Virtual Instruments Expands the Reach of Real-Time Monitoring With New High-Density SAN Performance Probe and Enhanced Support for FCoE

SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwire - Oct 16, 2012) - Virtual Instruments, the leader in Infrastructure Performance Management, today announced the new high-density VirtualWisdom SAN Performance Probe, ProbeFC8-HD, and enhanced support for Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) switches, extending the capabilities of the VirtualWisdom product family. With the ability to monitor up to 16 Fiber Channel links per unit, the ProbeFC8-HD significantly reduces the cost per monitored link while also reducing the associated environmental resource requirements. With the enhanced FCoE support, the VirtualWisdom platform provides end-to-end visibility into converged storage networks.

The VirtualWisdom SAN Performance Probe provides real-time, full line rate monitoring of Fiber Channel storage area networks (SANs). It analyzes every frame on monitored links, recording hundreds of metrics every second to provide comprehensive, vendor-agnostic insight into the health, utilization, and I/O performance of the SAN. The new ProbeFC8-HD provides the same functionality as the current ProbeFC8 at double the density, with 16 links versus 8 in the same 2U height. With the ProbeFC8-HD, organizations can expect to reduce the cost of real-time monitoring of mission-critical applications by 25 percent and lower power consumption by 40 percent.

FCoE-specific enhancements for the existing SAN Availability Probe module improve monitoring of top-of-rack FCoE switches, extending visibility into infrastructure performance, health and utilization across converged network environments.

"The ProbeFC8-HD meets the needs of customers who require real-time monitoring of mission-critical and customer-facing applications," said Skip Bacon, chief technology officer, Virtual Instruments. "The enhanced support for FCoE meets customer demands for visibility into the end-to-end system in highly virtualized, converged networking environments. With these new product extensions, customers are able to drive broader deployment of the VirtualWisdom platform and gain even more comprehensive visibility into their infrastructure."

The SAN Performance ProbeFC8-HD is part of Virtual Instruments' Infrastructure Performance Management platform, VirtualWisdom. Metrics from the SAN Performance ProbeFC8-HD are aggregated with metrics from other VirtualWisdom probes, including the enhanced "FCoE-aware" SAN Availability Probe, providing a broad and deep view into the performance, health and utilization of large-scale, heterogeneous infrastructures. VirtualWisdom helps drive improved performance and availability while lowering the total cost of the infrastructure supporting mission-critical applications.

"Organizations rely on their IT infrastructure to drive business growth, yet at the same time are very conscious of every dollar spent on IT," said Bob Laliberte, senior analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group. "The Virtual Instruments solution provides a real-time, end-to-end view of mission-critical IT environments to ensure availability, and the new probe technology enables them to do so in a very cost-effective manner, reducing both capital and operating costs." 

Availability
The VirtualWisdom SAN Performance ProbeFC8-HD has successfully completed beta testing with strategic customers in the retail, telecommunications and financial services markets. The ProbeFC8-HD is available for pre-order today, and will be generally available on October 31, 2012. Enhanced support for FCoE switches in the SAN Availability Probe is scheduled for general availability in early 2013.

About Virtual Instruments
Virtual Instruments is a leader in Infrastructure Performance Management for physical, virtual and cloud computing environments. The award-winning VirtualWisdom® platform provides visibility into real-time performance and health of the entire open systems stack along with metrics that assess utilization. Virtual Instruments improves the performance and availability of mission-critical applications while lowering the cost of the supporting infrastructure. Forbes Magazine recognized the company as #6 on its 2011 list of America's Most Promising Companies. The company was founded in June 2008 via a spin-out from Finisar Corp.; it has headquarters in San Jose, Calif., and can be found online at http://www.virtualinstruments.com.