Monitoring network traffic (defined as the data traveling across your network at any given time) is critical for any company that wants to keep its network running smoothly. Using a solution to automate network traffic monitoring and analysis can assist IT teams reduce downtime, discovering obstacles, increasing the efficiency of troubleshooting operations, and more.

The market for network traffic monitoring alternatives is becoming saturated, as it is with so many other vital network administration and monitoring tools. This can make deciding on the best one a difficult task. In this article, we’ll look at the most popular tools on the market today so you can choose the best fit for your company.

Top 8 Network Traffic Monitoring Software

  1. ManageEngine OpManager: Best for finding great network topology layout options.
  2. Auvik: Best for unifying the monitoring of several networks.
  3. SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer: Best for gathering data from continuous network traffic streams.
  4. Paessler PRTG Network Monitor: Best for improving network efficiency by determining bandwidth and resource use.
  5. LogicMonitor: Best for networks that are widely distributed.
  6. NetCrunch: Best for visual monitoring.
  7. Nagios XI: Best for customization and extensions.
  8. DataDog: Best for Managing Cloud Services.

1. ManageEngine OpManager: Best for finding great network topology layout options

Pricing: $245.0 per one-time payment.

ManageEngine is a robust platform that includes several monitoring features, such as host and network analysis, discovery, alerting, performance trends, and mapping. It also includes VoIP monitoring, which analyzes VoIP call quality to help improve communications performance, as well as monitoring for Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer, and Data Center environments.

Discovery, generic monitoring, configurable dashboards, and notifications are a part of the base edition. Application-specific monitoring, such as for Active Directory, Exchange, and SQL, comes in professional and enterprise editions, as well as more authentication choices, reports, and troubleshooting tools.

Key Features:

  • Network Discovery
  • CSV Discovery
  • Hyper-V Monitoring
  • AD Based Authentication

Reasons to Buy:

  • Custom Dashboards
  • Local Authentication
  • SNMP Trap Monitoring

Reasons to Avoid:

  • Lack of integration with AppManager.

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2. Auvik: Best for unifying the monitoring of several networks

Pricing: 14-day free trial

Auvik is a cloud-based network monitoring software that is faster, easier to use, and gives you rapid insight into the networks you manage through automatic network discovery, monitoring, documentation, and more. This networking performance monitor application keeps you up to current with real-time network mapping and inventories.

Key Features:

  • Presents all of your operations on a dashboard.
  • In case of any unusual activity, it promptly sends out an alarm.
  • Secure SSH access
  • Centralizes network monitoring across various locations.
  • Design complex processes via APIs.
  • Auto-discovery services

Reasons to Buy:

  • Includes configuration management
  • Supports Windows Server and Ubuntu Linux
  • Unlimited number of endpoints
  • Gathers data in real-time

Reasons to Avoid

  • No examination of path capacity across links
  • Any other Auviks modules are incompatible with it

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3. SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer: Best for gathering data from continuous network traffic streams

Pricing: 30-day free trial

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA) is a scalable and intelligent NetFlow analyzer and bandwidth monitoring solution that includes network traffic analysis, bandwidth monitoring, sophisticated application recognition, VMware vSphere distributed switch support, application traffic alerting, and more. Despite its name, NTA is designed to collect your flow data for all of the most common manufacturers, including Juniper J-Flow and sFlow, as well as NetFlow v5 and v9.

Key Features:

  • Bandwidth Threshold Alerting
  • Network Traffic Forensics
  • CBQoS Performance Views
  • Flow Navigator

Reasons to Buy:

  • Multi-Vendor Device Support
  • Bandwidth Usage by IP Groups
  • Traffic Analysis Dashboard

Reasons to Avoid:

  • Difficult to understand the functioning

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4. Paessler PRTG Network Monitor: Best for improving network efficiency

Pricing: $1,799 per Server License

With standard features and the inherent ability to monitor all aspects of your infrastructure, including IoT devices, cloud services, Active Directory, SharePoint, Citrix, email servers, Hyper-V, IIS, VMWare, FTP, VPN, VoIP, Windows and Linux operating systems, databases, storage area networks, data center environments, backup processes — everything, including the kitchen sink; Paessler’s PRTG Network Monitor will get the job done for you. This product has the greatest potential alternatives of any device evaluated. Hence, it is a little pricey as well. 

Key Features:

  • Monitor networks in several different locations
  • unlimited probes
  • Protects your monitoring environment by maximizing uptime.

Reasons to Buy:

  • Comprehensive device support
  • Extremely adaptable

Reasons to Avoid:

  • Requires an on-premises dedicated server
  • Sensor-based licensing may be costly

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5. LogicMonitor: Best for networks that are widely distributed

Pricing: 14-day free trial

The SaaS-based observability and IT operations data collaboration platform from LogicMonitor assists ITOps, developers, MSPs, and business leaders in gaining visibility and predictability across the technologies that modern organizations rely on to deliver exceptional employee and customer experiences. LogicMonitor monitors everything from networks to applications to the cloud in real-time, allowing businesses to focus on innovation rather than debugging.

Key Features:

  • Cloud monitoring (AWS, Google, and Azure)
  • Container monitoring (Kubernetes)
  • Dynamic services monitoring
  • Configuration monitoring

Reasons to Buy:

  • Cloud-based service
  • No-agent operation
  • An attractive and functional user interface

Reasons to Avoid:

  • Internet access is required
  • Notifies you when local network operations are missing.
  • Quote-only pricing

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6. NetCrunch: Best for visual monitoring

Pricing: $1500.00 one-time per user.

NetCrunch is a network monitoring application that allows you to keep track of traffic, topology, devices, systems, logs, and services. It’s all about policy, and a template-based setup makes it simple to manage thousands of nodes. It creates layer-2 maps automatically and maintains monitoring dependencies. NetCrunch is compatible with a wide range of operating systems, virtualization platforms, and cloud services. Complete SNMP support, including over 8,700 MIBs and a built-in MIB compiler. 

Key Features:

  • Comprehensive (agent-less) monitoring
  • 400+ Monitoring Packs
  • Flexible visualization

Reasons to Buy:

  • Powerful visualization software
  • Fine-tuned alert management

Reasons to Avoid:

  • Demands local installation
  • No administrative functionality with web access.

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7. Nagios XI: Best for customization and extensions

Pricing: Starts at $1,995

Nagios XI is intended for a wide range of users, including freelancers, SMBs, and major companies. The XI pricing plan from Nagios is one of the most versatile. They offer a free, open-source, one-time license, and subscription model. It is one of the few tools that provide extraordinary versatility (because of its adaptability to plug-ins) in terms of what is watched and alerted at a reasonable cost.

Key Features:

  • Powerful dashboards
  • Integrated web-based configuration interface
  • Highest degree of monitoring server performance

Reasons to Buy:

  • Flexible alerting options
  • Robust API

Reasons to Avoid:

  • Many configuration files are quite difficult for users to set up.

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8. DataDog: Best for Managing Cloud Services

Pricing: 14-day free trial

The monitoring software Datadog gives you complete visibility into your cloud or hybrid networks. It is in charge of network device performance. It’s a cloud-based application that searches for and recognizes all connected devices.

Key Features:

  • Container monitoring
  • Cloud workload security platform
  • Incident management

Reasons to Buy:

  • Supports every service stack
  • Customizable views

Reasons to Avoid:

  • No automated device detection
  • Agent-based architecture

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References and Links

  • https://www.guru99.com/network-monitoring-tools.html
  • https://www.pcwdld.com/best-network-monitoring-tools-and-software
  • https://www.getapp.com/it-management-software/a/adrem-netcrunch/
  • https://www.capterra.com/p/132892/LogicMonitor/#features
  • https://www.nagios.com/products/nagios-xi/#pricing

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