cyber security, analysis and monitoring are some of the main concerns of network administrators. They want the websites of their users and employees to run smoothly, while ensuring the greatest possible security of information.
hackers can get throughfirewallIn the middle of the night, otherwise the site may crash on Christmas Day. Virtually anything can happen at any time, and companies need to constantly monitor the network to know when problems arise.
That's itnetwork monitoring softwareI am doing. Before you dive into network monitoring software, make sure you understandHow to map a network driveThey track anomalies such as high resource utilization, runtime changes, and status request failures. They monitor events and store information to help users identify which services, servers, or hardware may be causing problems.
Many proprietary and commercial tools can be expensive. Even the smallest company needs itNetwork traffic monitoringtools too. If you don't think you can afford some of the big commercial tools, consider the free or open source offerings below.
What are the 6 best free network monitoring software in 2019?
1.broom
2.intermapper
3.Spiceworks Network Monitor
4.Wireshark
5.PRTG
6.Zabbix
product | open source; | assets |
---|---|---|
broom | NO | 100 |
intermapper | NO | 10 |
Spiceworks Network Monitor | NO | 25 |
Wireshark | So | Unlimited |
PRTG | NO | 100 (sensor) |
Zabbix | So | 100 000 |
1. Gun cleaner
- 19 comments
- G2 Satisfaction Score: 80
- G2 star rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
broomis a commercial solution, but a free version with limited functionality is available for free. The tool scans and detects devices with Windows, Linux and Mac operating systems to detect new items. It has a narrower scope than most of the products on this list, but it still qualifies as a tracking tool by our definition.
Users can schedule a full network inspection scan or let the tool run automatically. The tool will identify hardware, software solutions, event logs, Windows updates, and product keys. This information is then saved so that the user can check the changes.
“We've been using Lansweeper since its inception and don't know what we would do without it. It surpasses other network inventory software in terms of features, support and price. We operate 4 sites with 350 users and 1000 multiple devices. Lansweeper allows our IT department to quickly find network details.” -Blue Sweeper review
The free version allows unlimited users but is limited to 100 projects. Premium plans cost $495 and $995 per year. If users want to track more than 1,000 items, they should contact the supplier and set up a custom pricing plan.
All product reviews are from users of companies or medium-sized enterprises. They are all administrative level users, but they vary by industry. Only one reviewer rated this product less than 4 stars out of 5.
2. Intermapper
- 52 comments
- G2 Satisfaction Score: 64
- G2 star rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars
Another foundation in the world of relational databases,intermapperIt is more of a true monitoring tool than Lansweeper, but offers similar auto-detection tools. The real strength of the product, however, lies in its drafting and visualization capabilities.
Mapping features include color coding of assets to indicate correct operation and problem status. The map is highly configurable and correctly maps the network topology. Additional features include remote access,link capacityTools to monitor and automate troubleshooting.
“Intermapper is an excellent and easy-to-use monitoring tool that enables our users to effectively monitor networks of any size. Excellent notification capabilities with options to delay or modify how failures and critical devices are reported.” —Rating between map makers
The free version includes perpetual, permanent licenses, monitoring of up to 10 devices and centralized remote access. Paid plans are billed annually and range from $303 for 25 devices to $765 for 50 devices. Custom pricing is available for larger enterprises.
Out of 52 product reviews, 45 users gave this tool a 4-r or 5-e rating. Most of the user reviews come from employees of medium-sized and large enterprises. The features that users like the most about this tool are real-time monitoring, threshold-based alerts, and SNMP network management.
3. Spiceworks Network Monitor
- 10 comments
- G2 Satisfaction Score: 70
- G2 star rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars
for small groups,spicesIt is 100% free and provides customer support. The only issue is there is a strict limit of 25 devices that can be tracked, which shouldn't be a problem for small groups.
The tool can update servers, endpoints and all kinds of devices with an IP address connected to the network in real time. The tool can generate information to detect slow or malfunctioning systems and alert users immediately.
“It's simply the best network management tool I've ever used. I have implemented Spiceworks in all my work and use it with individual clients. You can inventory your entire network with just a few clicks. Even if you are in a remote location, you can also create a collection agent that downloads inventory and sends it to the server”-spice factory review
Additional features of the free version include access to many free tools. Blacklisting helps identify tagged IP addresses, reducing the number of potential malicious visitors. IP address lookup tools allow users to see who is on their website. And free support tools to help you communicate with your users.
The tool only has 10 reviews, but they all have 4 and 5 star ratings. They also vary by industry and company size, but most are in the mid-range of the market. Some of the features that users find most liked about this tool are real-time monitoring, SNMP network management, and general network management.
4. Wireshark
- 37 comments
- G2 Satisfaction: 39
- G2 star rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
Wiresharkis a widely used network monitoring tool that is completely open source and licensed under the GNU General Public License version 2. It runs on multiple platforms, including most operating systems from Windows and macOS to Solaris and FreeBSD.
Key features include inspection of hundreds of different protocol types, offline analysis, and standard three-part packet browsing. It can capture various types of packets and file formats, recording almost all types of files transmitted over the network.
“Wireshark is an amazing network management tool. It captures packets in real time, giving you insight into the inner workings of the network you're connected to and why some issues may persist." — Wireshark Review
It is one of the most widely used and known network monitoring tools and probably has the widest range of features on this list. Therefore, for new users, the situation can be a bit complicated. However, experienced IT professionals are probably familiar with this tool.
Some of the features that users find most liked about this tool are the ability to perform detailed network analysis, real-time monitoring, analytics capabilities, and bug tracking. Users are spread almost evenly across companies of all sizes and are concentrated in the IT industry.
5.PRTG
- 16 comments
- G2 Satisfaction Score: 26
- G2 star rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
PRTGIt is not open source but there are free versions like Lansweeper. The free version is limited to 100 sensors that can be deployed over the number of devices in the network.
While most companies charge per device, PRTG charges by sensor, which the company calls a "simple and fair" way to assess usage. Sensors measure different parts of each device, such as the processor or ports, so most devices have between 5 and 10 sensors.
Prices for the paid versions range from $1,600 to $60,000 per year with multi-year discounts. PRTG provider Paessler claims on its website that the tool has a user base of 200,000 and an average return on investment of 3.5 months.
“PRTG is a very efficient and reliable monitoring tool. It is a basic monitoring solution and we use over 1000 sensors in the product. It is very efficient for the range of functionality you can get from it and it tracks a lot of technologies and not only with every update more technologies are added.” -PRTG review
The tool has tons of traffic and performance monitoring features. You can create network maps and distribute monitoring to better manage individual sites or devices in a cluster. Users can also choose from several interfaces and configure their own notifications via API or SMS.
PRTG reviewers are mainly senior employees in medium-sized IT companies. Some of the features that users say they like the most about PRTG are SNMP scanning, SNMP network management, real-time monitoring, and network inventory management tools.
6.Zabbix
- 22 comments
- G2 Satisfaction: 3
- G2 star rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Zabbixis an open source network monitoring solution designed for enterprise-class networks. It has been publicly available since 2001, but went live three years ago as the bank's internal software project.
Capabilities include proactive monitoring to identify redundant features before failure and agentless monitoring to monitor availability. It also includes additional capabilities for monitoring other systems, capacity planning tools, and distributed monitoring to manage an isolated network.
The Zabbix API also simplifies script automation, makes application monitoring more flexible, and provides configuration management tools to improve application functionality.
“Zabbix is a configurable open source tool that adapts well to different applications, enabling centralized monitoring of the entire infrastructure. It's easy to create custom plugins for apps that might not be part of your existing community. very intuitive tool, useful for creating trends and visualizing data.” —Zabbix reviews
Like Wireshark, it is available under the GNU General Public License version 2. Companies can set up tracking on up to 100,000 devices simultaneously. These can include applications, servers, databases, and network hardware.
Even though it is an enterprise tool, 6 reviews came from users in small businesses and 25 from mid-sized employees. Most of the comments came from managers of IT companies. It has only 1 1-star review and 39 4- or 5-star reviews.
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product | meet the requirements | easy to use | easy to install | Easy to manage | quality of support | Do business with ease |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
broom | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9,0 | 9.1 | 9.2 | 9.6 |
intermapper | 8.9 | 8,0 | 8.3 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.3 |
Spiceworks Network Monitor | 9.1 | 9,0 | 9,5 | 9,5 | 9.1 | 9,8 |
Wireshark | 9,5 | 7.7 | 8.7 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 7.6 |
PRTG | 9,0 | 8,0 | 7.9 | 7,5 | 8.3 | 9,0 |
Zabbix | 8.2 | 6.9 | 7.7 | 7.8 | 7,5 | 7.8 |
These tools can help you allocate resources and optimize performance. They will also prevent network failures, improve development processes for startups and identify security threats.
In today's digital and connected world, secure networks are becoming increasingly importantIoT deviceThis will make system administrators even more worried.