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Press Release

WildPackets OmniAnalysis 5 Captures and Analyzes ‘Invisible Traffic’ in Virtual Server Environments

New Platform Also Offers Next-Generation Network Forensics

Walnut Creek, California, May 15, 2007 – WildPackets® Inc., innovators in advanced network analysis, today announced new products and services designed to address some of the biggest challenges faced by CIOs and data center engineers. A new analysis product from WildPackets helps organizations troubleshoot and optimize ‘invisible traffic’ among virtual servers, which never crosses a physical network segment where it can be captured. WildPackets’ new advanced network forensics technology, included in the latest OmniAnalysis Platform, makes it even easier for IT managers to find crucial data for forensics investigations into security, compliance, transaction analysis or troubleshooting. Finally, a new WildPackets service is designed to provide CIOs and other IT managers with an objective assessment of their enterprise network’s health and readiness for change.

The new analysis product and forensics features are part of WildPackets’ new release of its popular OmniAnalysis Platform. OmniAnalysis 5 features major upgrades to WildPackets products, such as OmniPeek network analyzers and OmniEngine remote analysis services. OmniAnalysis 5 also includes new products, such as the Omni Virtual Network Service, a lightweight traffic capture service designed for virtual servers. The new release will be available in early summer.

Omni Virtual Network Service™

A new addition to the OmniAnalysis Platform, the Omni Virtual Network Service is a lightweight traffic-capture service that enables IT engineers to capture and analyze traffic on virtual servers.

“Data center personnel are frustrated by the problem of invisible traffic in virtual environments,” explained Mahboud Zabetian, President and CEO of WildPackets. “Virtualization offers tremendous benefits in the areas of cost savings and other efficiencies. But it creates new challenges for anyone who needs to analyze network traffic in order to fix a bug, troubleshoot a performance problem, and fine-tune a server configuration. Traffic among virtual servers doesn’t cross over a network segment where it can be easily captured. High-level statistical reporting packages don’t address this problem, because engineers need more than MIB (Management Information Base) and WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) statistics—they need to be able to see the traffic itself. The Omni Virtual Network Service provides data center engineers and test teams with the visibility they need into virtual server traffic.”

“The response we’ve received from data center engineers has been very enthusiastic,” Zabetian added. The solution has already been tested at a major financial services institution in the Midwest.

The lightweight service runs on Windows-based virtual servers and enables network traffic to be analyzed with WildPackets’ OmniPeek Analyzer.

Next-Generation Network Forensics

OmniAnalysis 5 also includes WildPackets next-generation network forensics capabilities for capturing and analyzing hours or even days of network traffic. WildPackets network forensics solutions, typically featuring an Omnipliance network recorder, can be used for performing retrospective analysis on network traffic for network troubleshooting, security attack analysis, HR and policy compliance investigations, and transaction analysis.

The value of WildPackets’ network forensics capabilities is in its ability to capture, search and gather the actual traffic for analysis using the same environment as real time troubleshooting when security and compliance officers turn to data centers and NOCs for help with investigations. OmniAnalysis 5 adds the ability to replay applications including web pages, email traffic, IM, and VoIP call playback so investigators can see what users are doing. New memory management and UI enhancements make data queries even faster, more efficient, and more precise.

Strategic Network Audit

WildPackets is also introducing a new consulting service for CIOs and IT directors who need a thorough, objective assessment of their network. Whether they are attempting to address a long-running problem or preparing to embark on a major new initiative such as VoIP, IT managers could benefit from a “network health check” provided by experts at network analysis—rather than by an infrastructure vendor or other interested party.

The Strategic Network Audit is intended to provide IT management with a detailed report they can use as the basis for network optimization, problem remediation, or future planning.

“All too often, IT managers are forced to make decisions or take action without a clear understanding of what’s working and what’s not, on the network,” said Zabetian. “This new service, which is aimed at corporate decision-makers, is intended to provide that understanding.”

For more information and pricing on the new services, please contact wpconsulting@wildpackets.com.

About WildPackets Inc.

Since 1990, WildPackets has been developing innovative, high-quality, easy-to-use and valuable solutions to maintain the health and integrity of critical data-in-motion. From the desktop to the datacenter, wired to wireless, distributed and local, WildPackets products enable IT organizations to monitor, troubleshoot, and secure their network systems. Sold in over 60 countries through a broad network of channel and strategic partners, WildPackets products are deployed in all industrial sectors, including 80% of the Fortune 1000. For further information, please visit www.wildpackets.com.

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