Top Bandwidth Controller and Network Management Software for Enterprises
Network management & monitoring is an essential function of managing a big network, and companies often use Professional Network Management tools to manage their networks.
Much like your normal home network, in a big network the bandwidth is shared by all computers. It means that every node or computer consumes a certain amount of data, and if one of the computers in the network is hogging the network bandwidth, then all applications running in the network suffer. If left unmanaged, the overall performance of the entire network could go down and impact the whole organization. Fortunately, there are Bandwidth Management Software available that help Network Admins manage networks efficiently. By defining a few bandwidth rules, enterprises can easily manage large networks and ensure quality of service for all applications running in the network.
Interestingly, there is a lot of Bandwidth Management Software available in the market today but choosing the right one is not an easy task. Each software comes with different features and you need to pick one that perfectly suits your company’s needs. Listed below are the best enterprise Bandwidth Management Software that can help manage networks without burning a hole in your wallet.
As the name clearly suggests, Netflow Analyzer by ManageEngine is primarily a network bandwidth monitoring tool that uses “Flows” technology to monitor and analyze networks. The tool provides a holistic view of the network bandwidth as well as network traffic patterns, which makes it easier for network administrators to monitor the network’s performance. Netflow Analyzer also provides a unified solution of how the network bandwidth has been used and by whom.
Netflow Analyzer comes with an excellent bandwidth monitoring tool that allows you to allocate enough bandwidth for business-critical applications. Thanks to its flow-based bandwidth usage monitoring system, you can monitor your network's bandwidth usage in real-time and resolve network issues on time before end-users are affected. For bigger enterprises, Netflow Analyzer features a department-wise bandwidth monitoring tool that allows you to track the network performance of different departments and help you reduce network latency. Here are some of the noteworthy features of Netflow Analyzer:
Network monitoring is an essential IT function in all businesses and there is a wide choice of SNMP based products capable of providing all the information organizations need. NPM provides a full gamut of tools for monitoring and analyzing network performance, alerting, reporting, and problem diagnosis. Much like ManageEngine’s Netflow Analyzer, Solar Winds’ NPM is also loaded with an impressive number of bandwidth monitoring tools. Solar Winds offers three bandwidth manager packages: Network Performance Monitor (NPM), Netflow Traffic Analyzer (NTA), and Network Bandwidth Analyzer Pack. One of its key features is the Multi-vendor Network Monitoring tool that provides comprehensive fault monitoring reports and performance management for the network.
Another unique feature of Solar Winds is the NetPath which serves as a standard tool for all its packages (NPM, NTA, and NCM). It uses advanced probing to detect the network path from a source computer to destination service. This hop-by-hop analysis provides deep visibility into critical network paths regardless of location, whether they are on-premises, hybrid, or even in a Cloud environment. Solar Winds is also integrated with many equally-useful tools like AppStack and PerfStack that can boost your productivity and efficiency. AppStack allows you to see what application is running on which server in a single interface. PerfStack, on the other hand, uses the same technique but instead of applications, it displays a vast number of data metrics in one chart giving you the ability to compare these data types side by side. Here are some of the prominent features of Solar Winds:
If you are a Windows user and looking for a simple yet effective bandwidth management software, NetLimiter should be on your radar. It is a bandwidth manager tool that is especially optimized for the Windows Operating system. NetLimiter is an ultimate internet traffic control and monitoring tool that offers limited yet extremely valuable features. The Lite package alone comes with five major functions including an internet monitoring tool that allows you to track network performance in real-time, an internal priority engine that allows you to prioritize and restrict certain running applications, limit download and upload speed of a selected application, a traffic chart to display recent network activity, and Info View to display relevant information about a selected connection, application, or filter.
For a full bandwidth monitoring experience, you can upgrade your account to Pro version to unlock all features. The Pro version includes the ability to block applications, set quotas, and provide long-term data transfer statistics. The network admins can also customize the software theme and skins as per their preference. A few important features of this software include:
PRTG Network Monitor by Paessler is yet another powerful and easy-to-use bandwidth monitoring solution. The software is brilliantly designed to address all kinds of IT infrastructure issues and is packaged with the best monitoring tools. PRTG offers a full feature Trial version for an organization to evaluate and test the software. Once the free-trial period is over, it reverts to the Free version mode, which comes with 100 so-called “sensors”. A sensor in PRTG is generally defined as one measurable device network attribute. There are sensors that let you monitor the basic parameters of a network. There are others that allow you to monitor bandwidth while others let you monitor databases.
If you want to monitor more than 100 sensors, you will need to upgrade to the commercial version and pick a license that matches the size of your network. The commercial version supports up to 20,000 sensors with option to install across multiple servers. As far as the user experience is concerned, PRTG comes with an easy-to-use dashboard that shows all live usage data in real-time including alarms, log entries, critical devices, warning devices, and all-up devices. It also highlights a flexible alert system that allows you to pick a notification system as per your needs. PRTG also offers real-time maps with live status information to visualize your network. Here are some notable features of PRTG;
Softpect offers a professional yet affordable network monitoring solution for small and medium enterprises. The software monitors your network traffic and limits bandwidth for each user in your network. SoftPerfect’s price should not lead you into thinking that you are buying an inferior product. SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager is fully loaded with powerful monitoring tools to help you effectively manage your networks.
The software offers a user-friendly interface and a centralized way to configure the entire network from a single node in the network. Much like other tools mentioned above, SoftPerfect gives you full control over your network, lets you set bandwidth limits and quotas for each user and rules for IP and MAC addresses and network interfaces for devices in the network. SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager offers a 30-day free trial period upon installation. Listed below are some of the software's prominent features;
Features:
Bandwidth controller is windows-based bandwidth management software offering network management solutions to windows PC owners, small businesses, and big enterprises. Bandwidth controller offers three different software versions suited for different customer needs.
Traffic Shaper XP
Traffic Shaper XP is a free bandwidth limiter for Windows 2000, XP and 2003 Server designed for single user needs. It combines high performance traffic shaping with the ease of use and flexibility to keep your network free of congestion.
Standard Edition.
Bandwidth Controller Standard Edition contains many useful features for home and small office networks. It brings high performance traffic shaping to the desktop in a small, easy to use package. No server or gateway computer is needed as the product is designed for networks with a direct connection to the modem or router.
Enterprise and ISP Solutions
Bandwidth Controller Enterprise is a scalable traffic shaping solution for corporate networks and service providers. It provides Layer 3 transaction processing for high performance, low latency bandwidth management across the entire organization.
The product can be installed on any internet gateway or server computer giving network administrators access to all internet streams for both upload and download directions. By using this architecture, bandwidth rules and product configuration are guarded against modification from end-users, with the additional benefit of transparent operation (i.e. client-side installation is not required). Here is a list of bandwidth controller features:
Much like your normal home network, in a big network the bandwidth is shared by all computers. It means that every node or computer consumes a certain amount of data, and if one of the computers in the network is hogging the network bandwidth, then all applications running in the network suffer. If left unmanaged, the overall performance of the entire network could go down and impact the whole organization. Fortunately, there are Bandwidth Management Software available that help Network Admins manage networks efficiently. By defining a few bandwidth rules, enterprises can easily manage large networks and ensure quality of service for all applications running in the network.
Interestingly, there is a lot of Bandwidth Management Software available in the market today but choosing the right one is not an easy task. Each software comes with different features and you need to pick one that perfectly suits your company’s needs. Listed below are the best enterprise Bandwidth Management Software that can help manage networks without burning a hole in your wallet.
ManageEngine Netflow Analyzer
As the name clearly suggests, Netflow Analyzer by ManageEngine is primarily a network bandwidth monitoring tool that uses “Flows” technology to monitor and analyze networks. The tool provides a holistic view of the network bandwidth as well as network traffic patterns, which makes it easier for network administrators to monitor the network’s performance. Netflow Analyzer also provides a unified solution of how the network bandwidth has been used and by whom.
Netflow Analyzer comes with an excellent bandwidth monitoring tool that allows you to allocate enough bandwidth for business-critical applications. Thanks to its flow-based bandwidth usage monitoring system, you can monitor your network's bandwidth usage in real-time and resolve network issues on time before end-users are affected. For bigger enterprises, Netflow Analyzer features a department-wise bandwidth monitoring tool that allows you to track the network performance of different departments and help you reduce network latency. Here are some of the noteworthy features of Netflow Analyzer:
- Real-time insight
- Track network anomalies
- Track context-sensitive anomalies
- Identify non-standard applications
- Analyze IP service levels
- Ensures voice communication quality.
- Plan for future bandwidth upgrades based on your current usage patterns.
- Identify and avoid bandwidth delays and bottlenecks with customized reports.
Solar Winds
Network monitoring is an essential IT function in all businesses and there is a wide choice of SNMP based products capable of providing all the information organizations need. NPM provides a full gamut of tools for monitoring and analyzing network performance, alerting, reporting, and problem diagnosis. Much like ManageEngine’s Netflow Analyzer, Solar Winds’ NPM is also loaded with an impressive number of bandwidth monitoring tools. Solar Winds offers three bandwidth manager packages: Network Performance Monitor (NPM), Netflow Traffic Analyzer (NTA), and Network Bandwidth Analyzer Pack. One of its key features is the Multi-vendor Network Monitoring tool that provides comprehensive fault monitoring reports and performance management for the network.
Another unique feature of Solar Winds is the NetPath which serves as a standard tool for all its packages (NPM, NTA, and NCM). It uses advanced probing to detect the network path from a source computer to destination service. This hop-by-hop analysis provides deep visibility into critical network paths regardless of location, whether they are on-premises, hybrid, or even in a Cloud environment. Solar Winds is also integrated with many equally-useful tools like AppStack and PerfStack that can boost your productivity and efficiency. AppStack allows you to see what application is running on which server in a single interface. PerfStack, on the other hand, uses the same technique but instead of applications, it displays a vast number of data metrics in one chart giving you the ability to compare these data types side by side. Here are some of the prominent features of Solar Winds:
- User-friendly interface
- Set automatic alerts for bandwidth thresholds
- Users can make Quality of Service changes
- Identify which networking port is consuming more bandwidth
- Identify the users tied to the endpoints
Antamedia
Antamedia is an efficient network bandwidth manager software that helps network admins manage and limit the bandwidth usage of computers in a network. The software does not require the installation of any client operating system and network admins can easily monitor both wired and wireless devices.
- Allows the configuration of simultaneous connections.
- New users can easily access the network with default speed.
- API integration
- Autologin sessions
- URL tracking
- No client software installation
- Limit number of simultaneous connections per user
- DNS Web Filter to block adult & illicit websites
- Block access to social networks, shopping websites to increase productivity
- Easily configure the download and upload speed for all users in the network
- Define the upload and download rates for the entire network
NetLimiter
If you are a Windows user and looking for a simple yet effective bandwidth management software, NetLimiter should be on your radar. It is a bandwidth manager tool that is especially optimized for the Windows Operating system. NetLimiter is an ultimate internet traffic control and monitoring tool that offers limited yet extremely valuable features. The Lite package alone comes with five major functions including an internet monitoring tool that allows you to track network performance in real-time, an internal priority engine that allows you to prioritize and restrict certain running applications, limit download and upload speed of a selected application, a traffic chart to display recent network activity, and Info View to display relevant information about a selected connection, application, or filter.
For a full bandwidth monitoring experience, you can upgrade your account to Pro version to unlock all features. The Pro version includes the ability to block applications, set quotas, and provide long-term data transfer statistics. The network admins can also customize the software theme and skins as per their preference. A few important features of this software include:
- Internet traffic monitoring
- Block the application if specified data quota is reached
- Filter editor
- Remote administration
- Traffic charts
- Connection history
PRTG Network Monitor by Paessler is yet another powerful and easy-to-use bandwidth monitoring solution. The software is brilliantly designed to address all kinds of IT infrastructure issues and is packaged with the best monitoring tools. PRTG offers a full feature Trial version for an organization to evaluate and test the software. Once the free-trial period is over, it reverts to the Free version mode, which comes with 100 so-called “sensors”. A sensor in PRTG is generally defined as one measurable device network attribute. There are sensors that let you monitor the basic parameters of a network. There are others that allow you to monitor bandwidth while others let you monitor databases.
If you want to monitor more than 100 sensors, you will need to upgrade to the commercial version and pick a license that matches the size of your network. The commercial version supports up to 20,000 sensors with option to install across multiple servers. As far as the user experience is concerned, PRTG comes with an easy-to-use dashboard that shows all live usage data in real-time including alarms, log entries, critical devices, warning devices, and all-up devices. It also highlights a flexible alert system that allows you to pick a notification system as per your needs. PRTG also offers real-time maps with live status information to visualize your network. Here are some notable features of PRTG;
- Determine network packet loss is occurring because of bandwidth limitations or hardware issues.
- Receive notifications when problematic or unusual behavior is detected.
- Generate historical reports over a period of your choosing.
- Cloud HTTP Sensor you can use a PRTG network cloud to see how fast your service responds
- Offer database monitoring features that allow you to monitor popular databases
- Cloud watch lets you monitor popular services like one drive and google drive.
- Failover fault-tolerant monitoring
- Received notifications if the status of your firewall change
SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager
Softpect offers a professional yet affordable network monitoring solution for small and medium enterprises. The software monitors your network traffic and limits bandwidth for each user in your network. SoftPerfect’s price should not lead you into thinking that you are buying an inferior product. SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager is fully loaded with powerful monitoring tools to help you effectively manage your networks.
The software offers a user-friendly interface and a centralized way to configure the entire network from a single node in the network. Much like other tools mentioned above, SoftPerfect gives you full control over your network, lets you set bandwidth limits and quotas for each user and rules for IP and MAC addresses and network interfaces for devices in the network. SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager offers a 30-day free trial period upon installation. Listed below are some of the software's prominent features;
- Set rules based on IP and MAC addresses, protocols, ports (for TCP/IP), and network interfaces
- Set Quotas & network speed for each device connected to the network
- No client software installation is required.
- Available only for Windows OS.
ntopng
ntopng is a pro version of ntop, a popular OS independent network tool based on open source libpcap library. libpcap provides a portable framework for low-level network monitoring. Applications include network statistics collection, security monitoring, network debugging, etc. Here are some of the noteworthy features of ntopng;
- IP address, port, Layer-7 (L7) application protocols, throughput, Autonomous Systems (ASs)
- Show real-time network traffic and active hosts
- Monitor and report live throughput, network and application latencies, Round Trip Time (RTT), TCP statistics
- Geolocate and overlay hosts in a geographical map
- Discover Layer-7 application protocols (Facebook, YouTube, BitTorrent, etc) by leveraging on nDPI, ntop Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) technology
- Analyze IP traffic and sort it according to the source/destination
- Report IP protocol usage sorted by protocol type
- REST API to ease integrations with third-parties
- Active hosts and real-time network traffic
- Support for IPv4 and IPv6
Zscaler
Zscaler is a hassle-free cloud based network management & security solution that helps network admin manage & secure their networks.
Features:
- With a click of button network admins can whitelist business critical applications like office 365
- All internet flows through zscaler proxy whether people are in office or at remote locations, puts network administrators in control.
- Cloud based architecture, so there is no maintenance & patching to be done.
- Easy to use interface.
- Centralized control to apply firewall policies.
Untangle
Untangle features a user-friendly GUI with a simple navigation panel and tabs that provide quick access to all the bandwidth monitoring tools you need to manage your network. Untangle Bandwidth Control gives you the power to monitor and control bandwidth usage on your network. The software lets network admins manage traffic and prioritize traffic from business-critical apps like VOIP, cloud-based business applications, or video conferences over traffic from apps like YouTube. Listed below are some of the prominent features of Untangle;
- Prioritize bandwidth towards business-critical apps such as VoIP or video conferencing over recreation traffic.
- Set quotas for bandwidth abusers and automatically take action when users/applications exceed predefined limits.
- Monitor traffic by application, website, or protocol, etc.
Bandwidth Controller Software
Bandwidth controller is windows-based bandwidth management software offering network management solutions to windows PC owners, small businesses, and big enterprises. Bandwidth controller offers three different software versions suited for different customer needs.
Traffic Shaper XP
Traffic Shaper XP is a free bandwidth limiter for Windows 2000, XP and 2003 Server designed for single user needs. It combines high performance traffic shaping with the ease of use and flexibility to keep your network free of congestion.
Standard Edition.
Bandwidth Controller Standard Edition contains many useful features for home and small office networks. It brings high performance traffic shaping to the desktop in a small, easy to use package. No server or gateway computer is needed as the product is designed for networks with a direct connection to the modem or router.
Enterprise and ISP Solutions
Bandwidth Controller Enterprise is a scalable traffic shaping solution for corporate networks and service providers. It provides Layer 3 transaction processing for high performance, low latency bandwidth management across the entire organization.
The product can be installed on any internet gateway or server computer giving network administrators access to all internet streams for both upload and download directions. By using this architecture, bandwidth rules and product configuration are guarded against modification from end-users, with the additional benefit of transparent operation (i.e. client-side installation is not required). Here is a list of bandwidth controller features:
- Layer 3 bandwidth manager
- TCP/IP stream limiting and prioritization.
- Distributed mode for client-only networks
- Traffic monitoring
- Remote management
- Deep Packet Inspection
- Guaranteed rate provision
- Internet speeds from 56 kbps to 2,400 Mbps
- Up to 2,000 concurrent users
- Wireless network support