The following is a list of key features of NetCrunch:

Auto Discovery

Perform automatic network discovery and classification of network resources. NetCrunch automatically (and periodically) discovers TCP/IP nodes in order to create an accurate view of the network and to draw maps of logical and physical topologies. To make the network discovery process complete, the program is shipped with predefined filtered views and pre-configured Monitoring Polices. Discovered devices are automatically classified and added to the relevant views.

Network Views

See physical and logical network topology shown by graphical maps and dynamic views. All network components we want to deal with are contained in the Network Atlas. Some views can represent group of nodes and can be draw as maps, some other represent real time values of performance counters and they are drawn as charts or gauges. Views can be dynamic - created by filtering rule (sql like query), or can be created manually by picking up nodes. Program comes with many predefined views like: IP networks, Routing Map, Physical Segments, Servers, Maps with Issues and others, but of course is not limited to them.

Event Management

Collect events from Windows, Syslog and SNMP traps. Get alerted when problem occurs. NetCrunch processes events coming from a variety of sources. Some of them may be external like SNMP Traps or Windows Event Log entries and others generated by NetCrunch like Monitoring Events (node state changed) or Atlas Events (like new node discovered). See diagram below describing event types and sources in NetCrunch.

Monitoring Policies

Use predefined or customized monitoring rules and data collection settings. Monitoring policies are sets of rules defining events which need to be monitored and which data that should be collected for later reporting. One node can be assigned to multiple policies; it can also have its own policy defined that may override map or atlas policy definitions.

Availability Monitoring

Monitor the availability of network devices and services. (HTTP, POP3, SMTP, etc.). Basically everything connected to the network we can consider as a service. If there is some device on the network it always suits its purpose which is exactly providing a service. There are only different methods of checking those services availability.

Performance Monitoring

View real-time statistics, multi-server charts, and performance trends. There may be different reasons to monitor performance. First one, may be to check the quality of given service usually measured by response time and availability time. The other might be future expansion planning - we want to identify bottlenecks and fix them. NetCrunch allows agentless performance monitoring of different network devices (SNMP), operating systems, and applications running on top of Windows or UNIX/Linux. This is realized by monitoring selected performance counters values and triggering alerts. All those values can be collected and stored for later long term trend analisys.

Long-term Trend Analysis

Define and generate reports on demand or have them delivered periodically via email. Data collected by NetCrunch can be used for reporting or for on demand trend analysis. In that case there is a seperate tool called "NetCrunch Trend Viewer" available. It's also accessible remotely through the Web Client. Performance history of a single counter can be compared across multiple nodes on a single chart to determine under- and over-utilized resources.

Remote Access

Receive alerts on remote notification client and view the network status via web browser. Users can access NetCrunch remotely using the web-based client and also receive notifications using the desktop notification client. The program allows creating profiles for remote users, limiting their access to certain network maps or program functions. All remote access sessions can be logged by NetCrunch, showing what users connected remotely to NetCrunch, from what IP address and what tasks they performed. Fast and secure communication with NetCrunch is possible thanks to the encryption and compression algorithm.