The NetEqualizer was simple to install. We just made a few configuration changes and it was up and running. I like that we had to spend very little time to get this inline on our network. Even more important to us, since putting the NetEqualizer in place, we have had positive feedback that everyone on campus has had better Internet service! Our campus is happy, which makes us happy. Thanks NetEqualizer!" Bingo! The Netequalizer not only costs less, it also results in better, flatter utilization of purchased bandwidth - so with it we use more of the bandwidth we paid for. It also saves money because it is a heck of a lot easier to configure and maintain.
We had been a Packeteer customer for years and invested not only in the product but significantly in training. When I was faced with a $15K bill for replacing an end-of-life Packeteer device I decided it was time to go another route. I heard about Netequalizer at edAccess (a great peer-to-peer tech conference) and decided to give it a try. It cost me less than 1/5 of what it would have cost me to replace my end of life Packeteer. It literally took me less than one day to know everything I needed to know about the product. Furthermore, during the first year I only had to tweak my initial setup twice. All this, and my results were far BETTER than I had with the Packeteer. Even with constant tweaking, the Packeteer was often too restrictive during off peak times preventing my users from using bandwidth that we paid for and was available. My network utilization is now way up and much flatter. An unanticipated benefit to this is that it has encouraged good behavior in that my users know it is best to save high bandwidth traffic for off hours. Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences is a college preparatory school for grades 6-12. Gregory Relaford, Technology Director, feels his use for NetEqualizer is a little idiosyncratic, because he uses the NetEqualizer not only at a gateway, but also (for brief periods) at the classroom, building and/or switch level. The motivation is partly to carry out in-depth analysis of subsections of the network with ntop. He’s had such success he is seriously considering using this technology at pinch-points within the school, to protect the internal network from degradation due to file sharing and 'casting. “I think that the product is great. It has advantages (and some disadvantages) vs traditional packet shapers, but the design fits many of the practical problems Network Admins face. Other products have addressed bandwidth allocation and usage in a similar way but your product can be used in ways those products cannot.” West Grand Public Schools is maybe an atypically small school District, their town of Kremmling, Colorado, only has one stop light. But they may be exceptional in their commitment to bring technology into the classrooms. They allocated a budget and they quickly came up to speed by providing Internet access throughout the District. Unfortunately, there was a stumbling block in their modernization: their fixed Internet T1 trunk was completely overloaded. With a tight budget, they needed to avoid the recurring monthly cost of adding additional bandwidth. Chris Rule is the Technology Director. He was busy enough without needing to add daily network monitoring to his list of tasks. They needed something that would handle the problem, and handle it completely. They came upon the NetEqualizer. Chris Rule had this to say about his schools' experience with NetEqualizer: "The results were quite remarkable. The NetEqualizer prioritizes and distributes our bandwidth completely automatically. We basically just plugged it in and saw dramatic results within minutes." "Most notable in our NetEqualizer experience is that the price was well within our range, and NetEqualizer requires no ongoing maintenance. The few initial questions we had were promptly answered by APconnections' support team. Other vendors we had approached force multiple thousand-dollar support contracts in front of you before they'll even talk to you. The NetEqualizer is so easy to use, that it can literally be up and running within fifteen minutes." I administer the network at The Gunnery – a 9-12 boarding school. Despite having a packetshaper in play (which did help things when we first put it in), users were having a very poor web experience. Because it (the NetEqualizer) was so inexpensive (at least compared to other solutions), and I had heard some good things, I decided to try it. Also, unlike many other products, I didn't have to license it per user or per device. Very simple. NetEqualizer was incredibly easy to setup and worked as expected right out of the box – all I had to do was give it an IP address and tell it our bandwidth. Users noticed the difference immediately. Within days, the kids had figured out that if they 'hog' the bandwidth, things will go slow for them – works like a charm. Unlike many gateway products we have tried, it doesn't interfere with other products or authentication. It has some very interesting advanced features, and the support people were great about explaining what they could do, but I am loath to adjust anything as our user experience has improved so much by just using the default settings. Low cost, easy to use, very effective: one of my better purchases.
Jeff Dayton, Director of Technology, The Madeira School
Tom Phelan, Director of Technology, Peddie School
In response to "Network World Blog missing the boat on Packeteer’s decline in revenue", October 22, 2009
Gregory Relaford, Technology Director, Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences
Chris Rule, Technology Director, West Grand Public Schools
BJ Daniels, Director of Technology, The Gunnery
