Classic Hits, Part 2
Hit counters are the newest Web craze; which ones will rise to the top of the charts?
By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
WebTrends 2.0
WebTrends seems to be just what the administrator ordered. It's fast, easy to use, and can work with popular (but non-standard) log reports such as those generated by Netscape's Proxy Server, as well as with every other modern log format. What's not to like?
Actually, a lot. The Windows-only WebTrends does a great job of delivering comprehensive reports, but it can't transfer the information out to a DBMS via ODBC. It also can't save its reports, or even organize its data into any database format. This problem is further aggravated because WebTrends doesn't have its own proprietary database; instead, every analysis must start by working with the raw logs. The result is that WebTrends can do reports on your last four quarters of activity; but it has to re-analyze the log file every time. I don't know about you, but my servers have better things to do.
Though WebTrends is very fast, and its integral HTML reports are great, speed and reporting alone aren't enough. The ability to export data and to keep it in a standard, accessible database format are essential. Because it lacks these features, WebTrends is a second-tier program, though you can't beat the price.
Bolero 1.0
Not only is Bolero a great piece of music, it's a great Web-hit analysis program. A word of caution, though: Bolero (http://www.everyware.com/) runs only on the Mac OS and Mac Web servers, though there are plans afoot for Unix and Windows NT versions.
Bolero has many virtues. Chief among them is that it can work in real time with multiple servers. That will increase your internal network traffic, but I'd pay the toll of a bit more network congestion for composite data from all my Web servers any day of the week. Besides, you can set Bolero so that your Web server actually speeds up. Bolero manages this stunt by intercepting logging information on the site and taking care of logging data and domain names. If you choose to use this option, you can switch off these services on the Web server so it can spend more CPU cycles doing its primary job.
The program also excels at exporting data. Bolero can dance to the tune of almost any ODBC-compliant DBMS. In my own tests, I had no trouble at all shipping data in real time from the Bolero's Mac to an NT 4.0 server running Microsoft SQL Server. From there I was able to link the data into Excel and Crystal Reports graphs and reports.
Bolero's manufacturer, EveryWare, also makes its own SQL Server, Butler, and a good DBMS/Web integration program, Tango. You can play the trio together to generate on-the-fly HTML Web activity forms.
If Bolero could work with non-Mac Web servers, it would be as close to perfect as you'll find in a Web analysis tool. If EveryWare would get off its virtual duff and export the software to other operating systems, I'd recommend Bolero without reservation across the board. Maybe next release.
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