American Internet Services Chooses InterMapper to Monitor Co-Location Services

Network monitoring and NetFlow analysis watches over thousand of nodes

West Lebanon, NH – November 16, 2009 – American Internet Services (AIS) has chosen network management solutions InterMapper and InterMapper Flows to monitor its large scale network that provides colocation services to customers throughout the Southwestern United States. Made up of thousands of nodes, the AIS networks serve clients of all sizes – start-ups to Fortune 5 companies.
 
“High reliability without management overhead is our real value proposition,” says Richard Sears, CTO of American Internet Services. “InterMapper’s network monitoring and mapping capabilities along with InterMapper Flows highly granular traffic analysis data keeps us on top of potential trouble spots. We see and fix problems associated with spammers and internet attacks before our clients are impacted.”
 
The search for a network monitoring solution began when Sears and his engineering team realized that their current solution wouldn’t scale along with the business expansion. The lack of future proofing was coupled with the difficult user level for modifications and adjustments. Overall, AIS engineers defined key capabilities that guided their evaluation; NetFlow analysis, scalability, curb appeal, ease of use, ability to manage multiple data centers.
 
InterMapper and InterMapper Flows became the early frontrunners during AIS’ rigorous evaluation. AIS decided to implement InterMapper and InterMapper Flows based in part on these stand-out capabilities:

• NetFlow analysis – Many existing tools display information in five minutes increments. “In the eyes of our clients, five minutes is an eternity,” explains Sears. InterMapper Flows provides near real-time visibility of network traffic conditions.
• Interface – InterMapper allows AIS technicians to quickly drill down on mapped network assets to discover, for example, router load, CPU, ports, top talkers, backbone carrier connections, and more.
• Top Talker report – Able to quickly identify top talkers on the network, data center operators are able to set thresholds that serve as alerts when surpassed.

 
“Working closely with Sears and his engineering team, we’ve learned a lot about how InterMapper and InterMapper Flows work across very large networks such as AIS’,” says Rich Brown, CEO of Dartware. “It’s been incredibly satisfying to see our technology scales over thousands and thousands of nodes providing easy to digest data that’s critical for managing such an extensive infrastructure.”
 
The two companies had previously collaborated on a venture with the Escondido Charter High School. Through a generous grant from Dartware and in partnership with Richard Sears and AIS, InterMapper is running in that school providing real network monitoring services and serving as a platform for learning about network structures.


Free Community Editions of InterMapper and InterMapper Flows are available at www.intermapper.com.

About Dartware - www.intermapper.com  - Dartware, LLC develops the InterMapper® network mapping and monitoring software with an integrated NetFlow analyzer. InterMapper earns a quick return on investment by proactively alerting administrators to potential slow-downs, crashes, and other business interruptions. Its real-time, color-coded maps and other displays provide users with an instant view of their network including device status and bandwidth usage. Dartware's software is installed in financial services, healthcare, retail, education, government, non-profit, WISP and ISP organizations around the world.

About American Internet Services - www.americanis.net  - American Internet Services (AIS), Southern California’s largest colocation company, has provided business-to-business data center services since 1994. The company currently owns and operates multiple data centers in California and Arizona, investing in state-of-the-art equipment and technology at each facility to ensure unsurpassed reliability, bandwidth, security, and redundancy for its worldwide clients. AIS’ data centers are carrier-neutral facilities designed as technology fortresses with N+1 (or greater) redundancy in bandwidth, power, HVAC, fire suppression and security. All AIS facilities offer a mix of cabinet, cage and data suites, as well as roof rights for microwave links and other antennae systems.