Launched in June, Fluke's OptiView Series II Integrated Network Analyser is designed to troubleshoot and monitor LANs. The comprehensive options offered with the device allow it to be used to monitor almost any aspect of a company's network infrastructure, including wide area networks (WANs) and wireless LANs (WLANs).

There are three versions, Standard, Pro and Pro Gigabit, priced at £9,563 + VAT, £11,473 + VAT and £15,936 + VAT, respectively. All three support 10Base-T and 100Base-TX networks using an Intel PRO/100 VE adapter.

The Pro model adds support for remote monitoring through RMON and RMON2, together with 100Base-FX fibre interface and packet capture/decode capability. The high-end Pro Gigabit model adds a 1000Base-SX fibre interface using a standard gigabit interface converter (GBIC); and 1000Base-LX or TX GBICs can be ordered as an option.

We tested the Pro Gigabit model, which had 1000Base-SX fibre interface fitted as standard, and found it very easy to use. We could start monitoring our test network within minutes of powering up the system. The touchscreen interface is simple to operate and allows staff to move rapidly between the different views of network traffic and to set up and run network scans.

The Pro Gigabit weighs just over 2kg. It has a 1.1GHz Intel Pentium M processor with 512MB of system memory and a Toshiba MK2023GAS 20GB hard disk. Fluke has upgraded the operating system from Windows 98 to Windows XP Professional. In addition to the network I/O connections there are two USB 2.0 ports and a VGA connection. Fluke quotes a battery life of 45 minutes for the 2Ah lithium-ion battery, but there is a 6Ah external battery, which Fluke says gives an extra 135 minutes.

On startup, the OptiView II displays local network utilisation, network protocol statistics, devices discovered in the broadcast domain, the number of networks found, and any problems discovered.

We were able to use the unit to capture real-time network traffic data online or set up an automated packet capture for analysis later. The packet capture uses a buffer which can be set to a specific size - we set it for 64MB - and can capture all the traffic the device can see.

A filter can also be set up to capture specific types of network traffic, such as User Datagram Protocol (UDP) or Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) traffic.

The packet-capture files are saved on the hard disk and can be viewed offline using Fluke's Protocol Expert module. Protocol Expert can give clear, high-level data views of the network traffic, even at the application layer. If it detects any problems it will give advice on how to fix them.

The Pro Gigabit model comes bundled with Fluke's WAN Vision software for analysing WAN traffic.

The VLAN Vision software module for analysing network traffic from virtual LANs is optional, as is Protocol Expert. Both add considerably to the cost.

Price: Standard model £9,563 + VAT; Pro model £11,473 + VAT; Pro Gigabit model £15,936 + VAT

Contact: Fluke 01923 281 334