SolarWinds Network Packet Sniffer is a network software which can help IT admins figure out issues with the network traffic which affects overall experience to access anything. Here, we will review the software, share the pros, and cons, and tell you what you should be careful about.
What is a Network Packet Sniffer
When one device talks to another device, a Data Packet, which is filled with information, is sent. A network tool which can read these packets is called Sniffer. Network Packet Sniffer is software used to read data on a network to find the root cause of the poor end-user experience and monitor network traffic anomalies
In simple words, Network Sniffers copy data from the stream and tries to read it. Data can be anything here. It can be transaction detail, passwords, plain text messages, or anything else. Network Packet Sniffer can check network integrity, and fix any loopholes. In wrong hands, it can be lethal.
Solarwinds Network Packet Sniffer review
This software can calculate network and application response time to determine if the end-user quality of experience is impacted by the network or the app – all this in real-time!
Solarwinds Packet Sniffer Pros
1] Broad overall view of what’s going on in your network, measured across many metrics. It helps you to realize if its the application that is slow or its the network that is causing the bottleneck. Most of the applications send and receive data, and hence the point.
2] Visual aids and charts to spot trends and abnormalities at a glance.The software offers a dashboard which can chart data points. These data points help you understand the quality of experience dashboard that features a quick-glance summary of a variety of network and application performance metrics.
Like you can see in the above chart, it shows top application response time and top network response time. So if any software or network is taking a lot of time, you will know it.
3] Identify over 1,200 applications. It’s important for software like this to support a wide variety of applications, and SolarWinds software can identify 1200 applications. It can calculate application and network response time, data volume, transactions, and categorizes traffic into types, volumes, classification, and risk.
Once it has the data, it can create intelligent maps, NetPath, and PerfStack for easy troubleshooting, and advanced alerting. Last but not least, it can be combined with Windows Network Performance Monitor for better analysis. You can quickly evaluate all of this with a 30-day trial.
Solarwinds Cons
Now that you know all the Pros lets take a look at the cons. As per my understanding, its disadvantages compared to existing solutions in the market, and you need to keep these points in mind.
1] The software offers a lot of options, which in turn can be overwhelming for starters. You will have to understand and set it up for the best results carefully. SolarWinds offer an exhaustive set of How to, documents, videos and more to make sure even if you are a beginner you don’t end up lost.
2] The software costs $2995, which may look steep – but then the features offered are of premium level.
A word of warning for Network Packet Sniffers
Network Sniffers software was created by IT admins to figure out, and resolve issues with the network. Many a time its the network that slows down the response, and not the application. However, in the wrong hands, network sniffers can be a threat.
The problem with network sniffers is that they’re no longer just being used by authorized admins. Hackers use network sniffers to steal personal information over unencrypted public Wi-Fi networks. That’s the primary reason it is an excellent habit to connect with public hotspot by first securing the connection. You can do it easily using a VPN like ExpressVPN and similar VPN services. All the VPNs will encrypt your traffic, protecting your data from network sniffers
SolarWinds Network Packet Sniffer is an excellent software for those looking for an ultimate solution to monitor and analyze their network traffic. If you are a company hosting applications or building one for the client, which depends on a network, the sniffer is going to be helpful to deliver balanced performance.
