.

Killer dude, like, totally awesome...

Josh Stephens — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:52:00 GMT

In case you haven’t seen it yet, the SolarWinds Engineer’s Toolset version 10.1 is now available and includes some pretty cool new stuff. One of the coolest pieces of technology that 10.1 added is the new and improved traffic generator, WAN Killer . I recently had a chance to chat with the Toolset engineering team about this new application and so I thought I’d post our discussion here. Josh – So Steve, I know that we’ve been chatting about a new and improved traffic...(read more)

Weekly Update 5/27/09

Dawn_L — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:03:00 GMT

Energywise is here!

EnergyWise technology gives you a framework for discovering, monitoring, optimizing, and regulating energy needs for your business. Cisco has partnered with SolarWinds to have Orion products help you take advantage of these powerful capabilities with the management and configuration features built into Orion Network Performance Monitor and Orion Network Configuration Manager.

Orion NPM 9.5

See what's new with Orion NPM v9.5.

Orion NCM 5.5

See what's new with Orion NCM v 5.5.

New versions of SolarWinds Orion NPM and NCM available now...

Josh Stephens — Wed, 27 May 2009 03:15:00 GMT

The dev guys here have been working hard (as usual) and I'm pleased to announce that we now have new versions of Orion NPM (Network Performance Monitor) and NCM (Network Configuration Manager) available for download. For existing customers with active software maintenance these are free upgrades. For folks that haven't bought Orion yet, you can download an evaluation version from SolarWinds.Com to try out for 30 days. Orion NPM version 9.5 offers several cool enhancements. My Top 3 would...(read more)

Update 5/20/09

Dawn_L — Wed, 20 May 2009 14:03:00 GMT

Product Releases!

Find out what is new with the releases for VoIP, and the Toolset family!

VoIP Monitor v2.1, Engineer’s Toolset v10.1 and Standard Toolset v10.1

Advanced IP Address Management

Josh Stephens — Fri, 15 May 2009 15:14:00 GMT

This week I traveled to Washington DC to speak on the subject of Advanced IP Address Management. For those of you that attended - Thank you!!! It was a great seminar with lots of attendee participation and we shared some great stories and best practices. One attendee shared with me that she is about to start a project to readdress her entire large enterprise and we had a blast chatting about "gotchas" to avoid and best practices to adhere to. For those of you that couldn't attend, we've...(read more)

SolarWinds Orion wins Codie Award

Josh Stephens — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:23:00 GMT

Sometimes you have to swagger a little and I reckon this is one of those times. Orion has just won a Codie Award!!! Go here to see the full list of winners. Flame on... Josh Follow me on Twitter...(read more)

Weekly Update 5/7/09

Dawn_L — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:24:00 GMT

Vote for SolarWinds!

Network Product Guide is looking for the Best Products and Services and you can vote! Josh gives you more information in his blog.

Webcast: Advanced IP Address Management

Josh is at it again with another upcoming Geek Speak Webcast: Advanced IP Address Management! Register here!

IP Address Tracker and Orion IP Address Manager

If you missed the new products, take a look here! If you followed the discussion around IPAM, Brandon shares what we have done.

Cast your vote...

Josh Stephens — Thu, 07 May 2009 01:38:00 GMT

Today some of the SolarWinds products have been nominated for the "Best Products" awards from the Network Products Guide . I think this is pretty awesome as I get to spend a lot of time with our product management, engineering, and tech support teams and I know that they work hard to deliver great products to the people they love most - our customers. The winners will be decided by you - actual users of the applications out in the industry that care enough to go to the website and cast...(read more)

Just released - IP Address Management from SolarWinds

Josh Stephens — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:29:00 GMT

Every once and a while I get to do something really, really cool. No, it's not the same kind of cool as when my buddy Chris dated the co-captains of the OSU cheerleading squad (twins no less) while he was in college there or yesterday when my pal Mark and his 2 hunting partners ended up with 4 gobblers in a single morning. Come to think of it, it's not the same kind of cool as when my friend Kramer got that job modeling underwear for Calvin Klein or when my friend Kenny was recruited as one...(read more)

IP Address Management is here!

Dawn_L — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:58:00 GMT

Are you over using spreadsheets to manage your IP addresses?

Introducing the IP Address Monitor and Tracker

SolarWinds announced today the launch of the IP Address Tracker free tool and the IP Address Monitor module for Orion. Josh tells you all about it.

Weekly Update 4/23/08

Dawn_L — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:26:00 GMT

Webcast: Network Troubleshooting Part 2- TODAY!

Click here to register for Part 2. If you missed Part 1, click here. Join us after the webcast when Josh will continue to answer your questions including any he does not have time for on the Webinar!

What's Hot?

SolarWinds has added a new page that keeps you on the cutting edge of what is hot in the way of products, community activity and free tools. Check it out!

IPv6 Summit in Denver this week - Just call me the Kool-Aid man...

Josh Stephens — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 03:34:00 GMT

This week I've been out in Denver attending the annual IPv6 Summit put on by the Rocky Mountain IPv6 Task Force . It was a fantastic conference and the fact that it's free is almost too good to be true. I first got interested in this particular conference because two of the speakers are old buddies of mine from my days back at INS. Scott Hogg and Jeff Doyle are two of the sharpest people I've ever met and really know their stuff when it comes to IPv6. The content at the show was great...(read more)

Understanding the Complexities of Managing Tactical Networks

Josh Stephens — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:01:00 GMT

IP based networks are more complex today than ever before. Not only are they now supporting voice, video, and data, but complications like dwindling IPv4 resources, sprinkles of IPv6, and constant changes in topology can make them seem almost unmanageable. Tactical networks have all of these complexities with the added pressures of needing to be deployed quickly, by a sometimes untrained and ever-changing staff, and with consequences of failure measured in more important things than lost packets…...(read more)

Understanding how UnDP in SolarWinds' Orion NPM works in multi-poller environments

Josh Stephens — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 20:34:00 GMT

I was asked a question today about how Orion's Universal Device Poller (UnDP) works within a large, multi-poller environment. Usually I try to keep these blog entries somewhat product agnostic but this is a question I've been asked a lot and that a lot of you may encounter so I thought I'd spend a few minutes explaining. First off, let's setup the environment. In the scenario we're talking about you've got a main Orion server and because of the number of devices that need...(read more)

Weekly Update 4/16/09

Dawn_L — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 21:41:00 GMT

Celebrating 25,000 Members!

If you missed thwack crossing the line, we now have 25,000 Members!

Want a new thwack t-shirt?

Write an APM review and, fill in our form and if you are one of the first 100, we will send you one!

Webcast: Network Troubleshooting Part 2

Click here to register for Part 2. If you missed Part 1, click here. Join us after the webcast for additional questions and answers coming soon!

Some tips from SolarWinds on how to get started with managing your network...

Josh Stephens — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 01:43:00 GMT

Recently I've had a several people ask me for advice on getting started with managing their networks and so I thought I'd take a few minutes tonight to shed some light on the subject... Now, this might seem like an odd topic as many of us have been neck deep in network management since we were knee-high to a grasshopper, but when you think about it we may have actually only been through the process of "getting started" a few times, once, or never at all. Often times we're brought...(read more)

Weekly Update 4/2/09

Dawn_L — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:22:00 GMT

Are you aware of the Conficker threat? Wonder how it works and how people make money off these bots? Josh along with his buddies and the co-hosts of Cisco's TechWiseTV Jimmy Ray Pursor and Robb Boyd share this as well as the best ways to avoid bots, the difference between bots and viruses, and some recommendations for protection software. You can use these links listen to or download the podcast.

Did you miss the webcast?: Network Troubleshooting - the Top 5 Technologies to Leverage. To watch it click here.

Podcast with my buddies @JimmyRay_Purser and @robbboyd from Cisco's TechWiseTV on Conficker and the differences between bots and viruses

Josh Stephens — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:07:00 GMT

This morning I had the opportunity to participate in a podcast with my buddies and the co-hosts of Cisco's TechWiseTV Jimmy Ray Pursor and Robb Boyd . The subject was the Conficker threat and I must say that I learned a few things as Jimmy Ray really knows his bots. We also talked about the best ways to avoid bots, the difference between bots and viruses, and some recommendations for protection software. It was a heckuva lot of fun and definitely provided some good informaiton. You can use these...(read more)