Contact: Christine Forbes McDermott
480.941.3639
NetPro

(Salt Lake City, Utah – March 27, 2000) – NetPro Computing, Inc.â today announced that Jeffrey F. Hughes and Blair W. Thomas, renowned directory services experts, will author a comprehensive new knowledge base for DS Analyzer, NetPro’s award-winning analysis, troubleshooting and tuning software for Novell Directory Services (NDS).

Hughes and Thomas have more than 25 years of combined networking experience and have authored such landmark books as NDS for NT, Novell’s Guide to IntranetWare Networks and Novell’s Guide to NetWare 5 Networks. Over the years, Hughes and Thomas, both Master Certified NetWare Engineers (CNE), have designed and implemented hundreds of NetWare production sites across the world.

"NetPro’s customers have been asking for an all-inclusive knowledge base since DS Analyzer’s inception, and we couldn’t have found two more qualified individuals to write it," says Kent Beck, Senior Product Manager for NetPro. "For our customers, it will be like having Jeff and Blair standing over their shoulders, offering expert NDS advice." The knowledge base will be incorporated into DS Analyzer 2.0, which is slated for release this summer.

DS Analyzer gathers NDS traffic and utilization data from across the entire network and displays it in a customizable, graphical format that allows administrators to clearly identify potential problems and their sources. The breakthrough solution enables administrators to analyze, troubleshoot and tune NDS for optimal performance. DS Analyzer’s new knowledge base will complement those capabilities by enabling administrators to uncover several layers of context-sensitive information. Customers will be able to drill down through the knowledge base, obtaining descriptions and interpretations of each graph, as well as possible solutions, detailed reference material and architecture recommendations. With DS Analyzer’s knowledge base, customers can rely on Jeff and Blair’s experience to answer their most critical NDS performance questions.

"DS Analyzer is a vital tool for NDS administrators. It arms them with the information they need to make intelligent, data-driven decisions about their NDS infrastructure," says Jeff Hughes. "We are pleased to contribute to a product that will provide useful recommendations and problem resolution in such a hands-on, comprehensive way."

"There are few more respected authorities on NDS than Blair Thomas and Jeff Hughes," says Richard Linville, Vice President of Novell’s Partner and Industry Marketing. "NDS administrators everywhere will benefit from the insights and information from DS Analyzer’s comprehensive knowledge base."

DS Analyzer is part of NetPro’s family of network management solutions, including DS Expert, the only real-time NDS monitoring and alerting solution available. Together, DS Analyzer and DS Expert provide a total solution for NDS management. DS Analyzer is available for $12 per NDS user object. DS Analyzer and DS Expert may be purchased together for a bundle price of $18 per NDS user object.

NetPro is the leading provider of directory infrastructure management solutions for enterprise networks. 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’s partners include Novell, Inc. and Microsoft Corp., and its customer list features such respected companies as Arthur Andersen, DaimlerChrysler and Cargill. For more information about NetPro or DS Analyzer, please visit our website at

###