Open source software for enterprise network management and monitoring

Digg This!     StumbleUpon     Del.icio.us

RELATED CONTENT Network Management Software, Tools and Utilities Unified wireless network still a work in progress for vendors Out-of-band network management ensures data center network uptime Web gateway helps Texas manufacturer develop network user management Network automation lags general IT process automation for now How can I calculate perimeter firewall throughput? Where can I find a wire driver that unblocks recognized passwords? What network loss testing tools/methods calculate dropped packets from a PC? Network user management Green enterprise: Three networking investments that make a difference Dynamic policy ensures faster, safer network for school district Network Administration Why is access denied to my Active Directory (AD) users and computers? What network loss testing tools/methods calculate dropped packets from a PC? Network user management Do I have to disable DHCP on my router to create a DHCP server? What preventative maintenance procedures for network devices exist? Top 10 reasons why computers do not have network access to each other Troubleshooting -- 'Network Know-How' Chapter 17 How server virtualization improves efficiency in a client-server model Understand Windows tracert output to troubleshoot network connectivity Why would a computer show drive letters for discs that don't exist? Network Administration Research Network administration Why is access denied to my Active Directory (AD) users and computers? What network loss testing tools/methods calculate dropped packets from a PC? Do I have to disable DHCP on my router to create a DHCP server? What preventative maintenance procedures for network devices exist? Is there VLAN software recommend for Realtek NICs? How can I replicate the services of Active Directory (AD) in ADC? Top 10 reasons why computers do not have network access to each other Which configuration management tools map connected network devices? How important are network infrastructure maps for engineers or admins? How server virtualization improves efficiency in a client-server model

RELATED GLOSSARY TERMS Terms from Whatis.com − the technology online dictionary DCE  (SearchNetworking.com) Novell Directory Services  (SearchNetworking.com) VTAM  (SearchNetworking.com) wrap plug  (SearchNetworking.com)

RELATED RESOURCES 2020software.com, trial software downloads for accounting software, ERP software, CRM software and business software systems Search Bitpipe.com for the latest white papers and business webcasts Whatis.com, the online computer dictionary

Search for open source or freeware network monitoring, network mapping, or network management software and you'll receive a bazillion hits all claiming to be the most comprehensive freeware monitoring tools on the planet. And yes, a "bazillion" is a technical term. The only true advice I have for you, my friend, is something I learned in school: caveat emptor.

But even so there are some great best-of-breed freeware tools that I find to be quite good at helping with some aspects of network monitoring and management. It all depends on what you're hoping to accomplish with your management software. So I've decided to cover the basics in this long review of freeware or open source software. I did not include any shareware or partial, 30-day trials in my research. I will also state that the vast majority of network monitoring tools provide just enough basic functionality to entice you to buy their enterprise suite of products -- so again: caveat emptor.

For the best freeware network monitoring solution, I would recommend investigating PRTG, a modified hybrid of MRTG. It provides a comprehensive monitoring and mapping solution based on Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), NetFlow, Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), and Switched port analyzer (SPAN) technologies. The biggest drawback is that the freeware version only supports 10 elements. That's hardly enterprise worthy but it does provide the full network monitoring capabilities for all 10 elements. Most of the other tools provided for more monitored elements but limited functionality or time-based trials. PRTG provides the ability to create and monitor based on sensors like HTTP, SNMP alerts, and NetFlow data into an integrated Web UI. It also has a great mapping tool that incorporates all monitored elements that I found easy to use and set up.

The vast majority of players understand SNMP and NetFlow, there is a lot more to monitoring a network for performance. One of the best free utilities I've personally used to diagnose performance problems is called QCheck. This utility is installed on two end points to do some comprehensive latency testing. I love this utility for its flexibility with various communication protocols and testing parameters. No network engineering toolset is complete without it. And it's free!

I would be remiss in mentioning that network performance often dictates that packet traces be conducted via span ports to diagnose critical problems. Most enterprise toolsets have some advanced functions to help pinpoint problem areas from a higher level but Wireshark is the staple for packet trace deconstruction for free. Wireshark incorporates deep inspection of thousands of protocols while allowing you to graph out TCP time sequence graphs. Did I mention it's also free? It's part of the GNU General Public License Agreement.

The final tip that I would recommend is to leverage your existing environment and infrastructure as much as possible to provide a comprehensive monitoring solution. Got Cisco? Did you know that IPSLA and NetFlow data is retrievable through the CLI? While the CLI doesn't have comprehensive graphical interface, baselines, thresholds, and alerting, the IP SLA data does support active transaction analysis for specific application protocols like HTTP and VoIP. So if your enterprise environment supports it, I would highly recommend leveraging as much of the management capabilities that are inherently offered.

For further research, take a look at ITPRC.COM's Network Management Freeware/Shareware applications and Stanford's frequently-updated list of network monitoring tools: two accurate lists of network monitoring applications and tools out on the market, ranging in price from free to extremely expensive.