As networks become more and more critical to helping the enterprise succeed, uptime is as important as ever, even while new, complicated demands are laid on top of already complex setups -- VoIP, 802.11n, and traffic shaping all mean more chances for something to go wrong. Network behavior analysis tools, thankfully, are evolving to help make the task of understanding potential -- and actual -- pain points a little bit easier by quickly highlighting traffic jams or alerting network administrators to dangerous trends before the help-desk tickets flood in.

Getting the higher-level view of the network that many of these tools provide means having the ability to think strategically about the network, as opposed to chasing problems as they arrive and managing problems best-effort. That, in turn, means quicker resolution and less chaos all around. The behavior analysis field is evolving quickly, with many niche players focusing on various core strengths, such as detailed metrics, ease of use, or basic predictive capabilities.

It was the Monitoring, Analysis, and Response System (MARS) from Cisco that captured the highest reader ratings in our Product Leadership survey, winning it the gold award in network behavior analysis. The system's ability to monitor multiple data sources while accurately detecting malware and other threats lifted it to the top.

Eighty-five percent of MARS users surveyed said they saw good or excellent monitoring of multiple data sources. That same percentage also found that MARS had good or excellent ability to identify network problems, with 82% saying the same of its ability to detect malware.

Cisco is a familiar name for most IT administrators, and this probably contributed to its standings. However, our readers found that the networking giant had delivered a solid product behind that name, with less than 3% of its ratings across categories scoring unsatisfactory or poor. The system also ranked very highly by comparison with its peers. The only serious gripe was in ease of use, with one reader complaining about a lot of "hands-on" configuration work before deployment.

Michael Morisy, News Writer