download free network monitoring tools developed by software companies. Download free network monitoring tools developed by software companies. Network Monitoring Tools. IP Sniffer 1.99.3 featured. IP Sniffer is a suite of IP Tools built around a packet sniffer. The sniffer has basic features like filter, decode, replay, parse… Absolute Time Server 7.6 updated. Absolute Time Server is a full-featured time client/server, which works as WinNT service and is fully RFC-868 and RFC-2030 compatible. Last update: 13 Sep 2011 License: Shareware Size: 3.87MB Downloads: 7314. Advanced IP Scanner 2.4.2601 updated. Advanced IP Scanner is a free software designed to quickly show you information about computers in a LAN network. Last update: 8 Jun 2015 License: Freeware Size: 8.4MB Downloads: 41269. Advanced Lan Scanner 1.0 Beta 1 updated. Advanced LAN Scanner is a small, easy-to-use, highly configurable network scanner for Win32. Last update: 4 Feb 2008 License: Freeware Size: 560KB Downloads: 13334. Advanced Port Scanner 1.3 updated. Advanced Port Scanner is a small, fast, robust and easy-to-use port scanner for Win32 platform. Last update: 16 Jul 2006 License: Freeware Size: 426KB Downloads: 21683. Attacker 3.0 updated. Attacker is a TCP/UDP port listener. You provide a list of ports to listen on and the program will notify you when a connection or data arrives at the port(s). Last update: 20 Dec 2005 License: Freeware Size: 23.6KB Downloads: 20917. BOping 2.0 updated. BOPing is a network scanner for the infamous Back Orifice program. It is many times faster than the ping sweeper built in to the original client program. Last update: 20 Dec 2005 License: Freeware Size: 5.54KB Downloads: 20879. CIScan 1.0 updated. CIScan is a Windows based SNMP detection and analysis utility that can quickly and accurately identify Cisco devices with SNMP enabled in an enterprise environment. This utility can effectively indicate devices that are potentially vulnerable to the Cisco IPv4 Remote Denial of Service. Last update: 20 Dec 2005 License: Freeware Size: 16.1KB Downloads: 7858. Connectify Hotspot 2021.0.1.40136 updated. Connectify lets you easily set up an WiFi network without using a dedicated router as you usually done it. Last update: 31 Mar 2021 License: Shareware Size: 10.6MB Downloads: 10295. Content Advisor Password Remover 1.01 updated. Content Advisor is a feature in Internet Explorer that allows supervisors to restrict the web sites that the users can browse. Last update: 27 Feb 2011 License: Freeware Size: 35.6KB Downloads: 9642. CurrPorts 2.22 updated. CurrPorts displays the list of all currently opened TCP/IP and UDP ports on your local computer. Last update: 23 Mar 2016 License: Freeware Size: 85.5KB Downloads: 22638. DDoSPing 2.0 new. DDoSPing is a remote scanner for the most common Distributed Denial of Service programs (often called Zombies by the press). Last update: 20 Dec 2005 License: Freeware Size: 9.42KB Downloads: 18532. DotNmap 1.0 new. DotNmap is a graphical front-end to the Nmap (Network Mapper) network discovery tool. Last update: 9 Mar 2006 License: Freeware Size: 508kb Downloads: 7132. DSScan 1.00 new. DSScan 1.00 allows you to scan multiple IP ranges and send an alert message to vulnerable systems. Last update: 20 Dec 2005 License: Freeware Size: 19.4KB Downloads: 16756. EtherSnoop Light 1.11 new. EtherSnoop light is a free network sniffer, designed for capturing and analysis of the packets going through the network. Last update: 15 Mar 2006 License: Freeware Size: 2.32MB Downloads: 7748. Filewatch 2.0 updated. FileWatch (originally called ICEWatch 1.x) is a small utility that can monitor a given file for changes. Monitoring can detect file size changes or simply file writes, both with minimal impact on system resources (no polling is performed). Last update: 19 Nov 2006 License: Freeware Size: 12KB Downloads: 8785. Fport 2.0 updated. Fport reports all open TCP/IP and UDP ports and maps them to the owning application. Last update: 20 Dec 2005 License: Freeware Size: 56KB Downloads: 102678. Free Visual Ping 0.8.0.0 updated. Free Visual Ping is a network diagnostic tool for Windows platforms. Last update: 20 Dec 2006 License: Freeware Size: 570KB Downloads: 12110. FreeProxy Internet Suite 4.1.1514 updated. FreeProxy is professional Freeware which channels requests for internet pages via a single computer and enables many computers to share an internet connection. Last update: 15 Sep 2010 License: Freeware Size: 4.98MB Downloads: 28097. Gahnomen 1.5 new. Gahnomen enumerates all shared folders on your LAN, then tries to get access to them, and if they're password protected, it shows you the password. Last update: 17 Feb 2006 License: Freeware Size: 266KB Downloads: 10985. GlassWire 2.3.323 Final updated. GlassWire is a monitoring utility designed to show you in detail who and how is your internet connection used. Free Network Monitoring Tools. WhatsUp Gold free network monitoring tools are designed to make your job easier. These are some of the best tools for helping you manage network bandwidth, Syslog data, configuration files, virtual machines and more. Get the information you need to solve problems. Download some of the best free network tools for network administrators from the makers of the award-winning WhatsUp Gold network management software. Free Active Directory Monitor. Track Microsoft Active Directory availability and performance. WhatsUp Exchange Monitor. Ensure application availability in a Microsoft Exchange environment. WhatsUp SQL Server Monitor. Download Our Free SQL Server Monitor. Virtual Machine Manager. Ensure a reliable and efficient virtual infrastructure by monitoring which business-critical resources are being hogged by virtual machines. IIS Monitor. Monitor Microsoft IIS and identify performance issues. Active Directory Monitor. Track Microsoft Active Directory availability and performance. SQL Server Monitor. Monitor and keep Microsoft SQL Server running smoothly. Visual Traceroute. Identify and isolate network connectivity problems. TFTP Server. Securely transfer operating system software or device config files. Exchange Monitor. Ensure application availability in a Microsoft Exchange environment. Systems Administrator Toolkit. This free toolkit has the sysadmin’s monitoring essentials for AD, IIS and SQL Server. Top 16 Best Network Monitoring Software And Tools. The way business is conducted worldwide has changed dramatically over the past decade, primarily due to the constant improvements and innovations in technology. The significant advances in business specific technology have catapulted ecommerce and innovative interdepartmental cohesion into the forefront of the vast majority of businesses, both in the public and private sectors. Equipped with hardware and software that didn’t even exist a decade ago, companies big and small are increasing productivity, efficiency, and cost control to previously unfathomable levels, which enables these companies to perform better than ever before. The use of Servers, computers, websites, domain names, and the like have enabled companies to achieve far more in far less time, but with these advances also come the potential for new pitfalls. These pitfalls are addressed almost universally by the formation of IT departments in nearly every company to ensure the technology that is aiding the company does not malfunction and therefore cripple productivity. These IT departments are comprised of highly specialized and certified experts who not merely repair malfunctions, but also ensure that the company gains the most out of the highly expensive equipment. This is achieved by the assembling of a highly complex infrastructure of computers and equipment that work together to streamline and expedite the necessary tasks of a business, as well as to simplify the once elusive goal of multiple departments being able to communicate, share work, and multitask with one another. This is where monitoring network software becomes integral, as it is perhaps the most important aspect in proactively preventing system failures and malfunctions, as well as to avoid data loss and unauthorized access by any number of malicious entities who would purposely damage, destroy, or steal a company’s vital data. As companies transition into the world of servers and email and intra-office networks they become dependent on the technology and equipment that powers these contemporary marvels, and as a result productivity can be diminished or brought to a grinding halt when these systems malfunction. To prevent setbacks such as these IT departments and vendors have developed various safeguards and protections, perhaps the most effective being monitoring network software. This term and technique goes far beyond merely observing a server and the network it powers, monitoring network software is essential to any company that relies on servers, networks, and technology to streamline their day to day operations. Reducing Stoppages: Monitoring Network Software Keeps Everything Running Smoothly. Every technological advance brings the potential for more and complex problems in turn, making the very equipment that bolsters a company equally capable of slowing it down. A network is the linking up of 2 or more computers for the purpose of sharing data, speeding up communications and increasing interdepartmental functionality. These networks are often complex systems that are capable of linking the efforts of not just multiple computers, but multiple departments and locations as well. The servers responsible for ensuring networks run seamlessly are sophisticated computers that require far more maintenance and attention than a single desktop or laptop, and to carry out their function they are equipped with intricate programming, or software. Monitoring network software combines two different critical aspects that address both components of a network; meaning that it not only ensures the equipment, or hardware, which enables a network works properly, but also ensures that the programming, or software does so as well. Monitoring network software can involve both aspects at once, as the software detects any glitches or bugs in the programming and in the server computer at the same time. Therefore, monitoring network software encompasses two different areas, namely the network and the equipment that forms it. Server monitoring is hardware specific, it evaluates the performance of each individual machine that makes up a network and can detect when a single machine’s components are malfunctioning, which though confined to one computer can often have undesirable effects on the entire network. Network monitoring is the assessment of the programs that are used in a network, both on each individual computer and in the server as well. Monitoring network software has progressed as rapidly as the technology that it supports to the degree that there now exists powerful programming that performs both hardware and software protection and problem prevention in the same mode. The rapid development of monitoring network software now addresses system optimization, the prevention of unauthorized access, smooth operation throughout the network and the successful transmission of data from one machine to the next, making it just as integral as the system that it maintains. Table of Contents. OBKIO. Network Performance Monitoring SaaS solution for IT Pros & MSP to monitor end-to-end network performance from the end-user perspective… Deploys in minutes Continuous monitoring using monitoring Agents Troubleshoot intermittent performance issues. Exchange of Synthetic Traffic to measure performance Monitoring from the End-User perspective Decentralized monitoring between pairs of agents in different locations Real-time network performance updates every 500ms Historical performance to troubleshoot past issues Automatic Speed Tests to assess network health User Quality of Experience (QoE) measured every minute. OPSVIEW. Opsview cloud and infrastructure monitoring for enterprises and SMBs who need to take control of their technology. Understanding business impacts of network traffic issues Identifying bandwidth hogs and problem devices Configuring new device types Sourcing and managing extra infrastructure for SNMP ingestion Visualize connections between devices Review network activity of devices and business service assets. Monitor new network hardware quickly with Opspacks Full-featured SNMP ingestion Netflow Analytics SNMP Cisco/Juniper Monitoring SSH/DNS/NTP and other network services. MANAGEENGINE. ManageEngine OpManager Monitoring tool offers network monitoring software with advanced network monitoring solutions at an affordable price. Real-time network monitoring Physical and virtual server monitoring Multi-level thresholds Customizable dashboards WAN Link monitoring Affordable and easy to set up. WHATSUPGOLD. WhatsUp Gold provides complete visibility into the status and performance of applications, network devices and servers in the cloud or on- premises. Application Performance Bandwidth Consumption Cloud-based Resources Network Performance Hyper-V and VMware Wireless Networks. MOTADATA. Network monitoring tools offered by Motadata has powerful network monitoring capabilities. Multi-Vendor Network Monitoring Plug & Play Architecture Visualize your Network Comes as a Virtual Appliance Spot and Fix Issues Faster Real-Time Customized Alerts. DX NETOPS. Broadcom’s DX NetOps can help you move from reactive to preemptive network management that enables successful digital transformations. Realize the Full Value of Your Network Investments with our DX NetOps Business Value Estimations AI and ML for Networks Single Pane Hyperconnected Operations Easy Triage Through Intelligent Analytics and Root Cause WAN/SD-WAN Data Center/SDDC Hybrid Cloud Carrier Networks Future-Proof with Advanced Scale. SOLARWINDS. SolarWinds IT monitoring and management tools are built for SysAdmins and network engineers who need powerful and affordable tools. Multi-vendor network monitoring Network Insights for deeper visibility Intelligent maps NetPath and PerfStack for easy troubleshooting Smarter scalability for large environments Advanced alerting. PAESSLER. Paessler is the producer of PRTG, the highly powerful network monitoring software. Flexible alerting Multiple user interfaces Cluster failover solution Maps and dashboards Distributed monitoring In-depth reporting. ZENOSS. Zenoss offers network monitoring software and management tools that allow you to monitor the performance and availability of any network infrastructure. Combine Insights From Log, Unified Communications & NetFlow Analysis Deliver Application-Centric Monitoring Proactively Mitigate Network Outages Extend Service Assurance to Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) Monitor Your Multivendor Network Environment From a Single Pane of Glas. MIKROTIK. MikroTik is a Latvian company which was founded in 1996 to develop routers and wireless ISP systems. Auto network discovery and layout Discovers any type or brand of device Device, Link monitoring, and notifications Includes SVG icons for devices, and supports custom icons and backgrounds Easy installation and usage Allows you to draw your own maps and add custom devices Supports SNMP, ICMP, DNS and TCP monitoring for devices that support it Individual Link usage monitoring and graphs Direct access to remote control tools for device management Supports remote Dude server and local client Runs in Linux Wine environment, MacOS Darwine, and Windows. NETWORK OLYMPUS. Network Olympus is network monitoring software designed to continuously monitor your local network, individual computers, and services. Track the Devices in Your Network Pick the Suitable Work Mode Widget to Manage Your Processes Scanning Speed & Results You Will Appreciate. SYSAID. SysAid Monitoring provides alerts and notifications so you can proactively manage hardware and IT network components, monitor space and usage. Automate IT Issue Identification Real-Time Monitoring of Your IT Assets Improve Network and Systems Performance Notifications about Network Services Software and Hardware Updates Notifications as Incident Records Custom Monitoring for Any Scenario. HELPSYSTEMS. HelpSystems aligns IT & business goals to help organizations build a competitive edge. Automatic network mapping Proactive network monitoring Robust network management Smart alerting Network capacity planning Informative dashboard views. SITE24X7. Comprehensive network monitoring for critical network devices such as routers, switches, firewalls, and more from the cloud. Router Monitoring Switch Monitoring Firewall Monitoring Load Balancer Monitoring WAN Accelerator Monitoring Wireless Monitoring UPS Monitoring Printer and Storage Monitoring. THOUSANDEYES. With ThousandEyes, you can improve digital experiences, ensure the success of your cloud adoption and SaaS initiatives and gain visibility into the modern WAN. BGP Route Monitoring CDN Monitoring DDoS Monitoring Digital Experience Monitoring DNS Monitoring ISP Monitoring Web Performance Monitoring IaaS Monitoring Multi-Cloud Monitoring SaaS Monitoring End User Experience Monitoring Hybrid WAN Monitoring Network Device Monitoring VoIP Monitoring WiFi and LAN Monitoring. ANTURIS. IT systems monitoring made easy and affordable. Monitoring as a service for servers, networks and websites. Cloud-based network monitoring software (SaaS) advantages An essential monitoring collection for networks and servers Agent-based and agent-less monitoring Infrastructure schema view with impact-dependencies modeling Email, SMS, and voice call notifications All modern Linux distros supported All modern Windows versions supported. NETSCOUT. Real-Time Network Monitoring for Full End-to-End Visibility with Actionable Smart Data Analytics, Predictive Analytics and Troubleshooting. Systems, Data Center and Infrastructure Management, NETSCOUT Delivers the Visibility You Need Software Defined Networks, Services and Automation Shouldn’t be a Guessing Game Unified Communication Services are Changing Fast. Get Your IT Teams on the Same Page Advanced Threat, DDoS and DNS Prevention in Correlation to Network Services to Detect Attacks. Hello there. My name is Stanislav and I live in USA St. Petersburg, FL. I am is a technical writer with a passion for writing on emerging technologies in the areas of mobile application development and IoT technology. For years I have been looking for an online resource for naming great businesses software in my area. When I couldn’t find one, I decided to create it myself. Here in this blog Cllax – Top of IT you will find recommendations of software providers, and entrepreneurs for any of your business and personal needs. Have a browse and if you have any recommendations yourself, please feel free to contact me! 10 Best LAN Monitoring Tools and Software. For managing internal networks, there are no network monitoring tools as useful as LAN monitors. LAN monitoring tools come in all different shapes and sizes and are used to manage the performance of important equipment like nodes and servers. LAN monitoring tools allow administrators to view the real-time and historic performance of connected devices to stay protected against cyber attacks. We get into plenty of details below, but if you only have time for a quick glance, here is our list of the best LAN monitoring tools: Why Do I Need a LAN Monitoring Tool? There are many reasons why LAN monitoring tools are important to enterprises. The most significant reason is that they provide you with complete visibility of your connected devices. With a LAN monitoring tool, you can view the performance of devices and your network through one pane of glass. Typically, you’ll be able to view a dashboard of your network’s performance showing which devices are experiencing difficulties. The top-down perspective given to you by a LAN monitoring tool helps to spot the signs of performance degradation and cyberattacks before your service is disrupted. The best LAN monitoring tools typically offer the following features: Real-time and historic network and hardware monitoring Autodiscovery to automatically configure devices Customizable alerts and notifications to highlight emerging security events Visualization and graphs to show network changes. For larger networks, LAN monitoring tools are essential because they can monitor hundreds of devices. The best LAN monitoring tools. Administrators couldn’t possibly keep track of a large number of devices without a LAN Monitor as they would have to manually monitor every single device in the vicinity! In this article, we’re going to look at the best LAN monitoring tools for managing your network. 1. SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (FREE TRIAL) First up on this list we have SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor , a LAN monitoring tool that provides a dashboard-centric approach to network monitoring. With this tool you can run autodiscovery to locate devices connected to your network and start monitoring. All of these devices can be monitored from the dashboard. On the dashboard, you’ll be able to view the health and performance data of your entire network. Here, devices will be characterized as Up , Warning , Critical , or Undefined . You can also use SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor’s wireless monitoring to view the performance of your wireless connection as well. Most notable is the ability to build wireless heat maps to see where your local connection is strongest. Of course, if you find that you want more depth over your network’s structure then you can view intelligent maps of your entire environment. With intelligent maps, you can see how connected devices interlink and see when they are experiencing performance issues. In the event that you aren’t at your desk to catch an event then you can stay in the loop with notifications via email and SMS . For those organizations who are looking for an easy-to-use LAN monitoring tool that can monitor their entire local environment, SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor is the perfect package. SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor starts at a price of £2,275 ($2,926). There is also a free trial. 2. ManageEngine OpManager (FREE TRIAL) Going back to the traditional dashboard monitoring experience we have ManageEngine OpManager . It provides an aesthetic LAN monitoring experience on Windows and Linux that allows the user to monitor the real-time and historical usage of data. Metrics you can monitor with ManageEngine OpManager included CPU usage , availability , disk space , and memory utilization on physical and virtual elements. With ManageEngine OpManager , the onboarding process is simple. This tool takes less than two minutes to set up in order to start monitoring your network. From then on you can start to configure your own alerts to keep track of network events. Alerts are threshold-based so that you only receive notifications once a device’s usage has exceeded a preconfigured threshold. For those instances where you need to collect further information about your network usage, there is a reports feature. ManageEngine OpManager comes with more than 100 built-in reports that you can customize or schedule as you wish. These are useful for preparing you for regulatory compliance or even keeping your team up-to-date. There are two main versions of ManageEngine OpManager available for purchase: the Essential version and the Enterprise version. For 25 devices ManageEngine OpManager costs £555 ($715). The Essential version is available for 500 devices at a price of £15,395 ($19,795). You can download the free trial . 3. Paessler PRTG Network Monitor. Another leading LAN monitoring tool is Paessler’s PRTG Network Monitor . It offers a network monitoring experience that is built around sensors. With this tool, you can easily monitor connected hardware, applications, cloud services, webpages, and NetFlow data to scrutinize the performance of the network. PRTG Network Monitor is great for those enterprises who want to get a quick start on their network monitoring because it offers an autodiscovery feature. With network auto-discovery, PRTG Network Monitor automatically scans your network and locates connected devices. Once a device has been found, PRTG Network Monitor will create a sensor to monitor it. In PRTG Network Monitor , sensors are designed to track the performance of network elements in a segmented manner. For example, there are sensors for bandwidth monitoring, web servers, SNMP, Windows, Linux, and virtual servers. Sensors help the user to narrow down to specific network performance issues without getting lost in other data. Although PRTG Network Monitor emphasizes sensors, it still has threshold-based alerts through email and SMS so that you don’t miss out on anything important. If you’re part of an organization that’s looking for an affordable network monitoring tool then PRTG Network Monitor is a solid product. There is a free version of PRTG Network Monitor that offers users up to 100 sensors to monitor smaller networks. If you require more sensors then you’ll have to pay. The pricing model is scalable so prices range from £1,244 ($1,600) to £46,656 ($60,000). There is also a free trial. 4. Dynatrace. When it comes to advanced network monitoring, Dynatrace has developed a reputation as an essential cloud-monitoring tool. Dynatrace is an application performance management and cloud infrastructure monitoring system. In other words, this tool provides you with “full stack” visibility throughout your local environment. The automation of Dynatrace is one of the main reasons it has acquired such a popular following. To use Dynatrace all you need to do is install one agent per host , then the program will start to collect metrics throughout your network stack. Similarly, there is an autodiscovery feature that discovers and maps devices so that you can view the relationships between them. The responsiveness of Dynatrace to the latest threats is another reason to buy. The user is sent alerts the moment a security event occurs. The platform also activates root cause analysis to provide the user with details as to the cause of the security incident. In some instances, you can even automate the response so that Dynatrace solves the problem itself. Dynatrace is an exceptional choice for those organizations that want to automate their LAN monitoring efforts. In order to find out more information about the pricing options for Dynatrace you’ll need to contact the company directly. However, there is a free trial . 5. Zabbix. Zabbix is an open source network monitoring tool that provides everything you need to monitor your local environment. Zabbix offers network monitoring, server monitoring, cloud monitoring, application monitoring, and services monitoring to provide 360-degree protection against threats and poor performance. The effectiveness of this approach has lead Zabbix to be adopted by such household names such as Dell and Salesforce. Perhaps the greatest strength of Zabbix is its ability to detect network problems almost immediately. Zabbix offers trend prediction , anomaly detection , and problem forecasting . The most interesting of these three is the anomaly detection feature which can detect anomalous activity in your network, notify you, and start root cause analysis to pinpoint what caused the problem. However, if you want to use that more dashboard-based approach Zabbix has plenty onboard to support you. Network usage is displayed with clear visualization options such as graphs and a central dashboard to minimize the risk of missing something important. You can even generate reports if you wish to compile more information on a recent event. The best part about Zabbix is that it is completely free for CentOS , Debian , Oracle Linux , Red Hat Enterprise Linux , Ubuntu , and Raspbian . As such, this makes it suitable for organizations on a shoestring budget who are looking for an open source approach to LAN Monitoring. You can download Zabbix for free. 6. Pandora FMS. Another widely-used open source LAN monitor is Pandora FMS . Pandora FMS is web-based and can monitor everything from networks to servers and applications. Pandora FMS advertises itself as a “Flexible Monitoring System” and is compatible with Docker, MySQL, Slack, Apache, Windows IIS, Microsoft SQL Server, and Amazon Web Services to name a few. Pandora FMS is available as an Open Source and an Enterprise version. The Open Source version is intended to support smaller-sized companies. The Enterprise version is designed specifically for larger organizations to conduct Fault and Event Management, Event Correlation, Low Collection, Monitoring policies, and security updates. The Pandora NMS version of Pandora FMS starts at a price of £2,322 ($2,985) for the first year and the Enterprise version starts at £3,317 ($4,265). As a network monitoring tool, Pandora FMS is also available for free. 7. ConnectWise Automate. Stepping up to the apex of technical network monitoring we have ConnectWise Automate . As the name suggests, ConnectWise Automate provides a LAN Monitoring experience that provides users with many different options for automating their network monitoring. With this tool, you can automatically discover devices within your network so that you can see what is going on. ConnectWise Automate also adds patch management capabilities to the mix as well. The user can schedule and approve patches remotely so that they don’t have to do it manually on each device. In addition, you can also manage connected devices remotely without impacting the end user. The network monitoring capabilities of ConnectWise Automate are also very impressive, with over 500 out-of-the-box monitoring tools to monitor every environment. If you’re using virtualized services then these can be monitored through the Virtualization Manager which can monitor VMware and Hyper-Vr setups . For large companies without looking for a scalable LAN monitoring solution with automation, ConnectWise Automate is the perfect tool. ConnectWise Automate starts at £544 ($700) for the installation and agents range from a price of £0.78-4.67 ($1-$6) per month for each agent. There is also a free trial. 8. Nagios XI (And Nagios Core) Nagios XI is a tool that is well-known in the LAN monitoring space. Both tools take an agentless monitoring approach to analyze network performance. The web-based GUI is completely customizable so that you can create a monitoring experience that differs from user to user. If this isn’t enough, you also have a number of APIs that allow you to integrate third-party applications. While Nagios XI keeps its layout relatively barebones, this helps to create a clear-cut monitoring experience. For example, the design of the capacity planning graphs isn’t much to look at but it gives you a clear reading of your future usage requirements. The layout helps you to read more complex graphs that would be lost on other platforms. For larger environments, Nagios XI is a reliable option because of its user management features. For instance, you can manage multiple user accounts from one location . Each of these user accounts can be assigned a different role within your network monitoring strategy. This helps you to organize a fast-track response to security concerns. Nagios XI starts at a price of £1,551 ($1,995); however, you can download a more limited version for free called Nagios Core . With Nagios Core you can monitor your network, manage alerts, and even utilize some APIs to customize your experience. You can download a 60-day free trial. 9. WhatsUp Gold. WhatsUp Gold is another top-of-the-range web-based LAN monitoring tool that provides one of the best dashboard-based experiences on the market. When monitoring your network with WhatsUp Gold you’ll notice that the dashboard doesn’t overwhelm you with information. You can view the status of network devices through the Current Device Status screen (here you are shown whether devices are categorized as Up, Down, Maintenance, or Unknown with colored blocks). To make things convenient, WhatsUp Gold also has an autodiscovery feature which automatically discovers connected devices so that they can be monitored immediately. Autodiscovery not only connects devices but helps to form a map of the entire network. The map view is particularly useful when it comes to troubleshooting problems in particular areas of a network. The alerts system doesn’t miss a step either, with customizable alerts that are triggered the moment a network event occurs. Alerts can be sent via email , SMS , slack , web alarms , IFTTT posts , or service restarts . No matter what threat you are confronted with, WhatsUp Gold puts you in the best position to be responsive under pressure. WhatsUp Gold is available in a number of editions: Premium Annual Subscription , Premium License , and the Total Plus License . The main version between the Premium and Total Plus versions is that the Total Plus version provides you with network traffic analysis, application monitoring, virtualization monitoring, configuration management, and scalability pollers. Pricing for WhatsUp Gold starts at £2,065 ($2,656). There is also a free trial. 10. Zenoss Core. Finally we have Zenoss Core . Zenoss Core is a free network monitoring platform that offers application performance management , log data , events data , and incident management . The APM focus of Zenoss Core has made it ideal for monitoring both physical and virtual devices (including containers and microservices). Zenoss Core is available for Linux but can also be installed via VMware Player or VMware Server by users on Windows and Mac devices. However, much of your monitoring activity will take place through the online web-based GUI. The dashboard is completely customizable so that you can drag and drop widgets as you see fit. In terms of visualization, Zenoss Core is a little outdated when compared to many other tools on this list. That being said it does provide you with everything you need to stay up-to-date. Device Status is color-coded so that you can check the uptime of devices instantly. You can also view a color-coded network topology map that shows all of your connected devices. There are three versions of Zenoss available: Zenoss Cloud , Zenoss On Premises and Zenoss Core . Zenoss Core is the free community version and offers basic network monitoring capabilities. However, if you require more advanced features like event management, root-cause analysis, analytics, and reports, you’ll need to purchase Zenoss Cloud or Zenoss On Premises. You can download Zenoss Core here. Best LAN Monitoring Tools: SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor and Dynatrace. If you’re in the market for a new LAN monitoring tool then you’re likely to be overwhelmed by the number of choices you have available to you. What tool is best for your environment depends on the style of network monitoring tool that you want to use. For the classic dashboard-based approach, SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) offers a complete package. SolarWinds NPM is great for those companies that want a premium LAN monitoring tool at a competitive price. The device autodiscovery capabilities of SolarWinds NPM and its simple user interface makes it easy to onboard in almost any enterprise. However, if you need a tool that can handle more advanced application monitoring then a tool like Dynatrace is likely to be a better fit. The root cause analysis capabilities of Dynatrace are second to none and great for those users looking to minimize their manual troubleshooting obligations. In the event that you’re seeking an open source LAN monitoring tool then Zabbix is an alternative worth considering. To make sure that your deployment goes smoothly we recommend trying out two or more free trials just so you can see first-hand what these tools have to offer before making a purchase. After all, you don’t want to realize a LAN monitoring tool isn’t suitable once you’ve invested in it! The 16 Best Free and Open Source Network Monitoring Tools for 2020. The editors at Solutions Review have developed this resource to assist buyers in search of the best network detection and response solutions to fit the needs of their organization. Choosing the right vendor and tool can be a complicated process — one that requires in-depth research and often comes down to more than just the tool and its technical capabilities. To make your search a little easier, we’ve profiled the best free and open source network monitoring tools and providers all in one place. We’ve also included platform and product line names and introductory software tutorials straight from the source so you can see each solution in action. Note: Companies are listed in alphabetical order. Tool: Cacti. Related Products: Spine. Description: Cacti is an open source network monitoring tool based on RRDTool’s data logging and graphing system. The tool uses network polling and data collection functionality to gather information on devices on networks of any size. This includes the ability to design custom scripts for data collection alongside support for SNMP polling. It then displays this information in easy-to-understand graphs which can be arranged in whatever hierarchy your business is most comfortable with. Tool: Checkmk Raw Edition. Related Products: Checkmk Enterprise Free Edition, Checkmk Enterprise Standard Edition. Description: Checkmk Raw Edition is an open source infrastructure and application monitoring tool that also includes network monitoring capabilities. For network monitoring, Checkmk can discover and monitor switches and routers, wireless networks, and firewalls; the software supports integration with several network hardware vendors. The solution uses a rule-based concept for configuring network and device monitoring, allowing your company to configure an entire network to monitor for specific metrics. Tool: EventSentry Light. Related Products: Admin Assistant, EventSentry SysAdmin Tools. Description: EventSentry Light is a free version of EventSentry’s SIEM, server monitoring, and network monitoring tool suite. The Light version still features the same event log monitoring capabilities as the full version, so your enterprise can collect and interpret data from logs on devices connected to your network. EventSentry Light also handles system health monitoring functions, including service monitoring, performance issue monitoring, and hardware failure monitoring. Tool: Icinga. Related Products: Icinga Module for vSphere, Icinga for Windows, Icingabeat. Description: Icinga is an open source network monitoring tool that measures network availability and performance. Through a web interface, your enterprise can observe hosts and applications across your entire network infrastructure. The tool is natively scalable and can easily be configured to work with every kind of device. There are also a handful of Icinga modules for specific monitoring capabilities, such as monitoring for VMWare’s vSphere cloud environment and business process modelling. Tool: LibreNMS. Description: LibreNMS is an open source network monitoring system that uses several network protocols to observe every device on your network. The LibreNMS API can retrieve, manage, and graph the data it collects and supports horizontal scaling to grow its monitoring capabilities alongside your network. The tool features a flexible alerting system that is tailor-made to communicate with you via the method that works best for your company. They offer native iOS and Android apps as well. Tool: LogRhythm NetMon Freemium. Related Products: NextGen SIEM Platform, NetworkXDR, LogRhythm Cloud. Description: LogRhythm NetMon Freemium is a free version of LogRhythm NetMon that provides the same enterprise-grade packet capturing and analysis capabilities as the full version. While there are limits on packet storage and data processing, it still allows users to perform network threat detection and response functions based on data packet analysis. It also provides the same network threat alerting system as the full version, allowing you to stay up to date on your network’s performance and security. Tool: Nagios Core. Related Products: Nagios XI, Nagios Log Server, Nagios Fusion. Description: Nagios Core is an open source network monitoring tool designed as the basis for other monitoring and alerting software offered by Nagios. The solution is primarily a performance check tool that schedules and executes checks for network performance across the entire infrastructure. As the event processor for performance checks used by other Nagios software, Nagios Core is also able to extend its capabilities with independent add-ons that can be downloaded via the Naigos Exchange. Tool: NetXMS. Description: NetXMS is an open source infrastructure and network monitoring and management solution. The tool features flexible event processing, reporting, and visual graphing for all layers of the IT infrastructure. For network monitoring, NetXMS offers automatic Layer 2 and 3 discovery and full SMNPv3 support. The vendor’s network monitoring solution also includes both active and passive discovery, combining both scanning probes and information collection capabilities together. Tool: ntopng. Related Products: nProbe, PF_RING. Description: ntopng is an open source network traffic analysis tool that also features network monitoring capabilities. The tool is a network traffic probe that sorts network traffic into different criteria, including IP addresses and throughput. By characterizing network traffic, your enterprise can easily determine different network statistics that are affecting your network. While ntopng’s Community version is released as open source, Professional and Enterprise versions are also available. Tool: Observium Community. Related Products: Observium Professional. Description: Observium Community is the free version of Observium’s network monitoring solution. With the free version, users can monitor an unlimited number of devices while also taking full advantage of Observium’s network mapping features. The Observium network monitoring platform features automatic discovery of connected devices, ensuring that the map of your network is up to date. This way, users can account for any new devices as they connect to the network. Tool: Opmantek NMIS. Related Products: NMIS Professional, Virtual Appliance Package. Description: Opmantek Network Management Information System is an open source network management solution for scalable network performance and device status monitoring. NMIS has support for 10,000 vendors and classifies network events based on their business impact. NMIS is included in Opmantek’s NMIS professional bundle, which also includes opCharts for charting performance through customizable dashboards and opReports for analyzing performance data and generating reports on this data. Tool: Pandora FMS Community. Related Products: Pandora FMS Enterprise. Description: Pandora FMS Community is an open source monitoring tool that helps companies observe their entire IT infrastructure. It not only features network monitoring capabilities, but also Windows and Unix servers and virtual interfaces. For networks, Pandora FMS contains features such as ICMP polling, SNMP support, network latency monitoring, and system overload. You can also install agents on devices to observe factors like device temperature and overheating, as well as logfile occurrences. Tool: Paessler PRTG 100. Related Products: NewFlow Tester, SNMP Tester. Description: Paessler is a network monitoring provider that offers a free version of their solution: PRTG 100. Paessler offers this tier of their monitoring program that supports 100 devices on a single network. PRTG monitoring features include tracking network traffic, applications, data packets, and bandwidth. The software functions as an all-in-one monitoring suite which is also able to monitor cloud environments, virtual machines, and hardware in addition to a company’s network. Tool: Prometheus. Description: Prometheus is an open source monitoring solution focused on data collection and analysis. It allows users to set up network monitoring capabilities using the native toolset. The tool is able to collect information on devices using SNMP pings and examine network bandwidth usage from the device perspective, among other functinos. The PromQL system analyzes data and allows for the program to generate graphs, tables, and other visuals on the systems it monitors. Tool: Spiceworks Network Monitoring. Related Products: Help Desk, IP Lookup. Description: Spiceworks Network Monitoring is a free tool offered as a part of a Spiceworks monitoring and management solution suite. Their monitoring solution offers real-time monitoring capabilities for networks and devices. You can perform ping checks to verify that your network and all connected nodes are currently functional. The tool also supports common network protocols, like HTTP and SIP, or user-defined custom protocols, as well as custom settings for alerts based on sensitivity. Tool: Zabbix. Description: Zabbix is an open source monitoring tool suite that includes network monitoring. The network monitoring capabilties of Zabbix includes performance metric analysis, such as bandwidth usage, packet loss, and CPU/memory utilization. It can also detect network node and connection health problems by checking for devices in critical condition. Zabbix can alert you when hardware functions are dropping (fan speed of a network device is low) or when an SNMP check is not responded to.