Network administration keeps track of and eyes all your network devices, such as network switches, hubs, routers, servers, etc. We must remember how important it is to have a tool for network administrators.
These tools will help you determine why a specific network problem is happening. You can use it to figure out what’s wrong and fix it. You can also use it to control all the tools on the network.
Top 10 Network Administrator Tools
1) SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor
Best for people who run networks and systems.
The SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor is a multi-vendor, scalable network monitoring tool. With this tool for network administrators, you don’t have to install separate servers for each program. It is easy to set up and keep up, and it can help you quickly monitor your NOC.
Features:
- Network Performance Monitor has improved troubleshooting for your On-premises, Private, Hybrid, and Public cloud services.
- It has complete monitoring and control of network faults and performance.
- It is a real-time tool that can be used at any time.
- It can grow as the network’s needs do.
- It can send out alerts ahead of time.
Verdict: This tool was made by network and system engineers who know how far they can go in controlling our IT environments. It is a tool that has been used for a long time in the IT world—a handy, easy-to-find, and simple-to-use tool for network administrators.
Price:
Free sample and paid options.
2) ManageEngine OpManager
Best for watching a network in real-time.
OpManager is an excellent tool for IT workers who want to know how well everything on their company’s network is running. The software can keep an eye on both real and virtual computers all the time to make sure they are running at their best.
The program also monitors WAN (vast area network) and storage devices. OpManager is also an excellent way to see how your network works. It does this with the help of 3D data floors, Layer2 maps, and terrain maps.
Features:
- Watching both physical and virtual servers
- Watching the WAN
- Keeping an eye on Cisco ASI
- Take Care of Problems
Verdict: With OpManager, you get a network administrator that is all in one and can watch the network in real-time. The program is a great way to learn more about a network’s most vulnerable parts.
Price:
You can choose between the Professional, Standard, and Enterprise versions. For a price, get in touch.
3) Paessler PRTG Network Monitor
Best for people who run networks.
The Paessler PRTG network monitor is one of the best all-in-one tools for sniffing data bits that you can use. One great thing about this tool is that it will always give you detailed information about the performance of your whole system and network.
It makes use of a variety of technologies, including as SNMP, NetFlow, WMI, and network sniffing, among others, to keep track of your bandwidth and traffic.
Features:
- Help you keep an eye on data bits and traffic.
- Filter based on the IP location, the protocol, and the data type.
- Manage all of your apps and learn everything you need to know about the apps running on your network.
- It can keep an eye on and control all of your cloud services from anywhere.
- It can check your servers’ availability and usability in real-time.
Verdict: Paessler PRTG is not only a sniffing tool but can also be used as tracking software. This tool for network administrators can keep an eye on all of your hardware, like the CPU and memory. This is the best tool for your IT system to spy on networks.
Price:
There is a free version of Paessler PRTG. The 30-day trial version is free. The start price for the Commercial form is $1750.
4) Perimeter 81
The best for small to large businesses and security experts.
We can think of many reasons why Perimeter 81 deserves to be on this list. The software runs in the cloud and lets users control and protect their network with just a few clicks. The software uses a security model with multiple layers to make network access easy and safe for on-site and online users.
The program is also elementary to use. Setting up and running the program will take up to a few minutesPerimeter 81’s access and control are different from anything we’ve seen in similar tools.
Features:
- To make a network less vulnerable to attacks, divide, and separate network access.
- Create custom access jobs with individual providers in charge of authentication.
- Use several primary encryption methods, such as WireGuard, OpenVPN, etc.
- You can see more of your organization’s network infrastructure with seamless connections.
- Device to Check Posture
Verdict: Perimeter 81 protects traffic, sees endpoints, creates unique, scalable network access rules, and integrates security across cloud and local resources on a single platform. This is a top network administration tool for businesses. Setup and use are simple.
Price:
- Essentials Plan: $8 a month for each user
- Premium Plan: $12 a month for each user
- Premium Plus: $16 a month for each user
- Plans for businesses can also be made to fit their needs.
5) NordLayer
Best for network monitoring in real-time and robust protection against threats.
NordLayer uses the best network and security features to keep business data, resources, and data on a network as safe as possible. NordLayer is different from other tools because it offers a more flexible solution. This method does an excellent job of isolating threats when they happen so that as minor damage as possible is done to the network.
Features:
- Partitioning a network
- Assurance of Compliance
- Management of Identity and Access
- Management of Secure Access
- Access VPN from afar
Verdict: NordLayer is a powerful network security tool that eliminates vulnerabilities and offers full network protection. This network management ranks among the finest because of its low price and scalability.
Price:
NordLayer comes with three plans, which are as follows:
- Basic: $7/user per month
- Advanced: $9/user per month
- Custom pricing plan
6) Wireshark
Best for people who work in security.
Wireshark is a network protocol monitor that is used all over the world. It is one of the best tools for network administrators because it lets you see how the whole network works. This tool is well known and is used by many businesses, non-profits, government agencies, and schools.
This app was made by networking pros worldwide who volunteered their time to work together. This tool for network administrators works on many different systems, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, NetBSD, and many more.
Features:
- Ability to look closely at hundreds of protocols simultaneously as adding more protocols.
- It has a lot of information about VoIP.
- Compared to other tools, it has the most potent show filters.
- Capture data in real time and analyze it later.
- Use the TShark utility’s GUI or TTY mode to look through network data that has been recorded.
- It can decrypt things like IPsec, Kerberos, WEP, WPA/WPA2, SSL/TLS, and WPA/WPA2.
Verdict: The result of Wireshark can be sent to XML, CSV, or plain text. Wireshark is a great network tool because it can run on Windows, Linux, and macOS. This is called “multi-platform.”
Price:
This tool is free and open source.
7) FileZilla
Best for users or companies that need to move a lot of files.
FileZilla is famous because it works on many different platforms. It has a tool for FTP clients and a server version that works with FTP and FTPS. Files bigger than 4GB can be used with the FileZilla server version. It has enough capacity to meet most organizations’ needs around the world.
It is straightforward to use and set up FileZilla. All you have to do to see your files and folders is connect to a server with the proper credentials.
Features:
- Very simple to use and set up.
- You can get FileZilla in more than one language.
- It works on many different running systems because it is cross-platform.
- It has a tool for setting up a network that can help you get up to speed quickly.
- It lets you send large files that are bigger than 4GB.
- It has a transfer queue and a powerful site editor.
Verdict: FileZilla is ranked as the best cross-platform secure FTP solution in the world by many people. FileZilla is the right tool for sending files over FTPS or FTP. Another great thing about this tool is that it can be set up quickly. This makes it easy to use right away. It works with various running systems, including Windows, Linux, Mac OS, etc.
Price:
This tool is free and open source.
8) Clonezilla
Best for small and big businesses that clone a lot of discs.
Clonezilla is an excellent tool for imaging discs and making copies of systems. It is free for anyone to use. Clonezilla is an excellent software for imaging partitions and hard drives. It can help you quickly set up, back up, and restore a system.
There are three types of Clonezilla. The Clonezilla Live is suitable for a single backup and restore, and the Clonezilla lite server or Clonezilla SE is best for a significant deployment of over 40 computers simultaneously. This program can save and restore only the used parts of the hard drive. This makes the clone more efficient in general.
Features:
- Clonezilla works with a wide range of file systems.
- It can restore to more than one local device from the same file.
- It has a setting called “unattended.”
- On Clonezilla, you can secure your picture.
- It works with multi-cast, which lets you make a lot of copies.
- The Clonezilla lite server supports bittorrent.
- Clonezilla’s AES-256 encryption can be used to keep data safe when it is being accessed, stored, or sent.
- The MBR and GPT partition types can be used on the hard drive.
Verdict: Clonezilla is a free, open-source program that can copy disc partitions and images. Anyone can use it. This software makes it easy to back up your system, copy your whole hard drive, launch your system, and do many other things on your system.
Price:
This tool is free and open source.
9) Notepad++
The best for programmers.
Notepad++ is a free, open-source text and code editor program. It was made to replace Notepad and can be used in many different languages.
Features:
- C++ is used to make Notepad++.
- It uses only the Win32 API and the STL.
- Notepad++ can make many tasks run better.
- It works with a wide range of computer languages.
- It uses computer languages like PHP, JavaScript, and others to show the syntax.
Verdict: Notepad++ is a text and source code editor with about 80 programming languages. Its tabbed editing interface lets you work on tasks in the same window. Notepad++ is free software that is offered under the GPL license and is used all over the world.
Price:
This tool is free and open source.
10) Fiddler
Best for coders and people who work in security.
Fiddler is a free web testing proxy that can be used with any browser. This is a great tool to use when you want to troubleshoot a program that sends a request to a server.
But keep in mind that Fiddler doesn’t automatically record HTTPS requests. You’ll need to do a little setup to make this happen. To allow HTTP capturing, go to TOOLS > OPTIONS > HTTPS and check the boxes next to Capture HTTPS and Decrypt options.
Features:
- Any client-server platform works with it.
- It can record and playback traffic.
- It is used to read encrypted HTTPS requests.
- It can change the way online sessions work.
- It can do compression testing with load testing.
Verdict: There are a lot of tools for sniffing networks, but they need to match Fiddler’s complete visibility. Fiddler lets you play with the network stack, as its name suggests. Fiddler is a web-testing proxy for many browsers and systems that can be used quickly and easily.
Price:
Free sample and paid options.
Conclusion
We’ve now looked at some of the best network tools online. The important thing is to know which one will work best in your surroundings and which one will help you solve any problems you may be having right now.
Each network tool offers unique features, whether it’s network tracking, network sniffers, service management logs, device management, traffic control, or others. Understanding their benefits empowers you to make informed decisions for your network infrastructure.