I use PRTG Network Monitor for network monitoring, specifically monitoring the capacity of the WAN connections.
PRTG Network Monitor Freeware
Paessler GmbHExternal reviews
External reviews are not included in the AWS star rating for the product.
Awsome automation tool for cloud and network monitoring
It is very good in controlling numberous number os sensors and hadle it easily
It is very flexible and support 3rd party protocos and interfaces
It requires huge about of storeage space
The performance of tool might get compromised due to controlling/handling large number of sensors
Its notification feature is best, as it is very much required to get the notification any time to immediately take the actions and reduce the risk
It is best in generating its own dashboards which helps to understand and represent professionally
Has delivered accurate WAN capacity insights but needs better dashboard customization for complex data
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
PRTG Network Monitor is perhaps the most accurate tool we have used to monitor the capacity of the WAN connection.
Real-time notifications in PRTG Network Monitor are effective in reducing response time; it's a very good product on this point.
The reporting capabilities in PRTG Network Monitor are good. Both built-in reporting and notification features are good for us, and we are utilizing these features, which are satisfying us.
What needs improvement?
Customization is not the biggest advantage of PRTG Network Monitor, though it remains the most accurate tool.
Customization options are limited when creating a dashboard with specific needs.
The most significant disadvantage of PRTG Network Monitor is that the dashboard for NetFlow is not user-friendly at all.
The dashboard for NetFlow in PRTG Network Monitor presents data in a complex way, making it difficult to extract the information needed.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using PRTG Network Monitor for almost 10 years now. While I don't remember the exact start date, it has been a long time.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
PRTG Network Monitor is a completely stable product. We haven't needed vendor support for the last three years, which demonstrates the product's stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
PRTG Network Monitor is easy to scale up and scale out, making it a scalable solution.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have not worked with similar tools for network monitoring; we have retired all other tools except PRTG Network Monitor.
How was the initial setup?
The installation of PRTG Network Monitor is very easy.
What was our ROI?
We see ROI with PRTG Network Monitor through indirect cost savings. It provides accurate data for utilization, allowing us to monitor and optimize our investments in WAN connection capacity.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
PRTG Network Monitor remains affordable until now.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I decided to stay with PRTG Network Monitor because Cisco Prime has been retired from the vendor and is no longer supported. There is no business need for WhatsUp since we don't require map monitoring anymore. Additionally, we are working with SD-WAN technology, which provides more monitoring capability within the solution itself, reducing the need for external tools.
What other advice do I have?
I am just a user of PRTG Network Monitor. On a scale of 1-10, I rate this solution a 7.
User friendly Paessler PRTG Monitoring tool
Paessler PRTG : A very simplifying and great tool for monitoring and control
It is very good in preparing the dashboards which helps understanding the status and very satisfying to represent
It is very ease to use which deceases the setup time
It is very changeling for new user to use this tool as it required minimum knowledge and training
It required huge amount of storage space
The best part of its feature is notification alert which provides helps to solve the issues
The setup is quick and started using the tool in just few days
It also provides the customization required as per client
Best network monitoring tool
It greatly helps in improving performance of network
it provide notification via messages or email as convenient which helps to understand issues and act accordingly anytime
It really requires skilled technicians, which increases in training cost
It takes large amount of storage space for running its functionality
They provide support in serval platforms
it creates its own dashboards and represents it which helps us to understand the progress and also present it to management level
"Powerful, Flexible, and User-Friendly Monitoring"
Alerts are accurate and reliable, I only get notified for real issues instead of endless false alarms.
One tool covers almost everything: servers, switches, applications, and even custom scripts.
Cost-effective, stable, and gives real-time visibility without adding unnecessary complexity.
Missing features like better syslog handling, deeper cloud integration, and easier automation.
Licensing based on sensors can get expensive quickly since one server consumes multiple sensors.
Support and roadmap updates could be more responsive.
Saves time by consolidating bandwidth, device, and application monitoring into one tool.
Reliable alerts cut down on false positives, allowing me to focus on fixing real issues.
Improves stability and reduces downtime by giving full visibility across the environment.
PRTG Network Monitor — Practical, fast-to-deploy monitoring for small to mid-sized ops teams
2. Clear, actionable visibility: intuitive dashboards, maps and dependable alerts make it easy for on‑call staff and NOC teams to spot and prioritize real issues at a glance.
3. Friendly for small teams: the Windows installer and solid documentation kept our rollout smooth — we had meaningful monitoring running the same day without hiring extra staff.
4. Reliable core functionality: uptime, bandwidth, CPU/memory and service checks are robust and help surface trends before they become incidents.
2. Windows‑only core: the primary deployment is Windows-centric, which can limit multi‑platform collector strategies for cloud‑first or heterogeneous environments.
3. Customization and integrations: building bespoke sensors, scripting and API workflows is more manual and less polished than some integration‑focused alternatives.
4. UX gaps in editing: map/dashboard editing can feel dated (limited undo/copy‑paste and HTML-centric tweaks), which slows iterative refinement.
2. Centralized operational visibility: it consolidates network and server health into a single pane, simplifying troubleshooting and daily ops for a small team.
3. Practical NOC-ready displays: straightforward dashboards and maps let us present useful status views on TVs and shareable dashboards without heavy customization.
4. Cost/scale trade-off clarity: for teams that want quick, dependable monitoring with minimal staffing, PRTG delivers strong ROI — but larger or highly integrated environments should validate sensor counts, hardware sizing and API needs through a short pilot.
I used PRTG every day — reliable visibility and useful automation, just plan for growth
2. Clear visualizations: maps and dashboards made it easy to communicate status to ops and non-technical stakeholders during weekly reviews.
3. Remote probes work: placing probes at regional sites kept polling local and kept our central server responsive over flaky WAN links.
4. Practical automation: I built a small script PRTG can run to restart a hung service; that eliminated repeated manual fixes for a known issue.
5. Useful historical data: daily/weekly reports and trends helped me validate ISP outages and plan capacity changes.
2. The web UI can slow when many sensors or very complex dashboards are open at once; splitting dashboards helped but required extra setup.
3. Deeply custom reports required exporting data and some scripting; built-in templates cover common needs but aren’t infinitely flexible.
4. Mobile dashboards can feel sluggish loading large historic charts.
2. Reduced repetitive work: small automated actions handled common problems overnight, so the team could focus on higher-value incidents.
3. Strong vendor evidence: historical reports provided clear proof of multi-hour ISP outages and helped get SLA credits.
4. Fewer repetitive tickets: small automatic remediations handled common faults overnight, freeing our NOC to focus on higher-priority incidents.
5. Clear evidence for vendors: scheduled reports and historical data helped me document outages and get faster responses from ISPs
Versatile Monitoring for Data Engineers: Not Just for Networks
Inexpensive, Reliable, and Easy-to-Deploy Monitoring Solution with Stable Alerts
The mobile app is great when I’m on-call, and the customizable dashboards let me create simple uptime views for management alongside detailed performance graphs for myself. Overall, it’s cost-effective, stable, and gives me real-time visibility across the network without adding complexity.
Licensing is also a pain since every sensor counts, and one server can quickly eat up several. As environments grow large, performance can slow unless you fine-tune it, and setting up advanced monitoring takes some trial and error. Support and the product roadmap could also be more responsive.