Auvik adds visualization tool to its network management platform

A network troubleshooting tool based on path visualization is among the upgrades to the latest version of Auvik’s network management platform.

The IT solutions vendor was founded around 13 years ago with a mission to address gaps in the managed service provider (MSP) space, particularly around network management. Auvik’s target market is small to midsize businesses and the MSPs that support them, and it has customer deployments across North America and Europe.

Updates to the Auvik Network Management (ANM) platform include:

• Northstar: A network troubleshooting tool based on path visualization
• ARM64 collector: A new monitoring collection agent for ARM64-based hardware
• Updated alerting engine: Offering more customized settings for alerts and notifications

“Our biggest value proposition has been around simplifying the work for the IT professional,” John Astorino, chief operating officer at Auvik, told Network World. “If you have a non-ubiquitous network with multiple vendors, then we make your life a lot simpler in terms of observing, monitoring, [and] managing network devices.”

Auvik’s positioning in the market

In the sprawling network monitoring and management space, Auvik primarily competes with companies like SolarWinds, Logic Monitor, and Domotz, according to Astorino. He emphasized that his company does not compete against the larger, more comprehensive vendors like Cisco, HPE and Dell.

Astorino differentiated Auvik by highlighting its focus on small to medium-sized businesses and its ability to manage multi-vendor networks effectively. The company integrates with but does not compete directly with larger IT management platforms. Auvik integrates with ServiceNow for trouble tickets and other IT service management capabilities, for example.

Auvik points to a new Northstar for network visualization

One of the main new features in the ANM platform update is Northstar, which provides a visual representation of network traffic paths.  

The tool provides a trace-route-like functionality, but in a more visual and intuitive way, that makes use of Auvik’s existing network mapping capabilities. The Northstar tool was built in-house by Auvik.

Astorino said that Northstar allows users to see the path that network traffic takes from a selected device to the internet. When a user clicks the “Northstar” button on a device in Auvik’s network map, the tool removes all other elements and shows the visual path of that device’s traffic. A dashboard will highlight information about that device so users can get to troubleshooting and optimization to improve or fix network issues.

Smaller networks get more visibility with ARM support

A new ARM64 collector is another core piece of the ANM update. ARM64 is a commonly used silicon architecture for smaller network devices and appliances.

Astorino said that Auvik’s traditional collector required deploying a server or virtual machine, which was often too expensive for smaller customer sites.  

“Our collector is a small device that sits in the network, collects all the information from all the network devices, and then pushes it to the cloud so that our cloud software can do its magic,” he said. 

The new ARM collector, which can be deployed on a low-cost ARM device, such as a RaspberryPi device, provides a more cost-effective option for these smaller customer locations.

Looking ahead, Auvik is placing a strong emphasis on automation.

“Customers are having a difficult time finding talent that is technical enough, and so the more automation can be done, the more, the more they can do with the resources they have and with the knowledge that they have in house,” Astorino said.