Top 10+ Network Testing Tools (Network Performance Diagnostic Tools)

Find out which Network Testing Tools are recommended for detecting and fixing network problems:

Think of all the problems you face when you try to connect to a network. You may have seen instances where you may be doing everything right, but still cannot connect.

Let’s take another case where you want to launch a website and want to be sure the server responds. How do you validate and test before launching?

To help us find out & troubleshoot network issues, monitor network speeds, and other network management, we find hundreds of tools available these days.

Software for Network Testing: Market Trends

This article covers some of the best network testing tools for identifying and resolving network issues.

Our Top Recommendations:

List of the Best Network Testing Tools

Enlisted below are the most popular Network Testing Tools that are used worldwide.

Comparing the Top Network Testing Software

Detailed Reviews:

#1) Datadog HQ

Datadog Network Performance Monitoring tool can track the performance of on-premise and cloud-based networks with a unique, tag-based approach. You will be able to breakdown the network traffic between hosts, containers, services, or any other tag in Datadog.

If you combine flow-based NPM with metric-based Network Device Monitoring then you can get complete visibility into network traffic, infrastructure metrics, traces, and logs—all in one place.

It visually maps traffic flow in an interactive map to help identify traffic bottlenecks and any downstream effects. It is easy to navigate and use, allowing you to see metrics like volume and retransmits without writing queries.

It can correlate network traffic data with relevant application traces, host metrics, and logs, to unify troubleshooting into one platform.

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#2) Paessler

Best for auto-detect network.

PRTG is a network monitoring tool from Paessler that comes with an easy installation. Besides that, it also comes with a mechanism for the auto-detect network.

It also lets you find out who is using the tool and for what purpose. It raises an alert if something is found wrong, so helps in fixing it before actual users get to face the problem. Overall, it’s a good tool if you are looking for monitoring and managing your network traffic.

Paessler impressed us with its ability to monitor almost anything on a network. It can easily monitor all systems, devices, and applications. It also supports integration with most technologies. The software is compatible with Ping, SNMP, and HTTPS requests. It is also compatible with major flow protocols, like jFlow, sFlow, NetFlow, etc.

Paessler’s network discovering capabilities are also exceptional. Once deployed, it can discover all devices on a network.

Features:

• Customizable Reporting: You get customizable report templates that can be personalized based on your needs.
• Alerts and Notifications: The software boasts excellent built-in notification methods. You can set custom thresholds for your monitoring.
• Network Discovery: The tool automates the network discovery process. The software automatically creates suitable sets of sensors.
• Maps and Dashboards: You get real-time maps and dashboards to visualize your network any way you like.

Why We Like It:

Paessler is a powerful network testing/monitoring tool that makes it to our list because of how easy it is to set up, install, and run. Its network discovering and monitoring capabilities are some of the best we’ve witnessed.

Pros:

• You can monitor an unlimited number of remote locations
• Allows you to monitor multiple objects all at once
• Customizable report templates

Cons:

• Stronger documentation would make the user experience considerably better.

Our Review: With Paessler, you get an excellent IT monitoring tool that can monitor all types of infrastructures. The software works well with environments of all sizes. Plus, it is easy to install and set up.

Price: Starts at $2,149

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#3) Intruder

Best for vulnerability scanner.

Intruder is a powerful cloud-based network vulnerability scanner that helps you find the cybersecurity weaknesses in your most exposed systems to avoid costly data breaches. It is the perfect Network Testing Tool.

There are more than 9,000 security checks available and a few among them include identifying Application Bugs, CMS issues, Missing patches, Configuration weaknesses, etc.

Intruder is a perfect security solution for companies of all sizes. It helps to save your time and reduce friction with the development process. It also integrates with AWS, GCP, and Azure. Intruder also goes above and beyond to ensure you are complying with security regulations.

The tool presents you with concise, actionable results. The audit-ready reports you are presented with do a good job of conveying your security posture to auditors and customers. With the data presented, you’ll be able to easily track progress including the time it takes for you to fix certain issues.

Features:

• Automated Cloud Security: The tool shows you what’s live and automates vulnerability scans if a sudden change is detected.
• Network Monitoring: Easily monitor your perimeter. You’ll be able to scan for vulnerabilities in a volatile environment.
• Web App and API Scanning: Easily find and fix vulnerabilities detected in authenticated and unauthenticated web apps and APIs.
• Penetration Testing: Bridge the gap between annual and automated scanning via point-in-time, continuous penetration testing.

Why I Like It:

Intruder is quite effective in detecting vulnerabilities and helps you avoid costly data breach issues. It can perform more than 9000 different types of security checks. It also presents you with comprehensive reports via a centralized, easy-to-access dashboard.

Pros:

• Easy CI/CD Pipeline integration
• SOC 2 Type 2 certified
• Scans for threats 24/7
• Easy to navigate dashboard

Cons:

• Some users have complained about reports lacking detail.

Our Review: Intruder excels at providing its users with a real-time view of their attack surface. By combining automated vulnerability scanning, network monitoring, and proactive threat response, Intruder does an excellent job of protecting network components against all sorts of threats.

Price: A free trial is available for 14 days. There are also several pricing plans available to cater to the needs of businesses of all sizes. For instance, to scan a network with a single application you can subscribe to the essential plan that will cost you $196/month. The pro and premium plans will cost you $277/month and $3633/year respectively.

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#4) Auvik

Best for automated network discovery.

Auvik’s cloud-based network management & monitoring solution is easy to use. It gives you a complete network picture through automated network discovery, inventory, and documentation. All these components are updated in real time.

Auvik analyzes the network intelligently and provides insights on who is on the network and what are they doing through Auvik Traffic Insights. With this solution, you will be able to automate configuration backup and recovery. Auvik API will let you create powerful workflows.

Like the best network monitoring tools out there, Auvik does a good job of visualizing everything on one’s network. It does so via a single, centralized dashboard. The tool also helps you catch an issue plaguing your network before it aggravates via automatic alerts. The tool also helps you troubleshoot issues at a much faster pace by providing a centralized syslog for all network devices.

The tool also backups configurations as soon as a change is made. You are also presented with clear information on this to restore previous versions if necessary.

Features:

• Network Visibility: You get a comprehensive view of your entire IT network infrastructure. The tool automatically discovers and maps your entire network.
• Real-time Monitoring: Anomalies and potential problems are immediately flagged upon detection. Alerts and notifications are sent to you immediately so you can take appropriate action.
• Multi-Tenant Support: The tool allows you to manage multiple client networks from a single dashboard.
• Automated Network Documentation: The tool automatically generates and updates network documentation.

Why We Like It:

There is a lot we like about Auvik. The tool stands out about its real-time monitoring, automation, and integration capabilities. We believe the tool, with its features, will prove invaluable for IT professionals who seek greater visibility over their organization’s IT network.

Pros:

• Seamless integration with many third-party tools
• 14-day free trial
• Intuitive and user-friendly interface

Cons:

• The cost may be a bit on the higher side, especially for small businesses operating with limited funds.

Our Review: In essence, we deem Auvik to be a powerful network testing and management tool. The tool reduces the hassle of managing multiple client networks and saves time by automating network discovery and documentation.

Price: You’ll need to contact Auvik’s team for a custom quote. You can also request to use the tool for free for the initial 14 days.

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#5) ManageEngine OpManager

Best for performing first and second-level troubleshooting.

ManageEngine OpManager is an end-to-end network performance monitoring and management tool. It also functions as a network testing tool to perform first and second-level troubleshooting based on the nature of the network fault. The tool is robust enough to be chosen as a suitable network testing tool for organizations at all scales.

Ping, SNMP Ping, Proxy Ping, traceroute, real-time actionable alerts, detailed reports, dashboards, etc. make OpManager an excellent network testing and network management tool. OpManager truly shines when you enable add-ons within it. With certain add-ons, you’ll be able to manage critical devices, IP addresses, and switch ports.

You’ll also be able to detect the intrusion of rogue devices without a hassle. With the Wake-on-Lan feature, you’ll be able to remotely check the status of devices and even boot devices. With certain other add-ons, you can enable advanced port scanning and open port scanning as well. You’ll also have no issue keeping a check on bandwidth usage or backup configuration files.

Features:

• Data Visualization: OpManager visualizes data in the form of populated graphs and charts. You also get rich analytics into network performance.
• Workflows: OpManager’s Workflows automate routine and complex network testing tasks. It lets you define variables, conditions, and actions for performing tasks.
• Network Attack Detection: OpManager presents its users with a traceroute tool that can identify malicious attackers who may be manipulating routing standards.
• URL Testing: OpManager does a good job of testing URLs for availability, thus making it very easy to detect attacks on a website.

Why I Like It:

ManageEngine OpManager is a great network performance testing tool. It is a tool we trust to perform first and second-level troubleshooting. The tool is quite great at identifying network faults.

Pros:

• Monitors physical and virtual servers in real-time
• Get 10,000 device templates for monitoring
• Offers 100 pre-built reports

Cons:

• A steep learning curve is involved.

Our Review: With OpManager, you get a powerful and comprehensive network testing tool that’s specifically designed for networks of all sizes. The results it delivers are accurate and quick. Plus, the testing tools are also easily accessible from a centralized console.

Price: You’ll need to contact the ManageEngine OpManager team to get a custom quote based on your requirements. A free demo is also offered upon request.

Check our ManageEngine OpManager Review Here

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#6) Site24x7

Best for Complete traffic and bandwidth monitoring.

ManageEngine Site24x7 is one of the top Network Testing Tools which ensures full network visibility, improved security, minimise network downtime, and reduced cost with reduced network failures. It includes all-in-one network monitoring services like network monitoring, NetFlow, NCM, and SDNs and SD-WAN monitoring. 

Site24x7 monitors the device network in real-time and ensures high availability through uninterrupted monitoring. It gathers data and organises it into presentable format. Then analyse the network device performance insights to proactively find any threats. Instant alerts are then generated if it finds any issues or deviations. In this way it averts downtime effectively. 

Features:

• Complete network monitoring- It includes complete network monitoring including NetFlow, NCM, and SDNs and SD-WAN monitoring. 
• Auto discovery- It automatically discovers network devices within the IP range with the help of SNMP. 
• Network mapping- Provides complete visibility into network devices using maps. 
• VoIP monitoring- It monitors the quality of VoIP throughout the call path with insights like jitter, latency, and packet loss and more. 
• Custom dashboards- It shows health dashboards based on response time and packet loss, along with top interfaces. 
• Network performance metrics- Different Network performance metrics includes Memory and CPU usage, Undersize packets, Oversize packets, Interface in giants, Drop event statistics, Jabber packets, Backplane utilization and more. 

Why we like it?

We like Site24x7 for its multiple vendor support and real-time device network monitoring capabilities which helps in ensuring high network availability through uninterrupted monitoring.

Pros:

• Enhance network visibility. 
• Prevent network failures. 
• Improve security. 
• Minimize network downtime.
• Reduce costs. 
• Network traffic monitoring.
• Network configuration management. 

Cons:

• Complex setup. 

Our Review: Any enterprise looking for an all-in-one monitoring solution that needs to monitor NetFlow, NCM, and SDNs and SD-WAN on the single console then they should go with the Site24x7. It provides all services needs to monitor the network device as well as the entire IT infrastructure. 

Price: Pricing plans are as:

• Basic- Starts with $34/month.
• Classic- Starts with $89/month. 
• Enterprise- Starts with $225/month.

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#7) Dynatrace Data Center Real-Time User Monitoring

Best for Full-stack network monitoring.

With Dynatrace, you get a tool that passively monitors 100% of the network traffic across all physical and virtual devices. In addition to informing the user about network performance, this tool also reveals how it affects enterprise application performance and the experience of the end-user, thus enhancing user satisfaction.

The tool allows monitoring for multiple technologies, including SAP, Citrix, Oracle, VOIP, SOAP, and HTML/XML web services. This is a tool that doesn’t just stop at monitoring network communications at a host level. It drills deeper and facilitates network monitoring at a process level. It presents you with a detailed analysis of process-to-process communications.

Dynatrace does a fine job of revealing the quality of network connections between processes in an environment. As the tool gets to work, it’ll present you with information that’ll make you privy to certain crucial facts. This entails information about processes and networks plagued by connectivity problems.

You get a comprehensive overview of all inbound and outbound process connections that were established over both your physical and virtual network interfaces.

Features:

• Application Security: The tool performs continuous, real-time vulnerability analysis and threat protection to secure applications on a network.
• Infrastructure Monitoring: Get complete 24/7 visibility over cloud platforms, networks, data centers, and containers with no limits on host size.
• Synthetic Monitoring: The tool facilitates synthetic monitoring by leveraging 3^rd party API ingestion and HTTP monitors.
• Real-User Monitoring: You are offered real-time monitoring capabilities that are ideal for keeping an eye on mobile, hybrid, and single-page applications.

Why We Like It:

Dynatrace is a decent network testing tool that is made all the more impressive by its amazing user interface and reporting capabilities. The tool is excellent at monitoring network traffic across all physical and virtual devices.

Pros:

• Great User-interface
• Comprehensive reporting
• Get full-stack visibility

Cons:

• The price can be on the higher side for some users.

Our Review: Dynatrace makes it to our list because of its ability to effortlessly recognize changes happening within one’s IT infrastructure. It is bolstered by an easy-to-access UI. The UI makes it possible for you to get a better view of your virtualized network infrastructure.

Price: Get in touch with the Dynatrace team to get a custom quote. A free trial and demo is also available upon request.

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#8) Ixia Network Emulators

Best for network profiling.

Ixia offers you a network emulation tool that lets the user test real-time network issues in a test lab environment. This tool helps in assessing the performance of new hardware, protocols, and applications and prevents issues from occurring in a production environment.

A major reason why we feel encouraged to include Ixia on this list is because of its realistic testing capabilities.

The tool simulates a real-world network environment. This makes the testing process more precise and easily repeatable. With the tool by your side, you’ll be able to test services and products against elements such as impairment, delay, and bandwidth. The tool is ideal for a variety of use cases.

You can count on the tool to test networked applications for reliability and performance. You can also leverage the tool to assess the impact of network conditions on IoT devices. The tool also does a good job of assessing the functionality of cloud-based services in different environments. The tool is also exceptional at validating network configurations and equipment in a network environment.

Features:

• Realistic Network Simulation: The tool excels at replicating realistic network conditions, which makes it ideal for application and device testing in a controlled environment.
• Protocol Emulation: The software supports a wide range of network protocols. As such, it is ideal for testing an array of network technologies.
• Customization: Users have the privilege of customizing network scenarios to mimic certain network conditions like a congested WAN.
• Performance Metrics: Get detailed performance stats. These metrics help users determine how devices and applications perform in different environments.

Why We Like It:

The tool is very thorough when it comes to testing applications and devices in different environments. Its reporting capabilities are also phenomenal, making it effective in identifying issues that can impact the actual testing.

Pros:

• Very accurate at replicating real-world network conditions
• Ideal for testing an array of devices and applications
• Comprehensive reporting capabilities

Cons:

• You’ll experience a steeper learning curve because of the tool’s advanced features.

Our Review: In essence, Ixia Network Emulation is a robust and versatile tool that excels at both network testing and validation. Its ability to mimic real-world network conditions along with its customization capabilities makes the tool essential for organizations who wish to enhance the performance of devices and applications on their network.

Price: Contact for price.

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#9) IxChariot

Best for realistic traffic emulation

IxChariot is one of the leading tools for troubleshooting networks and assessing applications. We can use before this tool and after deployment. This allows capturing networking diagnostics virtually anywhere. This tool has helped IT teams. It lets users measure device performance over Wi-Fi.

Like Ixia’s Network Emulation tool, IxChariot also mimics realistic network traffic. It can do so about various traffic patterns and application protocols. The tool is highly accurate in simulating real-world network conditions. Multi-point testing is another area where the tool shines. It can simultaneously test network performance from multiple endpoints.

It also grants administrators the privilege of creating and customizing test scenarios. This makes the tool ideal for targeted performance testing. The tool also excels in the custom report generation department. It presents you with detailed analytics, which are essential if you wish to address bottlenecks affecting your network performance.

Features:

• Real-World Traffic Emulation: The tool accurately mimics real-world network traffic conditions for an array of application protocols.
• Custom Reporting: The tool presents you with detailed reports that share insight on latency, packet loss, high-traffic periods, bandwidth, etc.
• Multi-Point Testing: The tool facilitates the testing of network performance simultaneously across multiple endpoints or locations.
• Customizable Test Scenarios: As an administrator, you’ll be able to create and customize test scenarios in a bid to mimic certain network traffic conditions.

Why We Like It:

IxChariot’s ability to replicate real-world traffic is as impressive as that of Ixia’s Network Emulation tool. Plus, you can create tailored test scenarios and conduct multi-point testing via this solution.

Pros:

• Mimic real-world traffic
• Integrates with third-party network monitoring tools
• Helps you create tailored test scenarios for various conditions.

Cons:

• A steep learning curve is involved, thanks to its advanced features.

Our Review: IxChariot proves itself a formidable network testing tool that can come to the aid of network engineers and IT professionals alike. Although complex, it is hard to not be impressed by IxChariot’s ability to mimic real-world traffic, perform multi-point testing, and deliver comprehensive performance reports.

Price: Contact the IxChariot team for a custom quote.

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#10) NetStress

Best for free network testing.

NetStress is a free tool that helps a user generate network traffic and analyze network throughput performance. The tool works well for both wired and wireless connections. It supports testing for multiple network adapters, allows testing both UDP and TCP data transfer, and supports multiple streams.

Further Reading => Throughput Vs Bandwidth – Know the Differences

The very first thing you’ll notice about NetStress is its user interface. This interface is meticulously designed, keeping the convenience of users in mind. The interface makes the tool easy to use and configure, which makes it ideal for both novice and experienced users. NetStress also excels at replicating network traffic.

The tool can effortlessly simulate various network traffic conditions. It also allows you to customize test scenarios as well. Customizable testing makes the tool highly flexible. You can use it to address specific sorts of network performance issues. The software boasts real-time performance monitoring capabilities.

Features:

• Traffic Generation: The tool can mimic various traffic conditions such as latency, packet loss, and bandwidth congestion.
• Custom Testing: It lets you customize test parameters. This entails the duration of a test, the amount of generated traffic, etc.
• Comprehensive Reporting: Get detailed reports and graphical representations of test results, thus making it easier to troubleshoot network issues.
• Real-Time Monitoring: The tool monitors issues on latency, jitter, packet loss, etc. in real time.

Why We Like It:

The best aspect of this tool is the fact that it is completely free to use and highly accessible, thanks to its intuitive interface. Its ability to create custom test parameters and real-time monitoring capabilities are also exceptional.

Pros:

• Easy-to-use interface
• Free to use
• Create customized test parameters.

Cons:

• The tool is more suitable for small-scale testing

Our Review: NetStress is an efficient network testing tool, especially for those seeking a fast and accessible method to test their network infrastructure. While it may not be suitable for large-scale testing, its cost-free nature, user-friendly interface, and ability to create custom test scenarios make it ideal for smaller networks.

Price: Free

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#11) Visual TruView

Best for real-time alerting.

Fluke Networks like Solar Winds provide several tools for performing all kinds of Network checks/Testing. They offer solutions for portable devices as well. TruView is an application, network performance monitoring, and troubleshooting tool that lets the user identify if the problem exists in the application, server, client, or network.

The newer version of TruView grants its users the ability to completely explore a user network and then follow it up by further drilling down into packets, trends, information, and other key elements. This allows the user to trend the performance of his/her application against the overall performance of the application.

This is essential if the user wishes to get to the bottom of an issue plaguing an application on a network. Administrators also have the privilege of launching detailed path analyses. This visualization helps them identify the network component involved in establishing a connection, how data packets traversed throughout the network, and what problems they acquired.

TruView’s diagnostic capabilities extend far beyond assessing the performance of applications. You can also use it to assess VoIP traffic. You are presented with a comprehensive overview of your VoIP traffic further filtered by phone number.

Features:

• Packet Capture Analysis: The tool helps you identify security issues, intrusion attempts, network congestion, and packet loss issues.
• Automated Network Discovery: The tool grants you complete visibility over your company’s IT network and lets you monitor all components involved.
• Real-Time Alerts: Set up alerts to be notified immediately via your chosen mode of communication to address an issue before it is too late.
• Path Analysis: You can launch a comprehensive path analysis, which will make you privy to information like determining network components involved in a connection.

Why We Like It:

TruView offers exactly what you need for network testing and monitoring. Its GUI is one of the best we’ve ever experienced. Plus, it does its job of identifying issues on a network very well.

Pros:

• Seamless integration with third-party tools
• Easy to use and navigate GUI
• Presents you with customizable reports

Cons:

• User experience could be a lot better with more comprehensive documentation.

Our Review: TruView shines because of its sustainable discovery engine, which lets you assess the specs of applications, servers, and websites. Add to that a user-friendly, customizable dashboard and you have one of the finest network testing tools at your service.

Price: Contact the TruView Team for a clear quote.

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#12) Spyse

Spyse has broad functionality for testing your network. It collects and processes large amounts of data regularly so that you can enjoy the below benefits.

• Explore Autonomous Systems and Subnets.
• Perform DNS lookup and find necessary DNS records.
• Explore SSL/TLS certificate expiration dates, issuers, and more.
• Find vulnerable domains and sub-domains.
• Explore and monitor open ports, map and protect network perimeters.
• Parse any text or image for IP addresses.
• Find WHOIS records.

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#13) Acunetix

Acunetix Online includes a fully automated network vulnerability scanner that detects and reports on over 50,000 known network vulnerabilities and misconfigurations.

It discovers open ports and running services; assesses the security of routers, firewalls, switches, and load balancers; tests for weak passwords, DNS zone transfer, badly configured Proxy Servers, weak SNMP community strings and TLS/SSL ciphers, among others.

It integrates with Acunetix Online to provide a comprehensive perimeter network security audit on top of the Acunetix web application audit.

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#14) Obkio

Obkio is a simple network performance monitoring solution that allows users to continuously monitor the health of their network and core business applications to improve the end-user experience.

Obkio’s sleek and user-friendly software application diagnoses the causes of intermittent VoIP, video, and applications slowdown in seconds – because nothing is more frustrating than wasting time due to a poor connection.

Deploy network performance monitoring Agents at strategic locations in your company’s offices or network destinations to easily identify the source of a system failure so you can quickly apply the corrective measures before it affects your end-users.

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#15) WAN Killer by SolarWinds

It is a network traffic generator tool and lets users test network performance for a specific WAN in a controlled test environment. This tool allows testing network traffic thresholds and load balancing.

SolarWinds offers several types of network-related tools. Its Engineer’s Toolset includes almost all tools required for network testing and comes as one complete package that allows network monitoring, diagnostics, and network discovery tools.

The troubleshooting tools SolarWinds offers you, integrate well with your applications, networks, devices, and vendors through a single-page path analysis. The troubleshooting is done in virtually no time. With the help of this tool, you’ll be able to view latency either historically or in real time.

You also get a centralized control panel. This panel presents you with details about the performance and traffic of devices and applications. Another area where the tool truly excels is in the diagnostics department. You get data-driven diagnostics, which you can rely on to get to the bottom of issues plaguing the components on your network.

Features:

• Visualize Path: The software does a good job of visualizing critical network paths. This way you can be privy to the performance of devices and apps on a network historically and in real-time.
• Traffic Analysis: The tools allow you to visually correlate performance data. This helps in identifying the root causes of issues plaguing the network.
• Automatic Configuration Management: Monitor rapid changes across multi-vendor and complex networks. With configuration management automated, you can easily meet security compliance.
• Network Alerts: Easily set up default and custom alerts. Specify how you wish to receive the alerts and who should receive the alerts.

Why We Like It:

Besides being easy to use and set up, SolarWinds offers you software that excels in visualizing critical paths and performing data-driven diagnostics. It also grants you the privilege of setting up custom alerts.

Pros:

• A fully functional 30-day free trial
• Monitor network performance historically or in real-time
• Presents data-driven reporting
• Automatic network configuration

Cons:

• Nothing significant

Our Review: From visualizing network paths to hassle-free analysis of traffic and data-driven diagnosis of issues, there is simply a lot to like about SolarWinds. The tool is easy to set up and manage. Plus, you can use the fully functional tool free for the first 30 days.

Price: You’ll need to contact the SolarWinds team to get a free quote tailored to your needs.

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Conclusion

The above lists of network testing tools to monitor and manage high-performance networks have been compiled after certain research, if you feel we have missed out on any other important tool here, please free to add.