Best Network Monitoring Software Tools

Top Best Network Monitoring Software Tools

The network monitoring tools used to monitor the entire network devices and services constantly and it notifies the Network Administrators if any network devices or services effected (any Node or Links down and services affected with high utilization).

Now most of the organizations from the smallest office to the largest enterprises looking for some kind of network monitoring tools to help them analyze performance issues, alert them to threats, and provide reports on the health of the network environment. For any organization it is highly crucial to invest on Network Monitoring Tools. This below list comprises of some free and some paid but all desirable Network monitoring tools, you can find customized  package or an open source code tool as per your requirements.

Cacti

Cacti is a complete network graphing solution designed to harness the power of RRDTool’s data storage and graphing functionality. Cacti provides a fast poller, advanced graph templating, multiple data acquisition methods, and user management features out of the box. All of this is wrapped in an intuitive, easy to use interface that makes sense for LAN-sized installations up to complex networks with hundreds of devices.

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PRTG Network Monitor

PRTG monitors system availability using a variety of methods from simple ping through SNMP and WMI protocols to specific tasks such as HTTP, DNS, and Remote Desktop availability using various sensors. Using specific sensors for specific machines, an administrator can monitor service availability–including Exchange and SQL–and be notified instantly of problems. Also, PRTG comes with some bandwidth monitoring sensors, so you can ensure that malware designed to do DoS, “phone home”, and other overload activities are not operating on your network.

PRTG supports all Windows versions, XP/2003 or later.

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Nagios

Nagios is a system and network monitoring application. Nagios XI extends on proven, enterprise-class Open Source components to deliver the best monitoring solution for today’s demanding organizational requirements. It watches hosts and services that you specify, alerting you when things go bad and when they get better. Some of its many features include monitoring of network services (SMTP, POP3, HTTP, NNTP, ICMP, etc.), monitoring of host resources (processor load, disk usage, etc.), and contact notifications when service or host problems occur and get resolved (via email, pager, or user-defined method).

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Orion Network Performance Monitor

Orion Network Performance Monitor is the ticket for large, complex network environments. Stand-out features are the Web interface, an integrated Wireless Poller to monitor wireless devices, and easily customizable reports.

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Colasoft packet graphing

Colasoft software includes a Diagnosis console that lists events separated by OSI layers and enables sorting by severity, source address or event type to help speed recovery. A special Matrix view is available, too, that depicts connections at-a-glance, further enhancing diagnosis.

Supported operating systems are Windows-only: Windows XP (32- and 64-bit versions), Windows Server 2003 (32- and 64-bit versions), Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit versions), Windows 2008 (32- and 64-bit versions) and Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit versions).
Update: Capsa 7.2.1 no longer supports Windows 2000.

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Munin

Munin is an open source application that enables the administrator to monitor and collect data for networks, PCs, SANS, and even applications. It is designed to be very plug and play. A default installation provides a lot of graphs with almost no work.

Munin is available for UNIX and UNIX-like operating systems including: Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, Solaris, AIX, OS X / Darwin supported in trunk, and HP-UX.

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Zenoss

Zenoss provides insight and unified operations for large-scale physical, virtual and cloud-based IT environments. Zenoss is available for a number of operating systems. You can install packages built for most flavours of Linux and Mac OS X, or build it from source on any other system where there are no packages pre-built. Also available are virtual appliances for VMware.

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Zabbix

Zabbix is an enterprise-class open source distributed monitoring solution that has Advanced cache module for much better performance.

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collectd

collectd gathers statistics about the system it is running on and stores this information. Those statistics can then be used to find current performance bottlenecks (i.e. performance analysis) and predict future system load (i.e. capacity planning).

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Observium

Observium is an autodiscovering PHP/MySQL/SNMP based network monitoring system focused primarily on Cisco and Linux networks but includes support for a wide range of network hardware and operating systems.

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Argus

Argus is a system and network monitoring application. Argus is a fixed-model Real Time Flow Monitor designed to track and report on the status and performance of all network transactions seen in a data network traffic stream. It will monitor nearly any applications like TCP + UDP applications, IP connectivity, SNMP OIDS, Programs, Databases, etc. Argus provides a common data format for reporting flow metrics such as connectivity, capacity, demand, loss, delay, and jitter on a per transaction basis. The record format that Argus uses is flexible and extensible, supporting generic flow identifiers and metrics, as well as application/protocol specific information.

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Ganglia

Ganglia is a scalable distributed monitoring system for high-performance computing systems such as clusters and Grids. It is based on a hierarchical design targeted at federations of clusters. It leverages widely used technologies such as XML for data representation, XDR for compact, portable data transport, and RRDtool for data storage and visualization.

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Monit

Monit is a free open source utility for managing and monitoring, processes, files, directories and filesystems on a UNIX system. Monit conducts automatic maintenance and repair and can execute meaningful causal actions in error situations.

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Splunk

Splunk allows you to index, search, alert, and report on both live and archived IT data. Splunk is a modular Web-based tool that allows you to add or subtract apps to match your needs. There are both free and enterprise versions available for Windows, Linux, Mac, AIX, Solaris, and BSD.

Splunk collects data from multiple sources on your network and analyzes that data in one, centralized, Web-based location.

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LogicMonitor

LogicMonitor allows you to add an agent to a machine and have it monitored from your own, personalized dashboard that can be reached from anywhere using a web browser. It will keep you apprised of the status of your network, network equipment, cloud, databases, applications, power infrastructure, and more.

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How to remove Shortcut Virus from External Hard Disk or Pendrive

When you connect any Pendrive or Flash Drive or External Hard Disk to your PC, Sometimes you will see all files and folder have changed to shortcuts like below image, and also My Documents, My Pictures and My Videos folders are in there. When you try to open them (double click) nothing happen. It was a virus attack for External Hard disk or Pendrive. Everybody call it Shortcut Virus.

Shortcut virus problem in Removable disk like Pendrive or External hard disk is most commonvirus of the computer and users are hanged because to find the solution to clear the shortcut virus.

Now I found a solution. A secure data recovery method. I could recover all my data back. Noshortcuts anymore.

Steps to Remove Shortcut Virus from Pendrive or External Hard disk

1. Go to Start –>Programs –>Accessories –>Right-click on “Command Prompt” and select “Run as Administrator”.

or

2. Go to Run->cmd and hit enter.

Type the following command.

attrib –h –r –s /s /d f:\*.* and hit enter.

[Note: f indicates the Removable disk path name]

Wait for meanwhile the windows path is again coming.

Then again open your Removable disks like External Hard disk or Pendrive. Your shortcut virus folders are retrived to the original folder. Select all the shortcut folders and delete. Now your problem gets solved.


This solution is for removes the virus from the pen drive, USB drives, Memory cards and otherexternal Hard Disks.

Cisco Router Configuration Command Line Interface (CLI) Modes

You can learn the different Router CLI configuration modes and their specifications here. This article will help you to passing your Cisco certification exams. Generally the lower end Cisco Routers uses different commands than the mid to upper range routers. The commands we are using on different Cisco Routers are almost the same, but there are always a few variations to these commands depending on the interfaces your Cisco Router has, IOS version, and the type of WAN protocols they support.

User Exec Mode:

This is the first mode you'll see on a Cisco Router is user exec mode. This is also the default mode when you are connected the Router using Telnet. You can't write or add to a configuration in this mode, but you can run quite a few show commands. This is a good mode to have users in who need to see the configuration, but shouldn't be allowed to change it.

The user exec mode prompt will look like this:

Cisco-Router>

Privilege or Enable Mode:

This mode has two names, the official one being privileged exec mode. It's more commonly referred to as enable mode, since "enable" is what you type to get into this mode. Now you got complete access privileges of Cisco device but this mode gives you more options for show and other commands, but you still can't configure anything.

Router>enable

Router#

Cisco Router Setup Mode:

Cisco Router will go to the setup mode if it is brand new or with default condition. After completing the booting process, Cisco Router will prompt in setup mode for initial configuration dialogue if there is no configuration in the memory. Already configured Cisco Router will not prompt setup mode directly. You can also enter into the Router setup mode any time by using setup command.

The Cisco Router setup mode commands are as follows:

Router # setup

System Configuration Dialog Continue with configuration dialog? [Yes/no]: Y

At any point you may enter a question mark "?" for help

Use ctrl-c to abort the configuration dialog at any prompt

Default settings are in square brackets "[ ]"

Basic management setup configures only enough connectivity for management of the Router, extended setup will ask you to configure each interface on the Router.

Would you like to enter basic management setup? [Yes/no] n

Global Configuration Mode:

To configure the Cisco Router, you must have to enter the global mode. To enter into this mode, issue the configure terminal or config t command from the privileged EXEC mode. All the configurations are done in this mode, and you can also issue a show command like in privilege exec mode by using Do command.

This mode we can call as Global mode or Global configuration mode

Router#conf t

Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.

Router(config)#

Interface Mode:

To configure any interface, you have to enter the interface's configuration mode. To enter into this mode, issue the interface command from the global configuration mode. You can go back to the privileged EXEC mode by pressing CTRL+Z or issue an END command. To exit from this mode, issue the EXIT command, and you'll be moved to the global configuration mode. You can also use show commands with DO command here.

Router(config)#interface serial0

Router(config-if)#

Sub Interface Configuration Mode:

To configure any logical interfaces on Cisco Router, you have to enter the sub interface's configuration mode. To enter into this, issue the interface command from the global configuration mode with sub or logical interface number.

Router(config)#interface FastEthernet 0/0.1

Router(config-subif)#

Router Configuration Mode:

To configure a Router protocol, you have to enter a specific Routing protocol command in global configuration mode. If want to execute a privileged EXEC commands such as the show command, you can execute using DO command. You can go back to the privileged EXEC mode by pressing CTRL+Z or with END command. To exit from this mode, issue the exit command, and you'll be moved to the global configuration mode.

Router(config)#router rip

Router(config-router)#exit

Router(config)#

Line Configuration Mode:

To configure authentication to access the router using the console port or remotely, you have to enter the configuration mode of the specific line(s). To enter into this, issue the line command from the global configuration mode or other configuration mode. If you wish to execute a privileged EXEC command such as the show command, you can precede it by the DO command. You can go back to the privileged EXEC mode by pressing CTRL+Z or with END command. To exit from this mode, issue the exit command, and you'll be moved to the global configuration mode.

The prompt config-line indicates that you're in line configuration mode.

Router#conf t

Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.

Router(config)#line console 0

Router(config-line)#password cisco

Router(config-line)#login

Router(config-line)#line vty 0 4

Router(config-line)#password cisco

Router(config-line)#login

Notice that you do not have to exit one interface mode to go to another one. Let's say that you've configured your VTY lines and now want to put an IP address on your Ethernet interface. You don't have to go out with ctrl-z and then start again - you can go straight to interface config mode from line config mode. Just make sure you see the prompt change.

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