Network device Monitoring Tools

There are several tools and utilities available for network monitoring, including both open-source and paid applications. Given the high demand for network performance monitoring software, this is, on the one hand, good news for IT administrators. On the other hand, it might be challenging to select the ideal solution for your own infrastructure given the broad variety of network monitoring tools available. To determine whether the monitoring tool suits your company’s objectives, the majority of solutions provide a free trial.

What is network monitoring?

Network monitoring is the process of continuously checking the health of the various IT infrastructure parts in order to prevent problems like system failures and to ensure that the network is operating as intended. Network monitoring can also be used to raise a network’s effectiveness.

System administrators should get insights into the performance, connection, availability, use, and security of IT networks with the help of comprehensive network monitoring tools. The physical network layer (such as the functionality of servers, routers, firewalls, switches, etc.), the application layer (such as the connectivity and accessibility of applications, services, etc.), virtualized environments, network traffic, and data flow should all be monitored.

There are several network device monitoring tools available that specialize in monitoring and managing network devices. These tools offer features such as real-time monitoring, performance tracking, alerting, configuration management, and more. Here are some popular network device monitoring tools:

SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM):

• • SolarWinds NPM provides comprehensive network device monitoring with real-time visibility into device performance, availability, and health.
  • It offers features like device discovery, SNMP monitoring, network mapping, and customizable dashboards.
  • NPM also provides advanced alerting, reporting, and capacity planning capabilities.

ManageEngine OpManager:

• • OpManager offers network device monitoring capabilities to track the health and performance of network devices.
  • It supports SNMP monitoring, device discovery, bandwidth monitoring, and configuration management.
  • OpManager provides features such as real-time alerts, root cause analysis, and reporting.

PRTG Network Monitor:

• • PRTG Network Monitor enables monitoring of network devices, including routers, switches, firewalls, and more.
  • It provides SNMP-based monitoring, real-time device status, bandwidth monitoring, and traffic analysis.
  • PRTG offers customizable dashboards, alerting, and detailed reporting options.

What does a good network monitoring tool include?

Most of the following elements should be covered by a decent network monitoring tools solution:

• Simple setup and installation; ideally with auto-discovery functionality that finds network devices automatically
• user interfaces that are simple to use and, ideally, offer a variety of interface choices
• Various representations of the network and its individual components on a single pane of glass, such as dashboards, maps, graphs, and diagrams; ideally with drill-down and customization possibilities to obtain more in-depth insights.
• A sophisticated alerting system that sends warnings over numerous communication channels and uses colour coding to highlight problems; ideally with customization options so you may establish your own alert thresholds
• Reporting features for various users, ideally with a timetable report option
• A backup plan in place in case of the network monitoring tool’s operating system malfunctions, ensuring high availability

The underlying technologies of all enterprises globally are networks. It is crucial to provide administrative support for your staff as well as your clients all over the world. The networks assist you in keeping information centrally located, available to people who require it and limiting all other incoming requests. How then do you maintain your quickly changing network while continuing to offer a top-notch end-user experience? Only by using dependable, real-time network monitoring solutions to continuously track the availability, health, and performance of your networks.

The specifications for a network monitoring tool

It’s necessary to consider both your current and future demands when choosing a network monitoring tool for your IT environment because picking the best one from a variety of options is essential. Among the necessary components for a network monitoring tool are:

1. Real time monitoring
2. Comprehensive monitoring capabilities
3. Scalability
4. Automation
5. User Management

Real-time monitoring

Every IT administrator attempts to prevent the dread of having end users discover that their network is down. Real-time performance information about your network must be provided by the network monitoring application and its reporting tools. This aids in early performance glitch detection and potential outage avoidance.

Comprehensive monitoring capabilities

Employing separate network monitoring tools for Windows and Linux environments, as well as for monitoring different network components such as switches/routers, servers, virtual environments, HCI, applications, storage devices, etc., is more trouble than it is worth because the tools themselves need constant management, additional resources, and there is a learning curve associated with each network monitoring tool. As a result, the tools for monitoring network performance should provide extensive monitoring from a single console.

Scalability

A crucial factor to take into account when choosing enterprise network monitoring solutions is network scalability. When a network management tool or network monitoring software is more flexible to adapt to the shifting needs or demands of the business or customers, this is referred to as being scalable. A network can maintain parity with rising productivity, trends, shifting requirements, and new innovations with the aid of scalability. Scalability makes ensuring that even as the network grows in size, the overall performance does not suffer noticeably. Tools for remote network monitoring are also necessary for businesses to manage various sites from a single interface.

Automation

Automation aids network monitoring tools in responding depending on threshold levels or the fulfillment of predefined rules or criteria. The monitoring network tools can do a lot more with automation, such as predict storage expansion, provide alert alerts, and automatically identify and fix issues (proactive monitoring). Automation comes in very handy and saves you a tonne of time and money when you’re managing several devices in your environment, making it a crucial usability feature of your network monitoring solutions.

User Management

By restricting access to only the designated users, user management aids companies in ensuring network security. The network monitoring tool should specify the scope for users in addition to granting access to individuals with certain roles. This aids IT teams with several employees by defining their operational parameters. The aforementioned advantages of network monitoring tools are exceptionally beneficial to your company.

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