Fluke's network upgrade could mean savings for network managers, and some more than others

Network testing and diagnostic specialist Fluke has upgraded its distributed network analysis solution, which it now claims can reduce mean time to repair on network faults by up to 90% and cut remote on-site costs by up to £170,000.

Closer examination of the mathematics involved reveals that European network managers can expect far less glamorous returns however. The savings involved are calculated on the average salaries of higher paid US administrators and do not take into account equipment and annual maintenance costs, which average around £55,000 and £6,900 for a five site configuration.

Benny Vogels, EMEA marketing manager for distributed network analysis solution at Fluke Networks, explained that savings can be achieved where the Fluke solution saves IT staff the time and expense of travelling to distant offices to diagnose and solve network problems.

But he conceded that potential returns were not as significant in the UK, Germany or Italy where network managers' wage packets are usually smaller, and the distances that support staff travel between sites are nowhere near as extreme.

"Many companies have a central site that houses all of the IT staff. In the case of remote offices, if the help desk cannot assist somebody has to travel out or do remote diagnostics from another site" he said.

The updated solution combines a rack mounted OptiView server with Fluke's OptiView management console, remote workgroup and remote WAN analyser appliances, which feed back layer 1-7 root cause analysis of network equipment attached to both local and wide area networks.