January 2, 2021

SNMP Monitoring Tools

Modern businesses and organizations rely on modems, routers, switches, servers, workstations, printers, and other connected devices, and their health and functionality is critical to productivity. Any serious data network problem can bring a company to a standstill and keep it there until the problem is properly resolved.
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Network Inventory Advisor
Automatically collect all relevant data on all network devices and get detailed OS and devices statistics.
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Network Inventory Advisor for Windows scans Windows, Mac OS X, Linux computers and SNMP devices, any of them will count as a node.

As such, an appropriate management of all essential network services and devices is needed. Most experienced system administrators rely on network monitoring tools build upon a technology called SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) to collect accurate information about the servers and the infrastructure they manage. This article provides a brief introduction to SNMP monitoring, its benefits, and the most popular SNMP monitoring tools currently available.

What Is SNMP Monitoring?

SNMP monitoring provides a way for servers to share information about their current state as well as a channel through with network administrators can manage applications and devices. .

“SNMP is an Internet Standard protocol for collecting and organizing information about managed devices on IP networks and for modifying that information to change device behavior..”

SNMP is an Internet Standard protocol for collecting and organizing information about managed devices on IP networks and for modifying that information to change device behavior. The initial version of the protocol, called SNMPv1, was published in 1988 under Request for Comments (RFCs) 1065, 1066, and 1067.

SNMPv1 earned a lot of criticism for using a plaintext password as the primary means of authentication. The second version of SNMP, SNMPv2, introduced a new party-based security system, which many viewed as too complex. Finally, SNMPv3 added cryptographic security and remote configuration enhancements to SNMP. Prior to SNMPv3, network administrators were using other security means, such as telnet for configuration, accounting, and fault management.

Although the SNMP protocol is seen as overly complex, there are many easy-to-use SNMP network monitoring software solutions that greatly simplify the interaction with the set of standards for network management that are included in the protocol.

What Are the Advantages of SNMP Monitoring and Management for a Company?

SNMP monitoring and management with SNMP monitoring software allows companies to monitor network performance, detect network problems, prevent inappropriate access, audit network usage, and configure remote devices. SNMP can also be used to configure operating systems, and it can even be used to monitor consumables such as ink, toner, and paper supplies.

With SNMP monitoring, businesses and organizations can keep their networks and network devices healthy and operational to ensure maximum productivity at all times.




What Are the Best Tools for SNMP Monitoring and Management?

Considering how beneficial SNMP monitoring and management can be, businesses and organizations should research the available options and select the best SNMP management tool available. SNMP management tools are available from many different vendors, each offering a slightly different set of features and capabilities. We have selected five SNMP management tools that we believe offer the best value.

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choice #1
4.9
#1 • Editor choice
Network Inventory Advisor
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Runs on Windows. Scans Windows, Mac OS X, Linux computers and SNMP devices.
Network Inventory Advisor is an extremely popular SNMP monitoring software solution and the number one SNMP management tool on this list. What sets Network Inventory Advisor apart from many other software solutions with similar functionality is its remarkable ease of use and ability to satisfy the needs of small businesses and large enterprises alike.
Network Inventory Advisor for SNMP monitoring
Network Inventory Advisor offers SNMP monitoring to discover the SNMP devices on a network with just a few clicks and with comprehensive reporting capabilities, including the ability to generate reports with info on software licensing, capacity utilization, configuration, unauthorized devices, and hardware warranty status. Network Inventory Advisor additionally supports remote management and hardware and software asset inventory to save network administrators their valuable time.
Inventory scanner
Network Inventory Advisor can be tested by anyone for free for up to 15 days, and it runs on Windows and scans Windows, Linux, macOS, and SNMP devices.
Editor’s choice 2019
Network Inventory Advisor
Automatically collect all relevant data on all network devices and get detailed OS and devices statistics.
Download for Windows
Network Inventory Advisor for Windows scans Windows, Mac OS X, Linux computers and SNMP devices, any of them will count as a node.
choice #2
4.5
#2 • Author rank
Paessler PRTG Network Monitor
Paessler PRTG Network Monitor is a comprehensive infrastructure monitoring solution with support for SNMP, WMI, SSH, flows and packet sniffing, HTTP requests, historical data reports in PDF, HTML, CSV, and XML format, and powerful API for Python, EXE, DLL, PowerShell, Visual Basic, Batch scripting.
Paessler PRTG Network Monitor
With Paessler PRTG Network Monitor it’s possible to monitor everything from LANs to WANs to servers to websites to individual applications and more. Paessler PRTG Network Monitor is able to ping a defined IP range and send alerts when it discovers warning or unusual metrics.
choice #3
4.2
#3 • Author rank
Spiceworks Network Monitor
Spiceworks Network Monitor provides real-time status and alerts, helping businesses and organizations detect problems before users notice anything unusual. Some of the more notable features of Spiceworks Network Monitor include a dynamic dashboard, the ability to verify that IP-enabled devices are online and responding, and adjustable alerts with in-app notifications or emails.
Spiceworks Network Monitor
Spiceworks Network Monitor can be easily integrated with other Spiceworks tools, including a fully-loaded help desk and a hardware and software inventory monitoring tool, which doesn’t require any agent to be installed on the monitored devices.
choice #4
4.2
#4 • Author rank
Datadog
Datadog is a modern monitoring and analytics solution with a plethora of useful features and turn-key integrations with popular apps and services. With Datadog, it takes just a few minutes to build real-time interactive dashboards with high-resolution metrics and events for manipulation and graphing.
Datadog
Datadog is built to give visibility across teams, allowing users to discuss issues in-context with production data, see who responded to that alert before, and remember what was done to fix it. Datadog additionally includes full API access to bring observability to all apps and infrastructure.
choice #5
4.0
#5 • Author rank
Zabbix
Zabbix is an open source monitoring solution designed to support small to large environments. Zabbix was created to help businesses reduce operating costs, avoid downtime, and improve service quality.
Zabbix
The developers have successfully tested Zabbix with over 100,000 devices monitored, collecting gigabytes of historical data every day. Zabbix is available for Linux, UNIX, and Windows platforms, offering agentless monitoring as well as support virtual environments.
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Network Inventory Advisor for Windows scans Windows, Mac OS X, Linux computers and SNMP devices, any of them will count as a node.