IT admins are expected to keep the organization’s network reliable and resilient all while the complexity of today’s networks grows. From adopting hybrid infrastructures and maintaining multi-cloud environments’ security to managing ever-increasing bandwidth demands, enterprise network management is getting more difficult by day. This demands a solution that will give organizations control and visibility into the entire infrastructure while providing the advantage to scale along with its growth.
What are protocol analyzers?
Usual problems in a dynamic network environment can go undetected for an extended time because of lack of visibility, and this can greatly impact a network in terms of performance and security. Protocol analyzers are tools that analyze network traffic to help admins identify any issues persisting in a network and make the troubleshooting process easier. These tools can identify the traffic type and analyze its context to understand which is business-specific traffic and which is a threat, overall securing the network from malicious attacks.
Protocol analyzers work by capturing data packets as they travel across a network, and they provide traffic insights in the form of graphs and charts. They visualize the entire infrastructure, pinpoint the root cause of the issue, and send an alert when there is any abnormal traffic behavior.
How do protocol analyzers work?
There are two widely used types of protocol analyzers: ad-hoc analysis and packet capture. Ad-hoc analysis is when the packets are captured and the traffic parameters are filtered by analyzing any particular segment. On the other hand, packet capture works by collecting all traffic 24/7 to identify bottlenecks with performance or network security. Although packet capture is an effective method, it can cost you more storage, since it captures both packet headers and payloads.
Why go for a NetFlow-based protocol analyzer?
When an entire packet is captured, raw data storage can also increase. Therefore, enterprises have to invest more budget in increasing their storage capacity and also allocate more bandwidth to analyze the data. While packet capture devices are connected to the network, NetFlow analysis uses a centralized server which shows all the necessary information such as where most of the data is coming from, which specific devices are connected to the network, and the number of times communication is established, along with port and protocol information.
ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer: A NetFlow-based protocol analyzer
NetFlow Analyzer is a NetFlow-based network protocol analyzer that provides full-stack visibility into your network infrastructure to monitor bandwidth usage by protocols and applications. With NetFlow Analyzer, you can:
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See how your network is utilizing the existing bandwidth.
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Identify if mission-critical applications are performing efficiently.
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Drill down to find out which devices or interfaces are causing bottlenecks.
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Get notified about unusual traffic levels.
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Generate reports on traffic usage.
Why choose NetFlow Analyzer for your network?
Some significant features make NetFlow Analyzer the best choice for your network over other protocol analyzers on the market. Here’s why:
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NetFlow Analyzer supports multiple flow formats, such as sFlow, Jflow, IPFIX, and NetStream.
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You can visualize what your network’s total bandwidth usage looks like in real time with the NOC view.
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Whether it’s application or protocol traffic monitoring, NetFlow Analyzer has it covered with in-depth visibility into your network.
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Validate the network performance by function or time with raw data reports and forensics.
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NetFlow Analyzer is scalable enough to monitor distributed network traffic with the Enterprise edition.
As technological advancements soar, we know how challenging network management can get. The protocol analyzer tool admins use should be easy to implement in their existing architecture and provide critical metrics to understand the traffic behavior well. A tool like NetFlow Analyzer is developed by keeping these concerns front and center. Try our software for free for 30 days now!
