Hi, I’m in charge of upgrading our current network administration techniques. Which do you think is better – software-based network management tools or an appliance? Jimmy Sol

I just saw this commercial on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odyG0F8UM1A ) and that's totally me! I’m tired of being the one that gets yelled at when the system is down! Jimmy Sol

Design a better server system. No appliance can do that for you. Nothing beats proper maintenance. Knowing the correct answer and giving a correct answer, are two different things

What techniques are you upgrading? Which is better, software or appliance.....likely software. Most appliances, like the one in the commercial, are mostly unnecessary in a properly setup environment. A DNS/DHCP appliance....LOL....what for when a single server can do both a whole lot cheaper. If you're planning on monitoring your network, then the following is pretty good and useful: http://cacti.net/ and it's certainly the right price. This will allow you to monitor traffic and look for choke points in your network. As far as management tools go, I guess it depends on what you figure you need to "manage"???