Last Updated on June 29, 2024 by Team Experts

Having a good network is now mandatory since the pandemic has altered our lives entirely. So,here we have brought you the best monitor networking tools, so that instead of stressing about the network you can focus on your work and be more efficient towards it.

SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor

It is a comprehensive network performance monitoring tool that can monitor devices’ status using the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). This enables the interface to automatically discover network devices connected to a particular network. This application also comes with the dashboard feature, which helps monitor the availability and performance of connected network devices from a comprehensive perspective.

Another interesting feature that comes with this application is that any devices, applications, or services discovered can also be viewed on a network topology map where you can see how your infrastructure links together. Through this feature, you can also trace packet transfers hop-by-hop, which can help diagnose the origin of performance network issues more effectively. This application also has a custom alerts system, which enables you to set trigger conditions for alerts.

Atera

It is a network monitor designed for use mainly by Managed Service Providers (MSPs). In this system, you can find a range of monitor tools that mostly include server and application monitoring. This platform can run operations that an MSP’s team of technicians needs to successfully run a network. Through this application, network monitoring, maintenance, and passive system monitoring can also be handled efficiently.

The network monitoring service of Atera is also based on the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). This helps in facilitating device agent-generated alerts. It also provides a mechanism for network discovery and the ability to compile an equipment inventory automatically.

Paessler PRTG Network Monitor 

It is a free network monitoring suite that is mainly recognized for its SNMP, packet sniffing, and WMI features that monitor networks across a region. This tool features network segments to discover and add devices inside its monitoring range. Users can easily choose between a range of sensors to monitor various segments of your network. Each sensor monitors an individual value in your network. There are sensors for Bandwidth Monitoring, Hardware Parameters, data usage statistics, SNMP, VOIP and QoS, and many more.

This tool comes with a customizable dashboard that allows users to produce real-time network maps of the network infrastructure. Users can create maps with the drag-and-drop editor and use over 300 map objects to build the network map. The application also enables users to create their map objects using custom HTML codes.

Nagios Core

It is an open-source network monitor that uses a web interface for monitoring network performance. Users can easily monitor their Current Network Status with the Host Status Totals and Network Service Status Totals located at the top of the page through the user-network interface. The interface is color-coded, which makes it easy to see elements that are either unavailable or compromised.

The tool also tracks performance events via the alerts system, which sends out notifications by email and SMS. Moreover, the alerts list is also color-coded, making it easier to prioritize critical alerts on the web interface.

Another important function that comes with Nagios Core is the capacity to integrate APIs for utilizing other services. Users can easily check the Nagios Exchange for such APIs. For instance, there is a check SNMP CPU load plugin that allows users to monitor the SNMP load or CPU usage of the network device.

Icinga

It is an open-source network monitoring tool that monitors the network’s performance, cloud-service, and data center. The software is also web-based, and users can easily configure elements through the interface to monitor various services as they want.

The software comes with a dashboard to view an overview of performance management. The dashboard displays whether there are any problems with performance or availability and color-codes them according to severity. Critical or Down network devices are marked in red.

Along with all these, there are options for adding extensions or Icinga modules. These extensions allow users to add more functions to the program. For example, the Icinga Module for vSphere allows users to monitor virtual machines and host systems. All these plugins can be easily found at Icinga Exchange.

Datadog Network Performance Monitoring

This particular software is mainly based on the cloud-based SaaS infrastructure monitoring service. As the software is completely based on cloud service, users don’t have to worry about maintaining a server to run the network monitoring systems. The SaaS Datadog system includes storage space for the statistics that the network monitor reaps while constantly supervising your network’s performance.

The Datadog service is based on the SNMP for live statistics. This enables the software to monitor all devices when it first gets into service. It also observes changes as resources are added, moved, or removed from the network.

WhatsUp Gold

WhatsUp Gold by Progress is a comprehensive network monitoring solution that provides visibility into the status and performance of applications, network devices, and servers.

• Key Features:
  • Automated network discovery and mapping
  • Real-time network monitoring and alerting
  • Performance dashboards and customizable reports
  • Integrated application performance monitoring
  • Cloud and virtual infrastructure monitoring

Zabbix

Zabbix is a highly scalable open-source monitoring solution that offers extensive monitoring capabilities for networks, servers, cloud services, and applications.

• Key Features:
  • Agent-based and agentless monitoring
  • Advanced problem detection and alerting
  • Customizable dashboards and reporting
  • Scalable architecture for large environments
  • Extensive integration with other tools and APIs

Spiceworks Network Monitor

Spiceworks Network Monitor is a free tool that provides real-time monitoring and alerts for network devices and servers. It’s particularly suitable for small to medium-sized businesses.

• Key Features:
  • Real-time network monitoring
  • Detailed performance metrics and device status
  • Customizable alerts and notifications
  • Simple and user-friendly interface
  • Integration with Spiceworks IT management tools

ManageEngine OpManager

ManageEngine OpManager offers in-depth network monitoring and management capabilities, providing visibility into network performance, servers, and virtual environments.

• Key Features:
  • Real-time monitoring of network devices and servers
  • Automated network discovery and topology mapping
  • Customizable dashboards and advanced alerting
  • Support for physical, virtual, and cloud environments
  • Comprehensive reporting and analytics

Netdata

Netdata is an open-source, real-time performance monitoring tool that offers detailed insights into system and application metrics. It is lightweight and suitable for a variety of environments.

• Key Features:
  • Real-time performance monitoring
  • Detailed visualizations and interactive dashboards
  • Minimal resource usage
  • Extensive plugin ecosystem
  • Historical data retention and analysis

Pandora FMS

Pandora FMS (Flexible Monitoring System) is an open-source monitoring solution that provides comprehensive monitoring of networks, servers, applications, and business processes.

• Key Features:
  • Real-time network and server monitoring
  • Flexible alerting and notification system
  • Scalable architecture for large deployments
  • Customizable dashboards and reporting
  • Integration with various ITSM and DevOps tools

Conclusion

Network monitoring is something that every company should be doing. However, with such a huge range of network monitoring tools software and tools, choosing the right one for your environment and budget can be challenging. A range of monitoring tools and their main applications ranked from the best to the good. Since all of these applications have a free-trial period, users can easily get the hang of their features and then decide on the one to go with. Prices differ from each other as it is based on the range of features included and the duration for which the software will be used. 

Also read about: Best Wireless Routers for Every Internet User