Hewlett-Packard Co is backing a little-known network simulation and capacity planning company, Washington DC-based MIL 3 Inc, and will bundle the firm’s latest product as part of OpenView. Following a joint development effort over the last nine months, the two plan to launch the new tool today (Monday). They say it will help IT managers predict network capacity so they can commit to network service levels. Both companies will sell the product, with MIL 3 calling its version ITDecisionGuru 6.0 and HP calling it the OpenView Service Simulator for Networks. MIL 3 has been in the network modeling and simulation market for ten years, initially aiming its software at network equipment manufacturers, but more recently opening it up to the broader IT marketplace. It previously sold tools under the Planner name. The new tool is said to be the first that automatically integrates network topology and network traffic information with projected network service loads, so that users can generate exact replicas of their IT infrastructures through measurement data, collected via HP’s OpenView Network Node Manager and Netmetrix traffic profiling tools. It also includes an expert service prediction module that maps the replicated IT environment to business-specific, service-level objectives, to see if current resources will support future requirements. The software can run simulated test drives of new technologies such as ATM or Gigabit Ethernet before they are deployed. MIL-3 says its software isn’t tied exclusively to OpenView, and says it will be announcing support for other systems management tools and data sources in the future. It already supports Network Associates Inc’s Sniffer network analyzer. MIL-3 is also working on focused versions of the tools for specific applications: a version for SAP AG’s R3 is already finished, with Peoplesoft and Oracle versions on the way. MIL-3 will continue to sell its version direct, while HP will sell through its channels, exclusively in Europe. Basic configurations start at $20,000 with enterprise versions from $35,000. Competitors in the network simulation space include CACI International Inc’s Comnet and Make Systems Inc’s NetMaker. HP also introduced three new data collectors for ATM E3, ATM DS3 and T3 networks.
