6 min
Firstly, are you an IT professional or service provider? Secondly, do you need to monitor a network? Thirdly, are you on a hunt for the best network monitoring tools available on the market? If so, you’ve come to the right place.
This post covers the best network monitoring tools available for managing your networks remotely. Furthermore, we’ll look deeper into the best network monitoring tools for monitoring and managing your networks.
What is Network Monitoring?
Firstly, network monitoring is a practice of leveraging software to monitor, manage, maintain and configure the network and all devices connected to it. Furthermore, the software continuously checks in on the status of the network and the devices and reports problems, outages, and security risks to the operator. Moreover, As more devices get connected to IP networks, the practice of monitoring a network becomes increasingly important. Those responsible for maintaining a network such as IT professionals and service providers require comprehensive network monitoring software to maintain their networks.
Network monitoring, in short, is watching over the network and all the devices to ensure performance, reliability, stability, and security.
Firstly, network monitoring tools can cover a host of different features. Here are some of the features most frequently available on popular network monitoring software.
- Network monitoring, LAN monitoring & alerts
- Network configuration backup and restoration
- Security scanning / new device security alerts
- Automated network topology mapping
- SNMP monitoring (learn more about what is SNMP)
- Custom integrations
- Server monitoring
- Windows Monitoring
- Linux Monitoring
- Workstation / Endpoint monitoring
- Bandwidth monitoring
- Cloud monitoring
- Application monitoring
- Log monitoring
What Are The Top 6 Network Monitoring and Management Tools?
Here are some of the most popular tools service providers and MSPs are using for network monitoring and management.
1) Domotz
Well, we don’t want to toot our own horn, but Domotz is one of the best cloud network monitoring tools out there! Additionally, it provides unparalleled network monitoring software for discovering and monitoring all connected devices. Furthermore, it enables service providers, IT professionals, and MSPs to easily monitor remote networks with powerful and affordable software. Moreover, the software provides actionable insights, an easy-to-use interface, comprehensive network monitoring features, network discovery of all devices, network traffic analysis, network configuration management for switches, firewalls and access points, performance data and simple network management protocol (SNMP) monitoring. To conclude, Domotz is packed with comprehensive network monitoring features. It’s also plug & play, user friendly, has an intuitive UI, it’s easy to deploy, and there are over 500+ integrations. All in all, it’s a great network monitoring and management tool choice for service providers.
Feature Highlights:
Pros:
- Low cost
- No long-term contracts
- No minimum requirements
- Plug & play
- Easy to install and use
- No difficult maintenance required
Pricing:
Check our pricing options or contact our sales team.
Cons:
- No on-prem option
- NetFlow analysis is offered through a partnership rather than a native feature
2) PRTG
PRTG is another one of the best network monitoring tools available for MSPs, IT professionals, and service providers. Firstly, it can be used for monitoring systems, devices, traffic, and applications in your IT infrastructure. Moreover, it is a comprehensive network monitoring tool that monitors every aspect of an IT infrastructure, including firewalls, switches, servers, applications, and virtual environments.
Feature highlights:
- Bandwidth monitoring
- SNMP monitoring
- Server monitoring
- Cloud monitoring
- Application monitoring
- Database monitoring
Pros:
- Freemium option available
- On-prem options available
- Special MSP pricing
- Easy to install and use
Pricing:
- Starting from €1.349 per service license for monitoring 500 aspects of your devices in your network
Cons:
- More expensive beyond the free version which most service providers and IT professionals need
3) Logic Monitor
Logic Monitor is another one of the best network monitoring tools out there and many service providers swear by it. Moreover, LogicMonitor is the leading SaaS-based unified observability and IT operations data collaboration platform for enterprise IT and managed service providers.
Feature highlights
- Network monitoring
- Netflow Analysis
- Server monitoring
- Cloud monitoring
- Application monitoring
- Application performance monitoring
- Database monitoring
Pros:
- Very detailed monitoring
- Mature product
- Comprehensive monitoring features
Pricing:
- Not available on the website
Cons:
- A high level of skill is required for the operation
- A steeper learning curve for getting started
- Difficult to maintain
- No contract or pricing information is available (this could mean you have to sign-up for lengthier contracts and incur expensive pricing).
4) DataDog
Data Dog is another one of the best network monitoring tools that service providers often have a look at when evaluating a network monitoring and management solution. Moreover, Data dog provides modern monitoring & security that allows you to see inside any stack, any app, at any scale, anywhere.
Feature highlights:
- Infrastructure Monitoring
- Log Management
- APM
- Security Monitoring
- Network Monitoring
- Synthetic Monitoring
- Real User Monitoring
Pros:
- A detailed and comprehensive monitoring solution
- Detailed application monitoring
- Real-time user monitoring
- Ability to code integrations
Pricing:
- Pricing starts from $15 per host, per month.
Cons:
- No on-prem option
- Depending on the number of hosts that need to be monitored, pricing can get expensive.
5) Zabbix
Firstly, Zabbix is open-source software with a long history spanning over 20 years. Moreover, at its core, Zabbix is designed to monitor IT Infrastructures. Furthermore, At Domotz, we love Zabbix as it is very customizable and powerful. But with great power comes great responsibility: this open-source tool requires a significant amount of manual configuration and the learning curve and implementation can be quite demanding, meaning you will need a lot of skills on your team to operate it. Additionally, maintaining the system will take time and dedication. Ultimately, there is a free option, so if you’ve got the time and resources, Zabbix could be for you.
Features:
- Network monitoring
- Server monitoring
- Cloud monitoring
- Virtual Machine monitoring
- Applications monitoring
- Service monitoring
- Database monitoring
Pros:
- Very detailed monitoring
- Comprehensive features
- Free option
Pricing:
- Not available on the website
Cons:
- A high level of skill is required for the operation
- A steep learning curve for getting started
- Difficult to maintain
6) Nagios
Nagios is another one of the very best network monitoring tools available. It’s a powerful monitoring system that enables organizations to identify and resolve IT infrastructure problems before they affect critical business. Moreover, it is an open-source monitoring system for computer systems. Furthermore, tt was designed to run on the Linux operating system and can monitor devices running Linux, Windows, and Unix operating systems (OSes). Lastly, Nagios software runs periodic checks on critical parameters of application, network, and server resources.
Feature highlights:
- Windows Monitoring
- Linux Monitoring
- Server Monitoring
- Application Monitoring
- SNMP Monitoring
- Log Monitoring
Pros:
- Open-source
- Very detailed monitoring
- Comprehensive features
Pricing:
- Costs start at $1,995 for the standard edition.
Cons:
- A high level of skill is required for the operation
- A steep learning curve for getting started
- Difficult to maintain
Now that we’ve looked at some of the best network monitoring tools on the market, let’s talk about choosing the right tool for your business. Furthermore, here are some tips on choosing the best network monitoring tool for your business.
Firstly, determine your requirements
Jot down your network monitoring requirements, to start things off. Secondly, think of what you need to monitor. Moreover, think of the features you need and the number of networks. Furthermore, consider the essential device you’ll need to monitor that are critical components of your network infrastructure.
Secondly, set a budget
Most of all, the best networking monitoring tools vary in pricing, a lot. Some of the best tools start at just $1.5 a month per managed device (hint, hint: Domotz network monitoring software) while others can cost you thousands a month per network. Furthermore, think realistically about what you can afford per network and start from there. Additionally, some service providers like to use different network monitoring tools depending on the network.
Thirdly, think about Integrations
Thirdly, think about essential integrations. Furthermore, this is because adopting a network monitoring software is all about streamlining your processes and saving time, headaches, and money. In other words, you need to choose software that integrates with the other software and hardware you are already using. In conclusion, this is key to really automating processes.
Fourthly, trial every network monitoring tool you can
Fourthly, trial every network monitoring tool you can. Similarly, the only way to choose the right software is to try as many of the best network monitoring tools as you can. Additionally, this is the only true way to see if the software is the right fit for your business.
Lastly, choose a network monitoring tool with great support
Lastly, choose software with good support. When you are trialing your network monitoring tools, definitely send in some support requests. It is essential you choose software that has great support because you will need help from time to time. Furthermore, choose an experienced and reputable support team that can provide great customer service when dealing with your requests. Lastly, the only way to test out a support teams efficiency is to send in real requests during your trial.
Further reading: