5 Popular network monitoring and analyzing tools: The technology is now so advance that, being in Asia, we can use the computers physically located in America. All Thanks to networking infrastructure that we have made this world small. With this vast extension of network all round the world, security is one major concern. Everyone wants their data and network secure and intact. Whether private network of home/office or public network, these popular tools will help us to monitor and analyze our network to improve optimum security. 1.
Wireshark:
Wireshark is one popular network protocol analyzer and packet capturing tool. It helps to perform indepth inspection of protocols and packet transmitted over network. Its simple graphical interface makes it easy to use. It is an open source packet analyzer tool which is preferred by many network penetration testers and security analyst. The main features of this popular tool are:
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Data can be captured from live network connection Live data can be read from different type of network such as Ethernet, PPP, IEEE 802.11 and loopback Captured data from the network can be browsed by graphical user interface or terminal line via a utility called Tshark Captured files can be edited programmatically Can detect VoIP call in the captured data file Microsoft Network Monitor:
It is also one packet analyzer tool which helps us to capture, view and analyze the network traffic. It helps to troubleshoot network problem and network applications. It was originally designed by developed by Raymond patch, engineer from Microsoft LAN manager development team. Main features of this tool are:
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Simultaneous capture session Process tracking Sniffing of promiscuous mode traffic Real time capture and display of frames Wireless monitor mode(limited to supported Network interface cards) EasyNetMonitor:
It is one super lightweight tool for monitoring local and remote host to determine whether they are live or not. It is very useful for monitoring critical servers or any critical part of network and gives us notification instantly when they got down.
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Nagios:
It is open source network and network infrastructure monitoring tool. It was originally designed to work under Linux but runs under different Unix variants as well. It can be used for small business as well as big enterprises. Main feature of this application are:
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Monitoring of different network protocols Remote monitoring support through SSH or SSL encrypted tunnel Graphical web interface (optional) for network status, notifications and log files Able to define event handlers to be run during services Data storage via text file instead of database file NetXMS:
It is one popular open source network management system. It can monitor router and switch to even applications on server. The main features of this system are:
Monitoring of network devices Centralized remote agent upgrades Flexible access control configuration Multiplatform support Portable client library
The above tools help us to monitor our network and add security features where required. These tools can be handy for network administrator and IT security officers.