What is an Instance?

If you’ve ever spent time at a Network Instruments training seminar, you’re bound to hear the word instance. In the Network Instruments / Observer universe an instance is much like the force, it surrounds us and binds us.

So, what is an instance?

Observer uses instances to capture network data. In some cases you may want to gather multiple perspectives from a specific location. For example, you may want to monitor wired and wireless traffic concurrently from the same location. Through instances you can collect, view, and analyze network data gathered by the probes.

In this case, it’s easiest to think of the probe as an instance manager and Observer as the viewer. The instance is a separate area of memory where an Observer probe processes data from one of many sources. The Observer console manages multiple probes, and the probes can manage manage multiple instances. Further, multiple instances can be set up on a probe to publish information to more than one console.

Instances allow you to define specific monitoring views and users that have access. There are many different data and traffic types supported by instances including wired, wireless, NetFlow, sFlow, Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and WAN.

Note: This is a somewhat simplified way to look at instances. For a more comprehensive view, please look at our online support manual. It will also explain which instance is most appropriate for achieving your monitoring goals.

Tags: ethernet probe, lan analysis, network instance, network instruments, network probe, Observer, probe instance, wireless