Tracking IP Addresses

by James Gaskin

March 6, 2006 —

TCP/IP addressing information makes the foundation of every network protocols training class, and still the problem can overwhelm the best of us now and then. Tracking who has what address for what type of fixed or mobile device can drive you nuts. Worse, some regulations demand you track certain job functions down to the network address level. Who has time?

Enter Locate 4.0 from eTelemetry.com, a product that promises to save time tracking problems back to the appropriate IP address and provide tools to remotely manage the PC or shut down the connection at your wiring device. Locate 4.0 drills into your LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) and Microsoft Active Directory databases to connect a name to a device to an IP address.

Some of these tools can be found in high-end network management tools and even Intrusion Detection Systems, but eTelemetry says they have a unique set of features that save time finding and fixing network problems. In today's understaffed IT department, saving a few hours per week can really help.

I like the feature of initiating a remote-control session of the offending PCs desktop, using the Locate 4.0 network appliance as the middleman. Even better is the one-click disconnect of problem nodes. If it could reach out and dope-slap users who open virus-laden attachments and pick up spyware twice a day, it would be perfect.

Using an appliance model, Locate 4.0 starts at $7500 for the hardware and 500 client licenses. If the box saved your IT department 10 hours per week of network troubleshooting time, would it pay for itself in a year or less? How much would you pay to stop chasing one cable through the spaghetti explosion too many wiring closets have become?

The vendor doesn't mention these capabilities, but I can foresee such a network monitoring program tracking user activity, locating the individual in question, and triggering scripts inside Active Directory or other directory service to take corrective action, all without IT staff intervention. Would that be nirvana or a nightmare?

I suppose the quality of your scripts, triggered by network activity, would make the difference between the two. Of course, we've been promised such tools for years, but perhaps eTelemetry can supply a critical piece for such progress.

ITworld.com