Network monitoring tools let IT infrastructure managers, system and network administrators, as well as business owners, monitor the status of devices, services, ports and protocols on their network throughout the day. Using these tools they can ensure maximum network uptime.
Top 11 Network Monitoring Tools
- Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold - Intuitive tool
- Datadog - For midsized networks
- NinjaRMM - Straightforward
- ManageEngine OpManager - Network health monitoring
- Nagios - For IT professionals
- Paessler PRTG Network Monitor - Failover choice
- LogicMonitor - For big networks
- NetCrunch - 9 features modules
- SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor - Advanced alerting
- Zabbix - Open-source
- Obkio - Network performance tools
In this review I have included both completely free and inexpensive network monitoring tools. When assessing programs I took into account such features as SNMP, network mapping, uptime/downtime, bandwidth monitoring, notifications, etc. You will learn the benefits and drawbacks of the software products to decide which tools to use in your IT infrastructure and business.
1. Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold
- Intuitive UI
- Agentless model
- Numerous notification templates
- Monitoring a virtualized environment
- None detected
Verdict: With Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold, users can track the status and performance of programs, servers and network devices. Users can work with the program locally and in the cloud. Viewing the network status is also available from iOS and Android smartphones. This tool provides a detailed map of the network infrastructure so that users can monitor the status of controllers, servers, traffic and more.
The functionality of Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold boasts notifications and dashboards, an overview of Hyper-V and VMware environments, network performance data, AWS and Azure cloud environments, information about bandwidth consumption and wireless network performance. WhatsUp Gold differs from other networking monitoring tools with its intuitive interface, where 3 tabs contain all the necessary functions for an IT specialist.
2. Datadog
- Cloud platform
- Tags to monitor the performance
- Notifications for any metric
- Alerts about anomalies
- No automatic device detection
- No standard reporting
Verdict: Datadog Network Performance Monitoring uses tags to track the network performance of the user’s online store or real estate photography business. Users can split traffic between hosts, services or other tags. The developers have combined flow-based NPM and metric-based devices so that users get complete information about traffic, network metrics, logs, and will be able to fix all problems in one place.
Users get access to an interactive map of the network. With its help, they can track traffic bottlenecks and other effects. They will also have data about the volume and repeat transmissions. It is possible to use this network monitoring software within a cloud or hybrid network.
3. NinjaRMM
- Simple integration
- Scripts and basic notification templates
- Advanced reporting
- Full information about the devices
- Some advanced capabilities are missing
- Users need to enable 2FA
Verdict: NinjaRMM lets IT specialists increase the efficiency of network management, reduce the volume and time for resolving requests. They will have a complete toolset for network monitoring, managing, protecting and improving network devices, workstations, servers, standard and large screen laptops. Users will get a full list of hardware and software. Besides, they will be able to automate the installation of fixes for devices by monitoring and controlling their functions and drivers.
NinjaRMM enables users to remotely control all the devices, regardless of their location. They can automate configuration and management thanks to the developed automation tools. Controlling devices with remote access is possible as well.
4. ManageEngine OpManager
- Network display
- SNMP monitoring
- E-mail and SMS notifications
- Customizable dashboards
- Some restrictions in the dashboard
- Sometimes slow
Verdict: With ManageEngine OpManager, users can monitor the performance of network devices, servers, routers and switches in real time. They will be able to customize the dashboards themselves using 200 + widgets. Thanks to SNMP monitoring, users can track the performance of all devices on the network.
It is one of the best network monitoring tools due to a notification system so that users can quickly react and fix problems. Also, with the correlation of network events, false notifications will be minimized. The program sends notifications by email and SMS for the user to be aware of all the issues.
5. Nagios
- Free for small networks
- Auto-discovery of devices
- Advanced customization of the notifications
- Plugin framework
- SMS notifications need to be further configured
Verdict: The cross-platform Nagios tool boasts a network monitoring, traffic monitoring and network analyzer options. With its help, it is possible to configure app monitoring, automatic notifications and user management. Thanks to network health tracking, users will always be aware of server failures, overloads and other problems.
The Nagios open source monitoring tool offers a function for tracking the availability of nodes and their running time, as well as the ability to track the response time of nodes. The user controls the network status based on reports and visual representations.
In addition, users receive notifications that they can further configure, such as setting the notification delay time or the verification period. They can also add plugins to expand the tool’s capabilities.
6. Paessler PRTG Network Monitor
- Presence of a mobile app
- Distributed monitoring
- Cluster failover solution
- Detailed reporting
- Requires dedicated, on-premises server
- No cloud service deployment model
Verdict: Paessler PRTG Network Monitor is a tool for monitoring the network and controlling the entire infrastructure, including LAN, WAN, cloud services, applications and more. It is possible to take advantage of a map designer to create a dashboard and integrate network components to suit the user’s needs. In addition, the software offers a distributed monitoring function.
To set up notifications, use 10 integrated technologies, such as email, push notifications and audio notifications. Due to the fact that each license has one failover, you can be sure of providing fault-tolerant monitoring. In this free network monitoring software, detailed reports can be scheduled or requested, and then exported to PDF, HTML, XML or CSV files.
7. LogicMonitor
- Cloud-based
- Automatic detection of network devices
- Monitoring the status of the access point
- BGS sessions
- No local network actions in notifications
- Different price for each client
Verdict: LogicMonitor is one of the best network monitoring tools to be used within on-premises, cloud and hybrid infrastructures. The tool enables users to control the temperature, CPU for video editing, fan, memory and other parameters. With its help, users won’t need to manually search for all network devices, the software will detect them automatically.
After installing and scanning, users can add all the devices from the list or only individual items. Besides, they can track the status of their wireless access points. In terms of the interface indicators, bandwidth, packet and error rates, etc. are available. Advanced capabilities include BGS sessions and OSPF adjacency tracking.
8. NetCrunch
- Fine-tuned control over notifications
- Ability to automate the steps to resolve issues
- Multiple network display formats
- Planned reporting
- Remote management is available only after installation
- Users can’t export reports to Excel
Verdict: NetCrunch automatically scans the available networks and then prompts users to select networks to search for devices. It is possible to view a list of current nodes or a graphical map of the network (users can pick the display format themselves) and find out more about each device to fix problems.
Notifications can be configured to restart the computer, start a script, end a process, etc. Among the primary actions are playing audio, notifying the user, sending an email. The notifications can be created from the user interface. NetCrunch, unlike other networking management tools, is limited in mobility since you need to install heavy software to fully monitor the network. You can only view the network in the browser.
9. SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor
- Scalability
- Smart network map
- Advanced notification settings
- SDN monitoring function
- Inability to update maps from the web interface
- High hardware requirements
Verdict: With SolarWinds, users can monitor network performance and minimize the number of failures. Besides, the solution is easy to scale for a large number of devices to implement new business ideas. Users can track the status and manage their wireless networks, as well as view access point metrics.
The platform boasts a Cisco ACI-enabled SDN monitoring feature and provides a visual representation of performance, such as web panels and charts, for important network devices. Users will have NetPath and PerfStack at their disposal for quick troubleshooting. In general, SolarWinds is the best network monitor software to get complete information about the network.
10. Zabbix
- Open-source platform
- Database support
- Smart notifications
- VMware monitoring
- A few custom triggers
- Non-intuitive layout of UI elements
Verdict: Zabbix is an open-source platform for monitoring of network, services, server and cloud storage. Such features as advanced problem detection, smart notifications and troubleshooting make it one of the best network monitoring tools. Users can configure flexible interaction scenarios thanks to the notification options provided.
The program may be used to automatically find all network devices and change their configuration. Methods and protocols for collecting metrics include SNMP, IPMI, etc. Users can also perform agent-based monitoring for all Linux and Windows distributions. The platform supports a number of databases, including MySQL and Oracle. Thanks to VMware monitoring, it is possible to configure the use of any scripting or programming language.
11. Obkio
- Continuous monitoring
- Deploys in minutes
- Automatic speed tests
- Decentralized monitoring
- Several integrations are missing
- Discrepancy of price and functionality
Verdict: The Obkio platform lets you monitor network performance to improve user experience. In comparison with other network monitoring tools, this option is notable for a decent response rate and continuous monitoring using monitoring agents. With Obkio, users can quickly fix performance issues and measure network performance.
Among the functions, you will find decentralized monitoring between pairs of agents with different locations, monitoring from the point of view of the end-user. The program also saves performance data for the past time so that you can fix past problems.
