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Applications -> Neutron NMS (Network Management System)

Last modified on Fri, 29th Dec 2006 at 11:30 UTC by zipplet
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The Neutron NMS project has been cancelled, as of 29th December, 2006
I don't have the time on my hands to maintain a project like this right now, when the likelyhood of being able to make money from it is near zero. I am keeping what has been done of it incase I need it again in the future, but other than that... it's cancelled. Don't ask me about it.

Neutron was created under request from a client for a custom small-business solution. Later it was decided to release it as a commercial product once it was complete, however, the future of Neutron is currently uncertain.

Neutron is client-server application suite to help network administrators maintain control over and monitor a large network of computers. It has features ranging from micro-management (remote control of stations) to macro-management (network-wide application banning, auditing, application/patch deployment).

The backend server runs on either Linux, BSD with Linux compatibility, or Windows 2000/2003. One server can handle hundreds of clients (around 200 simultaneous clients were tested in a real world environment under Linux, but simulated tests show that a lot more (thousands) are possible on a medium-spec (1.6Ghz P4) machine).

The server does not need a static IP although it is desirable. Clients will automatically seek out the server. Traffic is encrypted, currently using a variant of ARCFOUR however stronger encryption will be added later on. Larger pieces of data are compressed using the popular deflate algorithym to save your network bandwidth.

The client software is automatically kept up to date by the server due to how the system is designed, reducing costs associated with patching/updating software. You only need to roll out a single update on the server, and the server handles the rest. The server may support automatic updates over the internet as well, to further reduce costs. Currently, only Microsoft Windows is supported as a client operating system. The client will not function under wine because it runs some code in kernel mode for some security features. A linux client is planned.

Administrators use a special admin client to authenticate with the server and perform administrative tasks. The admin client has a clean MDI style interface, and can sit in the system notification area, displaying balloon popups when administrator attention is required. An administrator may sign on from any machine on the network, they are not tied to a specific workstation. The admin client may be run under wine, it should work without a problem.

Usually administrators will perform their duties while on-site. However you may come across a time when you would like to connect to your Neutron server while you are off-site, without using a VPN. This is possible! Neutron comes with a tunnel server to allow you to connect to your Neutron server over the Internet. For security reasons this feature is optional, and requires a second password in addition to your usual admin login.

There are various ways to deploy the neutron client - for example if you use Novell Netware you can deploy it to all of your machines by adding a single line to your logon script and making a bootstrap binary available on a public share. The admin client requires no installation at all. You can run it from a USB flash disk if you desire.

Neutron correctly handles the identification of users even on shared machines - as are common in a school or business environment.

A license for up to 10 simultaneous client connections is free. Licenses for larger networks are extremely competetively priced compared to the competition. Schools will be entitled to a discount. Small features can be added on request at no charge (and become available for all users of the software immediately); larger features will be priced competetively (and will be kept exclusive to you for a stated period of time).

You may run multiple neutron servers if you desire. A seperate license is needed for each server, and you may not run more than one free server on the same network. These restrictions are enforced automatically.