Free network monitoring tools can be found many places online. Tools such as Observium, Ganglia, Spiceworks, Nagios, Zabbix, Monit and Munin are possible options depending on your specific monitoring needs.
network monitoring describes the use of a system that constantly monitors a computer network for slow or failing components and that notifies the network administrator in case of outages via email, pager or other alarms. It is a subset of the functions involved in network management. While an intrusion detection system monitors a network for threats from the outside, a network monitoring system monitors the network for problems caused by overloaded and/or crashed servers, network connections or other devices.
Monitoring tools provides asset details such as the OS, installed software, and hardware and informs you about the general availability and performance of the network elements. It is the process of checking the computers, systems, and services that comprise a network.
Ping Traceroute Network scanners Bandwidth monitoring tools Network protocol analyzers Remote desktop tools Network management systems Wake-on-LAN tools Network mapping tools
For internet connections and bandwidth monitoring, I would recommend "WFilter". For local network devices monitoring, I would recommend "spiceworks".
Integrated network management systems are made up of network monitoring and network analysis tools.
Promiscuous mode
NetCrunch 8 is an all-in-one network monitoring and management solution that runs on Windows, and is completely agentless with an embedded SQL database.
"The top six network monitoring companies are Nagios, Cacti, Top, Zabbix, and Munin, IMFirewall. Nagios was number one. You should try Nagios. It is rated very highly."
A Data Flow Diagram (DFD) for a network monitoring system typically includes processes such as data collection, analysis, and reporting. The system gathers data from network devices, which flows into the monitoring system (process), where it is analyzed for performance and alerts. The results are then outputted as reports or alerts to users or administrators. External entities may include network devices, users, and external monitoring tools, all interacting with the central monitoring system.
Tools that require a computer with a network adapter in promiscuous mode include packet sniffers like Wireshark and tcpdump. These tools capture all network traffic passing through the network interface, regardless of the destination address. Promiscuous mode allows the network adapter to intercept and log traffic intended for other devices on the network, making it essential for network analysis and troubleshooting. Other tools, such as intrusion detection systems (IDS) and network monitoring systems, also benefit from this capability.
Generally, computer networking tools are software programs that network engineers can use to make their jobs easier. Some tasks performed by network tools: - network discovery (finding all the computers and routers on the network) - path tracing (finding the network path to a given computer) - connectivity testing (finding out if a particular network link is working or not) - traffic monitoring (watching the traffic on the network, looking for something specific) - network device management (configuring routers and firewalls) There are also "computer networking tools" that are actual physical tools, not software. Here are some of those: - punchdown tool (terminates network wires to a punchdown block in a wiring closet) - toner/tracer (toner tool injects a tone onto a wire, tracer tool amplifies the tone signal so you can trace the wire through a wire bundle) - cable tester (checks a wire for faults) - TDR, or time domain reflectometer (measures the length of a cable by measuring the time it takes for a signal to bounce off the end and come back) HTH, Gdunge