11 essential tools for monitoring your bandwidth and network traffic
Have your end users ever complained about the slowness of their Internet connection ? If you thought your bandwidth was good enough... Don't worry, we've all been there.
But contrary to popular belief, increasing bandwidth is not necessarily the only solution to the problem. First and foremost, you need to identify the source of the performance problem(s).
And to do that, there's nothing better than equipping yourself with a bandwidth monitoring tool. You can monitor and manage your entire network more effectively. So you don't get lost among the many solutions on the market, here's a comparison of the 11 best Internet connection monitoring software .
What is bandwidth monitoring?
Bandwidth monitoring is an essential IT activity that involves keeping track of peripherals and Internet connections while detecting connectivity problems.
A bandwidth monitoring tool gives you clear, real-time visibility of your bandwidth performance by :
- detecting malfunctions in your connection
- and regulating the quality of the various network components.
Comparison table: top 11 bandwidth monitoring software products
1 of 6
 ManageEngine Servicedesk Plus |  Bandwidth Controller |  PRTG |  Nagios Core |  Site24x7 |  SolarWinds RMM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| For all companies | For all companies | For all companies | For all companies | For companies with more than 1 employees | For all companies |
| See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software |
| Learn more about ManageEngine Servicedesk Plus | Learn more about Bandwidth Controller | Learn more about PRTG | Learn more about Nagios Core | Learn more about Site24x7 | Learn more about SolarWinds RMM |
WhatsUp Gold
WhatsUp Gold is a comprehensive, modular and highly intuitive network monitoring tool that gives you 360° visibility of your supervised IT infrastructure and monitoring of all your network resources.
Using dashboards updated in real time that report on all your interconnections, you can identify and resolve potential bandwidth failures in just a few clicks!
🧑💻Le is designed for SMEs and SMBs.
💰 WhatsUpGold pricing starts at €1032.23 per year for 50 devices ("Business" package).
WhatsUpGold highlights :
- an automatic alert system for your virtual infrastructure based on processor, memory, disk and interface usage thresholds,
- automatic generation of dynamic maps of your Hyper-V and VMware infrastructure in just a few clicks,
- a 360° view of your network traffic to manage and monitor bandwidth usage (users, applications or protocols used),
- the solution was recognised as an industry leader in the recent G2 Grid report for network monitoring solutions, winning 8 awards in total.
ManageEngine Servicedesk Plus
ManageEngine Servicedesk is a comprehensive, modular IT Service Management (ITSM) tool that enables you to manage your entire IT support cycle while monitoring your entire IT environment.
With powerful network monitoring capabilities , you can manage your entire IT infrastructure while ensuring maximum compliance through strict authentication processes.
🧑💻Le is designed for businesses of all sizes.
💰ManageEngine comes with a free version. Paid options start at €14.13 per month.
The strengths of ManageEngine :
- a bandwidth management module to classify and analyse the root cause of network problems and reduce repeated IT incidents,
- an automated workflow tool to streamline the planning, approval and deployment of your IT actions and eliminate unauthorised or unsuccessful modifications,
- a reduction in breakdowns and an improvement in the productivity of your agents to effectively manage the entire lifecycle of your IT support tickets,
- a project management module to easily manage resources and track progress.
ManageEngine Servicedesk Plus
Auvik
Auvik is application monitoring software that helps you prevent, detect and quickly resolve IT problems on your network. The tool's pre-configured monitoring and alerts give you proactive warning.
You can spot anomalies quickly thanks to traffic analysis tools, and easily identify the root cause with device logs that are constantly updated as your bandwidth changes.
🧑💻Le software is designed for MSPs (managed service providers).
💰 Auvik pricing is available on request.
Auvik highlights:
- secure, cloud-based network management with automated updates and network data encrypted using AES-256,
- Continuous network monitoring to see exactly where each of your devices is connected, how your network is configured and analyse irregularities,
- advanced, customised analysis tools to quickly spot anomalies in your bandwidth,
- a 24/7 support team and no technical knowledge required to use the software.
BandwidthD
BandwidthD is a computer network monitoring software that is completely free and easy to use. Despite the fact that the program hasn't been updated since 2013, it is capable of handling a large flow of data and monitoring your network effectively.
You can use BandwidthD on most platforms, including Windows.
🧑💻Le software is designed for all types of businesses.
BandwidthD software is free.
The strengths of BandwidthD :
- creation of HTML files via visual graphs sorted by individual IP address and usage over periods of 2 days, 8 days, 40 days and 400 days,
- detection of DDOS attacks and analysis of the attacker's IP address (unless the attacker is using a botnet for his DDOS attack),
- find out which protocols are most commonly used by machines on the network (HTTP, TCP, UDP, ICMP, VPN, P2P, etc.).
- detect the use of file-sharing software such as eMule, Bittorrent, etc.
Bandwidth Controller
PRTG Network Monitor
PRTG Network Monitor is network monitoring software that lets you monitor all your information systems, network connections, devices, applications and general IT infrastructure traffic.
PRTG Network Monitor runs on all your equipment, so you can keep control of all your data, configuration and updates.
🧑💻Le software is designed for small and medium-sized organisations.
💰 PRTG Network Monitor prices start at €137 per month.
The strengths of PRTG Network Monitor :
- the tool is flexible and customisable , as well as being easy to use. It can be adapted to suit any budget,
- the software benefits from over 20 years' expertise in the network supervision market, and has more than 500,000 customers around the world to its credit,
- its all-in-one aspect supervises all your systems and all your equipment out of the box via several functionalities: ready-to-use equipment templates for suppliers, customisable alerts and notifications, detailed analytical reports, etc,
- add-ons and plugins are not required, as supervision of your IT infrastructure is 100% included in your price.
PRTG
Nagios Core
Nagios Core is network monitoring software that monitors all components of your IT infrastructure, including applications, services, operating systems, network protocols, system metrics and bandwidth.
The software gives you access to hundreds of third-party add-ons for monitoring virtually every application, service and system within and outside your IT infrastructure.
🧑💻Le is designed for small and medium-sized businesses.
💰 PRTG Network Monitor pricing is available on request.
The strengths of Nagios Core :
- monitoring your bandwidth is simplified thanks to over 5,000 different addons available,
- tools for monitoring the status of your applications (including Windows, Linux, UNIX and Web applications) so you can quickly detect application, service or process problems and take swift action,
- a system of alerts and notifications to ensure that your network remains safe and secure.
- a fully customisable bandwidth usage calculator to create reports to summarise bandwidth usage by source, IP or any desired combination.
Nagios Core
Site24x7
Site24x7 is a network infrastructure monitoring tool powered by Zoho. The comprehensive and highly intuitive software can monitor your websites, servers, IT network and online applications in a secure and compliant way.
With innovative network monitoring features, the tool monitors the validity of SSL certificates and domain name leases, while monitoring the performance of your web platforms at various levels.
🧑💻Le software is designed for all types of businesses.
💰 Site24x7 prices range from €9 to €899 per month.
Site24x7 highlights :
- RUM (Real User Monitoring) mode to track real users and their experiences of using your various platforms,
- a real-time bandwidth monitoring system for reporting errors and loading times, as well as the medium used for browsing and the Internet service provider,
- monitoring of workloads and virtualisation platforms such as Amazon Web Services, Azure, GCP and VMware,
- A free 30-day trial version is available with no obligation to test the platform.
Site24x7
SolarWinds NTA
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA) is a network monitoring tool specialising in bandwidth analysis and data flow visualisation. The robust software, designed for professional environments, provides complete visibility of network performance by collecting and correlating data from protocols such as NetFlow, sFlow, J-Flow, IPFIX and NetStream.
Thanks to its advanced real-time data collection capabilities, NTA monitors network activity to identify which users, applications or protocols are consuming the most resources.
🧑💻La is designed for all types of organisation, from SMEs to large enterprises, that want to anticipate congestion and improve network service quality.
💰 Prices for SolarWinds NTA start at €5.30 per month.
The strengths of SolarWinds NTA :
- behavioural traffic analysis to identify "top talkers" (applications or users with the highest bandwidth requirements) and detect anomalies in network flows,
- continuous monitoring of bandwidth in real time, with the possibility of triggering alerts in the event of overload or suspicious activity,
- multi-vendor compatibility, with support for the main network equipment (Cisco, Juniper, HPE, etc.) and flow standards,
- seamless integration with other SolarWinds modules (such as Network Performance Monitor) for unified network monitoring.
SolarWinds RMM
Zabbix
Zabbix is a free, open-source network monitoring application that gives you a powerful graphical user interface for configuring your network. Easy to use, the solution is also modular, with cross-site virtualisation capability.
Thanks to automation systems, you can configure an alarm according to your needs, so that it is triggered when your bandwidth reaches a specific level.
🧑💻Le software is designed for all types of business.
💰 Pricing for Zabbix is available on request.
The strengths of Zabbix :
- a central web-based user interface with support for native encryption between all components,
- the software is supported by over 250 global partners and several external vendors to provide enterprise-level monitoring and support to customers worldwide,
- a module for customising messages either via ready-to-use message templates or via an option for editing your own message template,
- widget-based dashboards displaying relevant, up-to-date information in real time.
Ntopng
Formerly known as ntop, Ntopng is a simple-to-use tool for probing traffic to generate detailed reports on your bandwidth usage. Ntopng is available in several versions for Windows and Unix.
This means that your network traffic analysis can be filtered either according to personal preferences (such as standalone systems or L7 protocols), or by port or IP address.
🧑💻Le software is designed for all types of businesses.
Ntopng prices start at €88.26.
Ntopng highlights :
- a live throughput monitoring and reporting system to identify network and application latency, round-trip time (RTT), TCP statistics (retransmissions, failed packets, lost packets) and transmitted bytes and packets,
- automatic disk storage of persistent traffic statistics for future exploration and analysis,
- traffic behaviour analysis such as lateral movements and periodic traffic detection,
- sort network traffic according to customisable criteria such as IP address, port, Layer 7 (L7) application protocols, throughput, autonomous systems (AS).
Cacti
Cacti is free network monitoring software that collects data from devices via SNMP and displays it on a web interface in the form of easy-to-view graphs.
This gives you a detailed view of your bandwidth and your network in a more global way. Although the interface may not seem very intuitive, it has robust documentation (in English) and is available for Windows and Linux.
🧑💻Le is designed for all types of business.
💰Cacti is free software.
Cacti highlights :
- advanced template-based automation features for devices, graphs and trees,
- role-based user, group and domain management capabilities plus a theme engine and multi-language support out of the box,
- the ability to be extended via multiple plugins and multiple data acquisition methods,
- an easy-to-use interface suitable for LAN-sized installations right through to complex networks with tens of thousands of devices.
How do I choose a bandwidth monitoring tool?
Summary table of our selection of 11 software packages
| Software | Type of user | Key benefit | 3 Key features | Entry price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WhatsUp Gold | SMEs and large enterprises | Intuitive interface with dynamic network mapping | SNMP supervision, NetFlow/sFlow/jFlow analysis, customisable alerts | From €1032.23 per year |
| ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus | Multi-site IT services | Full ITSM integration with asset management | Helpdesk, CMDB, change management | From €14.13 per month |
| Auvik | MSPs and agile IT teams | Rapid deployment with automatic network discovery | Real-time mapping, configuration backup, intelligent alerts | Price on request |
| BandwidthD | VSEs and Linux environments | Lightweight and easy to view IP traffic | IP flow analysis, HTML report generation, monitoring by protocol | Free |
| PRTG Network Monitor | Businesses of all sizes | All-in-one monitoring with customisable interface | SNMP/NetFlow monitoring, advanced alerts, dynamic dashboards | From €137 per month |
| Nagios Core | Experienced Linux administrators | Robust open source solution with large community | Host/service monitoring, e-mail alerts, extensibility via plugins | Price on request |
| Site24x7 | Multi-site businesses | Cloud monitoring with extended monitoring options | Network performance monitoring, NetFlow analysis, network configuration management | From €9 per month |
| SolarWinds NTA | Large enterprises | In-depth analysis of network traffic with NetFlow | Identification of the main bandwidth consumers, detailed reports, integration with Orion | From €5.30 per month |
| Zabbix | Technical companies | Open source solution with full supervision | SNMP supervision, customised alerts, interactive dashboards | Price on request |
| Ntopng | Advanced network administrators | Detailed traffic analysis with web interface | Real-time monitoring, statistics per host/protocol, integration with Elastic Stack | From €88.26 |
| Cacti | VSEs and Linux users | Network graph generation via RRDTool | SNMP supervision, automatic graph creation, user management | Free |
Selection criteria you should consider
Ease of deployment is a crucial starting point, so look for an intuitive interface and rapid configuration to avoid wasting time and resources, especially for limited IT teams.
You also need to assess the functional richness of the tool. Your tool should offer :
- real-time analysis
- historical monitoring
- customisable alerts
- detailed reports, etc.
... each feature must meet a specific need, in the short and long term.
The software must be able to integrate easily with your network equipment, operating systems and other business tools, while supporting standard protocols such as SNMP, NetFlow or sFlow.
You also need to think about scalability, because your network is going to grow, and your tool needs to be able to keep pace without failing.
Of course, cost is also an important consideration. Compare pricing models, check whether a free or trial version is offered, and make sure that the price remains consistent with the features actually used.
☝️ Finally, don't overlook the quality of customer support or the existence of an active community around the software. These two elements will make all the difference in the event of a problem or if you want to exploit the full potential of your solution.
The benefits of monitoring your network bandwidth
Optimised network performance
Internet connection monitoring software gives you a 360° view of your network, enabling you to identify which applications are consuming the most bandwidth and for what purpose.
As a result, you can identify bottlenecks at a glance, analyse traffic trends and keep track of :
- response time
- availability
- router uptime,
- switches
- and other devices on which SNMP is enabled.
👉Result? You identify the source of a performance problem before end users complain about it .
A controlled budget and reduced costs
Increasing bandwidth can be a costly investment. If it's not accompanied by a bandwidth monitoring tool, it can prove risky.
👉Network monitoring software allows you to anticipate problems without having to buy more bandwidth. As a result, you reduce your costs while setting a precise and sufficient budget.
Enhanced security
Cyber hackers are everywhere. They're on the lookout for the slightest opportunity to embed malware in your computer network.
👉So, by monitoring your bandwidth, you can quickly identify any suspicious activity with detailed reports of potentially malicious traffic flows on your system.
And yes, Internet connection monitoring software really is essential to the smooth running of your computer network. That's why we've put together a list of 11 must-have software packages for monitoring your bandwidth!
What you need to know about bandwidth monitoring software
Bandwidth monitoring software is an essential tool for keeping control of your network's performance:
- detecting peaks in consumption
- identifying power-hungry equipment
- anticipating slowdowns, etc.
...so you can take action before users complain.
Their usefulness does not stop at the technical level: they also help to optimise costs, secure data exchanges, and make informed decisions about the development of your infrastructure. Whether it's an open source tool for an SME or a complete solution for a large organisation, the most important thing is to choose software that's tailored to your needs, flexible, easy to read and scalable.
Article translated from French