VIAVI unveils Observer 18 to Manage Network Performance and Security Challenges

Viavi Solutions today announced the availability of Observer 18, delivering end-user experience scoring, streamlined workflows and high-fidelity forensics, powered by the fastest stream-to-disk platform available in the market today. As employees and users increasingly work away from the office, school campus, or hospital, NetOps and SecOps teams face twin challenges: optimize performance of the network even when that network can physically be located anywhere, while protecting against security threats, especially when those threats are taking advantage of atypical operating procedures.

VIAVI has developed this release of Observer to address these requirements, combining streamlined workflows and ease of use with technical efficiencies and cost savings, for faster resolution of issues across teams – wherever they virtually are across cities or countries. Observer 18 includes a range of features to support performance and security use cases, such as identifying users by name, determining where they connect, or automatically identifying when a host or service is communicating abnormally.

Key updates to the Observer Platform include:

• Custom-designed GigaStor Generation 4 hardware platform with up to 60 Gbps capture rate and accelerated analytics, providing the industry’s fastest access to stored packet data and analysis, as validated by the Tolly Group

• Unique End-User Experience scoring, with automated domain isolation capabilities, turning mountains of raw data into clear, concise answers and next steps

• Seamless unification of flow and packet data, enabling users to efficiently move from holistic site, application, or threat views to in-depth forensic analysis

• Improvements in hardware design driving operational efficiency, from easier installation due to size reduction of 67 percent compared to the previous generation, to lower power consumption thereby reducing energy costs.

“As enterprise workforces and users become more distributed, and rely on applications located in multiple clouds, the resulting any-to-any networking model is susceptible to performance and security challenges,” said Charles Thompson, Senior Director, Enterprise and Cloud, VIAVI. “Observer 18 empowers stakeholders from business leaders to level 3 support with customizable, streamlined workflows and intuitive visualizations, based on the most complete data set available. When they take control, they can guarantee that both work and learning can happen, wherever it needs to happen.”

“Whether ensuring optimal end-user experience or addressing security threats, maintaining IT service health begins with complete visibility into network traffic,” said Kevin Tolly, Founder of The Tolly Group. “The Tolly Group completed testing of the Observer GigaStor Gen4 product family. Models tested were rated at 20, 40, and 60 Gbps. Results met or exceeded the performance claims of VIAVI, including their fastest model which showed sustained packet capture of 60.5 Gbps with real-world enterprise packet size of approximately 400 bytes.”