NetPro is the leading provider of directory infrastructure management solutions. NetPro software monitors, troubleshoots and optimizes the directory to ensure the availability and performance of the business-critical applications that depend upon it. Proactive directory management enables administrators to reduce administrative costs, minimize network downtime and optimize resources. NetPro partners include Novell, Inc. and Microsoft* Corp., and its customer list features such Fortune 500 companies as Arthur Andersen, DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, and J.P. Morgan.

Paul Gardner is a Sr. Network Engineer for Peerless Systems Corporation, a leading provider of software-based embedded imaging and networking systems for manufacturers of digital document products. From the company's headquarters in El Segundo, California, Gardner manages 250 GroupWise 5.5 mailboxes in a mixed NetWare 4.x and 5.x network.

When Gardner assumed responsibility for GroupWise administration at Peerless, the system frequently experienced downtime. Gardner discovered that some of the problems occurred because GroupWise was installed with its database located on one server while the GroupWise system was installed on another. This configuration resulted in significant downtime—often without warning. "E-mail is critical to our organization, " Gardner says. "And what's worse, users automatically assume that when e-mail goes down, there's a larger problem with the network." The fact that GroupWise was installed inefficiently when Gardner took over administration escalated the number of GroupWise management issues he had to deal with, which prompted him to develop a strategy for better administration.

Gardner began improving the situation by moving all GroupWise components on to a single server. However, he still needed a way to proactively monitor critical components of GroupWise, such as message transfer and post office agents. He also wanted to have advance warning of potential problems, with alerts that could be sent to his pager. To ensure user productivity and uptime, Gardner determined there was a clear need for a round-the-clock e-mail monitoring solution.

Gardner found that NetPro's MailCentral product provided the proactive monitoring and troubleshooting capabilities that the Peerless e-mail system needed. After trying MailCentral for just four days, Gardner recommended that Peerless purchase it, and he now uses MailCentral to monitor the company's entire GroupWise system, including domains, gateways and post offices. MailCentral proactively alerts on more than 100 critical conditions. In addition, MailCentral's comprehensive knowledge base enables Gardner to not only find problems anywhere in the system, but also solve them—before e-mail users are affected.

MailCentral provides a centralized view of the entire GroupWise environment. Gardner can immediately detect when there is a problem, and he can easily monitor all GroupWise subdirectories, from WordPerfect* Office 4.0a to GroupWise 5.5, and track remote clients. MailCentral sends alert messages directly to his pager, so he's always one step ahead of potential problems—even when he's away from the office. The majority of Peerless employees are software programmers and developers who have three PCs per desktop, effectively tripling Gardner's per-user workload. MailCentral has proven to be instrumental for ensuring the health of GroupWise, regardless of the size or complexity of the Peerless system. "It's my electronic babysitter for GroupWise," says Gardner. "With MailCentral, we find problems before they cause e-mail downtime."

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