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Latest Shunra models networks for application testing
It's always nice to know how an enterprise application will perform before it goes live - before your phone lights up with calls from annoyed users. One way to cut down on angry calls is to use a WAN simulation package and test before deployment. There are a few ways this can be done using off-the-shelf hardware and open source programs, but you generally get what you pay for (or don't), and miss out on the test automation, ease of use, and comprehensive reporting that accompany commercial products.
Click for larger view. Shunra's VE (Virtual Enterprise) 5.0 allows IT to create a complete representation of the network, including routers, gateways, and redundant connections, in the space of a single workbench. With VE, IT can create just about any set of WAN conditions, complete with multiple routes and link speeds (up to OC12), latency, packet loss, and various link impairments. Shunra bundles a specialized copy of Microsoft Visio to define the network's properties and other characteristics with VE 5.0, and it includes the new VE Transaction Manager and VE Analyzer.
Good things just get better My experience with Shunra goes back a few years, and over that time, I have seen the product mature to the point where it has to be considered an indispensable tool for anyone rolling out a new network-based product or needing to know how a data replication will perform across the WAN....