New version 5 of PRTG Traffic Grapher provides long-term network usage trends and short-term packet analysis – Freeware Edition now supports up to three devices

FUERTH, Germany – November 14, 2005 – Paessler AG today debuted a new version of PRTG Traffic Grapher, providing users of small-to-large networks a powerful tool to monitor bandwidth usage and analyze network traffic. The everyday monitoring tool provides network usage accounting and traffic-by-type analysis.

Network administrators receive two main benefits from running PRTG Traffic Grapher in their networks: long- and short-term monitoring. Long-term monitoring of network and resource usage provides information for administrators to optimize how resources are used and to plan strategic upgrades including the purchase of new servers or leased lines with more bandwidth. Short-term monitoring of network traffic provides information about sudden changes in the network. These changes can be caused by virus outbreaks or DOS attacks. PRTG’s data reflects these changes and the administrator can determine what kind of traffic and which server are causing the trouble.

“A system administrator’s top priority is the performance and reliability of their network,” said Dirk Paessler, CEO of Paessler AG. “They need to know -- not guess -- what is going on in their networks at any time. PRTG provides them with that knowledge and with the data they need to ensure optimal network performance.”

PRTG Traffic Grapher runs on a Windows system 24 hours a day, constantly observing the network’s usage. All common methods for data acquisition are supported, including Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), packet sniffing, and Netflow.

With the launch of version 5, Paessler adds network protocol analysis and improves PRTG’s support for larger networks. The new network protocol analysis scans each network packet and accounts for the source address, target address and the protocol. This provides detailed traffic statistics for each computer or each network application. From this data PRTG compiles up-to-the-minute lists of the network’s Top Talkers, Top Connections and Top Protocols. Top Talkers shows the systems in the network with the highest bandwidth usage; Top Connections shows the pairs of PCs that exchange the most data packets and Top Protocols shows which Internet protocols use up the bandwidth.

Other new features include a redesigned user interface to make it more suitable for larger networks with hundreds or thousands of sensors. A new reporting system that includes a billing system for ISPs, user management and many other enhancements are also included.

Every day, PRTG Traffic Grapher, first released in 2003, works for over 50,000 users worldwide. Users range from freeware users to commercial customers like IBM, Sony, Swiss Reinsurance, Boeing Satellite Systems, or Time Warner Cable. Organizations in industries including education, financial services, government, information technology, media, transportation and telecom choose PRTG Traffic Grapher for its ease of use, cost-effectiveness and full- featured capabilities.

The fully functional freeware version of PRTG Traffic Grapher 5, which was upgraded to now support up to three sensors, can be downloaded free of charge at: http://www.paessler.com. Commercial editions are available starting at US $49.95.