GroundWork Open Source Enhances Reporting CapabilitiesGroundWork Open Source Enhances Reporting Capabilities

A picture is worth a thousand words. GroudWork Open Source has incorporated that basic tenet into the latest release of its flagship product GroundWork Monitor 6.3.The new version of its network management tool includes enhanced reporting capabilities that help organizations visualize their IT performance from a business perspective. Now, network operators can use diagrams to visualize how well their systems are operating and to troubleshoot problems. The new features stem were developed by Super-Visions BVBAanda, are based on the NagVis open source project, and are bundled with the latest release. The company's goal is to help customers monitor their entire IT infrastructure from server, network, and applications with a single solution.

Other enhancements were made to GroundWork Monitor. Alarms are now sounded to notify network administrators about certain events. The product's dashboard options include new filtering options so companies can customize their views. The company's Java support has been broadened so it monitors applications using Oracle's Weblogic 10.

GroundWork is one of many recent vendors taking a new approach to building management tools. The company has relied on open source products as the foundation for its system. Consequently, the vendor is able to offer tools that cost less than many of the traditional management tools. The company sells different versions, starting with a free version and working its way to various device dependent pricing models. Groundwork claims to have more than 880 customers now and expects that number to grow to 1,000 by the end of the year.