INTRODUCTION
Are you ready to uncover hidden network performance issues between your network and the outside world? The Pingdom Tools Free Edition offers essential network performance testing tools that are easy-to-use and can be used on any website or web application. With the Pingdom Tools Free Edition you’re able to generate synthetic load tests of any website, test site availability across different geographical locations, get detailed information about your download speed, and much more.
Network Performance Testing Tools (NPST) is a free website that contains a suite of tools for performing network performance tests. This site includes tools for network bandwidth, terminal server, email and web transactions, latency, response time, packet loss and packet delivery. The website also has tools for converting performance metrics from one test to another. Use NPST to test remote or local sites from your desktop.
A network monitoring tool is key to any business’ IT management and security strategy. As an IT manager or network administrator at a small business, you may face network bugs and server errors that can damage your network architecture and halt your business.
The right network monitoring tool can help you avoid such situations. However, network monitoring software solutions aren’t cheap, and small businesses often don’t have the budget to maintain high-end solutions with monitoring capabilities. In such scenarios, you can opt for free software to troubleshoot network problems without burning a hole in your pocket. This article looks at four best free network monitoring software options, sorted alphabetically.
See the full list of free network monitoring tools in Capterra’s software directory. visit directory
1
Datadog: Best functionality
Datadog is a network monitoring solution that provides end-to-end visibility into on-premise and cloud networks. This tool offers network activity and traffic analysis, device and DNS performance and bandwidth monitoring, and server load balancing.
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Datadog helps you capture and troubleshoot abnormal spikes in server traffic by tracking key network metrics such as TCP retransmits, latency, and connection churn. It also captures and analyzes network communication between servers, devices, and cloud regions.
This solution regularly analyzes system-wide DNS performance to check on overall health and any performance issues with the server. It also lets you measure overall bandwidth utilization and sends alerts in case of abnormal usage or network issues.
Datadog offers email, phone, and live chat support. There is a mobile app available for both iOS and Android devices. Best Functionality Datadog 4.6 (109) Read reviewsView Profile
Key Features:
- Alerts/Escalation
- Audit Trail
- Anomaly Detection
- Application Security
- Dashboard
- Data Visualization
Trial/Free Version: Free Trial Free Version Cost to upgrade:
$15 per monthDevice Compatibility:
Screenshot:
Metrics and traffic traces and logs in Datadog 2
New Relic One: Helps with infrastructure maintenance
New Relic One is a network performance monitoring tool built for application and network infrastructure maintenance. This software offers performance analysis, real-time network and SNMP monitoring, application management, and transaction diagnostics for network admins.
New Relic One can scan through an entire network system to find the root cause of server malfunctions. It also offers a network dashboard that provides greater visibility into internal switches, bandwidth usage, and network data.
You can also create custom visualizations of your network system to make it easier to understand each node and connection, as well as diagnose server issues more efficiently.
New Relic One offers email, phone, and live chat support. There is a mobile app available for both iOS and Android devices. New Relic One 4.5 (148) Read reviewsView Profile
Key Features:
- Application Management
- Availability Testing
- Bandwidth Monitoring
- Full Transaction Diagnostics
- Performance Analysis
- Real Time Monitoring
Trial/Free Version: Free Trial Free Version Cost to upgrade :
Pricing details not availableDevice Compatibility:
Screenshot:
Network dashboard in New Relic One 3
Obkio: Automates network scanning and reporting
Obkio is a network and application performance monitoring solution. This tool offers a monitoring agent to measure network and application performance and availability. You can also use Obkio to collect historical data and create a performance baseline for your network.
This tool continuously scans your network system and immediately sends out an alert in case of abnormal behavior or a problem, such as a spike in traffic or failed connections between devices.
Obkio also keeps an eye on latency and packet loss with the help of automatic speed tests; it eliminates nodes with slow speeds in your network to create an efficient system.
Obkio offers email, phone, and live chat support. There is a mobile app available for both iOS and Android devices. Obkio 4.9 (45) Read reviewsVisit Website
Key Features:
- Bandwidth Monitoring
- Capacity Management
- Connectivity Management
- Data Visualization
- Historical Audit
- Network Analysis
Trial/Free Version: Free Trial Free Version Cost to upgrade:
$29 per user, per monthDevice Compatibility:
Screenshot:
Measuring network metrics in Obkio 4
OpManager: Provides end-to-end network visibility
OpManager by ManageEngine is an integrated network monitoring tool that offers real-time network monitoring, physical and virtual server monitoring, multi-level thresholds, customizable dashboards, and WAN link monitoring.
The platform helps you monitor critical metrics such as packet loss, latency, network speed, and errors. Additionally, you can create customized reports that help you identify performance bottlenecks.
OpManager provides end-to-end visibility into your network system, including local devices, wireless network connections, and cloud-based access points. It can troubleshoot and pinpoint the exact location of system errors and immediately notify you about possible solutions.
OpManaer offers email, live chat, and phone support. There is a mobile app for both iOS and Android devices. ManageEngine OpManager 4.6 (52) Read reviewsVisit Website
Key Features:
- Access Controls/Permissions
- Audit Trail
- Automatic Configuration
- Bandwidth Monitoring
- Capacity Management
- Compliance Management
Trial/Free Version: Free Trial Free Version Cost to upgrade:
Pricing details not availableDevice Compatibility:
Screenshot:
Performance metrics in OpManager Read our network monitoring software buyers guide to understand the benefits and common features of these tools.
How to choose the right free network monitoring software for your business
Every business has different needs when it comes to network monitoring software. Your small business should aim for a solution that is easy to use and doesn’t take much time to configure. Choosing the right tool for your business is a crucial step, and these considerations can help you make the best choice:
- Choose a tool that offers a customizable dashboard: Free network monitoring tools have limited functionality. However, ideally, your solution should have a customizable dashboard that provides visibility into your virtualized network. A central dashboard makes tracking your network traffic and connected applications even easier.
- Select a tool that sends automatic alerts when issues arise: It’s impossible to constantly observe your network traffic for signs of abnormal spikes or outages. Choosing a tool that sends automatic alerts when your network encounters problems can help you overcome this challenge and make troubleshooting more efficient.
- Pick a tool that offers scalability as your business grows: As your business expands, so will its accompanying number of systems, devices, and servers. Look for a solution that can adapt to your expanding network and accommodate multiple applications and systems.
How did we choose these products? We didn’t—you did.
To find your ideal software match, you need information you can trust—so you can save time, stay on budget, and focus more energy on growing your business. It’s why we vet and verify all our user reviews and recommend only the tools endorsed by people like you.
In other words, our product recommendations are never bought or sold, or based on the opinion of a single individual—they’re chosen by your peers, reflecting the views and experiences of our independent base of software reviewers.
To be considered for this list, products have to:
- Have at least 20 unique product reviews published on Capterra within the past two years, with an average rating of 3.0 or higher. We selected the 4 products with the highest ratings to feature in this article.
- Offer a free, standalone version of the software (not a trial version of the software where you must purchase a product after a limited amount of time).
- Meet our network monitoring software market definition: “Network monitoring software tracks and monitors computer network systems for failed or delayed components and notifies network administrators of any network issues.”
Note: The content in this piece that provides opinions and points of view expressed by users does not represent the views of Capterra.
The “Best functionality” tool is identified using the highest user ratings for functionality that a vendor received based on publicly available reviews.
CONCLUSION
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Performance Engineers have a difficult job. They spend months setting up test scenarios and documenting their findings for each release to the public. The industry needs tools to help the engineer perform their work more quickly and efficiently. But is there such a tool that is free, open source and widely used by the performance engineering community? Absolutely!