With the ever-expanding span of the networking industry comes a plethora of new advancements that, with the assistance of networking tools and software, make the process simpler and much more open to participation by a wider range of people.
Here is our list of the best network engineer tools:
- Site24x7 EDITOR’S CHOICE This cloud platform provides network monitoring services watching over device health and tracking traffic patterns as part of a full stack observability package. Get a 30-day free trial.
- SonicWall Α pioneer and industry leader in the field of firewall technology virtually from its inception. Installations of the SonicWall Firewall can be supported in a wide range of settings, including cloud, virtual, and physical ones.
- Check Point NGFW Makes use of a licensing management system that is designed to be both scalable and adaptive.
- Sophos UTM A security solution that provides a comprehensive set of security features, including a firewall, VPN, web filtering, email security, intrusion prevention, and more. It is designed to protect networks against a range of threats, including malware, ransomware, and phishing attacks.
- Datadog Apache Cassandra Monitoring This cloud-based platform provides a comprehensive monitoring package for system infrastructure, including database monitoring and application dependency mapping.
- SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor This tool is ideal for monitoring Linux or Unix nodes, tracking server and application performance metrics, and managing network health.
- AxonOps 3-in-1 Cassandra Operations This tool is designed to provide monitoring, maintenance, and backup services for Cassandra systems in a single package. The free version can be used for up to five nodes, making it an attractive option for small-scale deployments.
In today’s world, almost half of those who graduate from college and those who do not attend college have the ambition of working in well-known information technology organizations as network engineers.
However, learning networking and being able to apply it to different network conditions on our own is not an easy task. Therefore, to diagnose various network difficulties, a lot of network engineers and administrators employ numerous networking tools and software.
One tool or piece of software isn’t going to cut it for all the diverse conditions that can arise in a network; hence, we need specific tools for each unique circumstance if we want to find a solution on our own. So, here are the best network engineer tools that you should go for!
The best Network Engineer Tools
1. Site24x7 (FREE TRIAL)
Site24x7 provides a large package of system monitoring services and also some management modules, such as a log manager and a network configuration manager. Network engineers will be particularly interested in the traffic analysis features of this package. This uses flow protocols, such as NetFlow, IPFIX, sFlow, and J-Flow to extract traffic data. The information delivered by this facility is useful for capacity planning and for examining whether current equipment it properly organized.
Key Features:
- Network discovery
- System documentation
- Network topology mapping
- Traffic analysis
- Network configuration management
The traffic analysis module of Site24x7 works alongside the network device monitoring service of the platform. This unit includes an autodiscovery service. Site24x7 is able to document every piece of equipment on the network and it will also generate a network topology map. Network engineers should refer to the map when checking traffic flow data to visually identify the paths across the network between two endpoints. Troubleshooting tools in the package also provide path analysis and device availability checks.
Site24x7 is a cloud-based system and operates by installing a data gathering agent on each network that it monitors. The system can track activity on multiple sites within one account. You can assess the package by accessing a 30-day free trial.
EDITOR'S CHOICE
Site24x7 is our top pick for a network engineering tool because this package provides both network device monitoring and traffic tracking. The tool sets itself up by scanning a network and compiling a hardware inventory and a network topology map. The package also includes network flow monitoring services, connection checks and device availability testers. The full service is suitable for monitoring WANs and can include monitoring for links to cloud-based services. Locally, you can track the performance of wireless networks as well as LANs. Many different technologies supplied by multiple manufacturers can soon become unmanageable as a network grows. The automation of the Site24x7 keeps track of everything all at once, which automates all network monitoring tasks. Alerts will notify technicians of problems when they arise and the system can be set up to forward those alerts to staff by SMS or email. This means that support staff doesn’t have to watch the console all the time because they will be drawn to the dashboard when needed. The network configuration unit in the package enables network engineers to standardize device settings. Security policies can be implemented by referring to the network topology maps and locking down configurations, constructing access control lists ot create zones of trust. Thus, all of the individual network-related units on the Site24x7 platform work together to assist network engineers. The log manager in the package can also be of use, both for ad-hoc investigations and for long-term security monitoring with a SIEM. The could-based Site24x7 platform also provides monitoring services for applications, endpoints, Web assets, an cloud services.
Download: Start a 30-day FREE Trial
Official Site: https://www.site24x7.com/signup.html?pack=44&l=en
OS: Cloud-based
2. SonicWall
After upgrading to version 7.0 of the SonicWall Dashboard, policy management and the generation of new policies are both extremely straightforward processes. In contrast to the firewalls provided by other providers, the SonicWall product already has several ports installed when it is purchased. We can now set up Site to Site as well as SSL VPN in a shorter amount of time thanks to the newly updated graphical user interface (GUI). When SonicWall is implemented, it immediately begins safeguarding the network with many distinct security profiles that have already been pre-configured before deployment.
Key Features:
- Filtering of content on the internet and the detection of applications; protection against malware; identification of applications; IP reputation analysis and SSL verification
- Reassembly-Free Deep Packet Inspection (RFDPI), which allows a thorough real-time security analysis of all traffic. Decryption and inspection of traffic using LS, SSL, and SSH.
- Support for TLS 1.3, which enables inspection of encrypted traffic. SD-WAN is both fully integrated and protected.
A piece of software known as SonicOS is what drives the hardware used by the corporation. This software enables all the numerous networking and security capabilities that are available. Investing in a comprehensive and integrated solution that combines encrypted traffic inspection, reputation services, malware analysis, and cloud app security is vital if you want to secure your organization and put an end to risks.
The feature-rich and high-performance firewalls that SonicWall provides lend validity to the company’s position as one of the leading cybersecurity firms in the market, and a broad variety of third-party organizations perceive SonicWall as one of the leading cybersecurity businesses in the industry. Due to the outstanding throughput and connectivity options that Gen 7 firewalls provide, they are appropriate for implementation in contexts ranging from small businesses to large corporations.
3. Check Point NGFW
The Check Point NGFW is a cutting-edge firewall that prevents malicious programs from getting through while permitting trusted programs to operate normally behind its protective shield. With this, one of the numerous functionalities that Check Point NGFW possesses is deep packet inspection. This capability allows applications to be identified and controlled by the firewall. Control over users and applications, in addition to integrated intrusion prevention (IPS), are some other features.
Key Features:
- Connectivity provided by a Virtual Private Network (VPN), on the other hand, makes it possible for several vendors to send and receive data without risk.
- On-demand cloud-level expansion and hyper-scale threat avoidance are both made possible as a result of this feature.
- It is possible to cut the amount of time spent on security operations by up to 80 percent, which would lead to an increase in productivity.
- It provides unified security management control across a variety of network levels, as well as platforms for the Internet of Things.
- Include the most cutting-edge strategies for protection and prevention against dangers, in addition to centralized management.
The SmartConsole that Check Point provides makes it easy to manage and alter the many policies and settings that pertain to the protection of a network. When users make use of the SmartConsole, they can control all the firewall gates and access logs from a single area. They may even install databases using this method. The implementation of unified management control throughout the network increases the efficiency of network security operations while simultaneously reducing the costs of information technology.
Check Point makes use of a licensing management system that is designed to be both scalable and adaptive. To accomplish this objective, Check Point allows its customers to purchase pre-configured bundles, in addition to the software blades that are required to tailor-make a solution to their specific needs. You will need to purchase a software license for each of those blades if you want to make use of a firewall, an intrusion prevention system (IPS), and an IPSec virtual private network (VPN).
4. Sophos UTM
The integrated security system known as Sophos UTM was once known as Astaro Security Gateway. It incorporates all the necessary software into a single device and was initially developed by Astaro. You have the power to avoid the most recent data breaches and ransomware attacks thanks to high-performance streaming, the Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), deep packet inspection, application control, web protection, sandboxing, and deep learning.
Key Features:
- The protection offered by a Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW), protection, encryption, and anti-spam measures for email, virtual private networks (VPNs) for both on-site and distant access, and regulation of user access to mobile networks are some essential aspects.
- The usual support package that Sophos provides contains everything needed to obtain manual updates, including a knowledge base, a community forum, and return and replace services.
- Its premium support grants you access to enhanced replacements and automated upgrades, in addition to providing you with round-the-clock technical assistance from Sophos Support professionals.
You may use this to accelerate your cloud traffic, SaaS, video, and other trustworthy applications, putting them on the fast track to enhance their performance. This can be done automatically, or even according to the policies of your company.
Your network is protected against the most modern malware, virus, and bug threats by the architecture of the Sophos Firewall, which also improves the performance of your key applications and traffic to cloud applications. It can accomplish this goal by carrying out an intelligent TLS check that is both speedy and reliable. In addition, it makes use of the most recent standards while allowing for significant exceptions to simplify your work through the utilization of pointing and clicking capabilities. This helps to ensure that it is always up-to-date.
5. Datadog Apache Cassandra Monitoring
The Datadog APM platform is a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution that monitors and manages a wide variety of applications, including Apache Cassandra and other RDBMSs. Datadog features an extensive array of integrations, some of which are compatible with Apache software, such as the Apache Cassandra database.
Key Features:
- Allows network topology maps to be generated automatically excellent monitoring of Apache Cassandra, with the potential to monitor hundreds of different apps within the same platform, and reflect network changes in near real-time.
- Capable of internal and external monitoring, giving system administrators a complete picture of network health and availability
- Able to keep tabs on hundreds of other programs using the same infrastructure
- Provides administrators with a complete picture of network health, availability, and performance through internal and external monitoring.
The dashboard displays an overwhelming amount of information on each of its screens. If the default screen seems to have too much going on, you may make your own home page and populate it with the metrics that are most important to you. It is even possible to integrate widgets from multiple pages, which will provide you with a stack overview providing database, server, and network performance overviews in a single location.
It is impossible to keep a constant eye on all the performance statuses of your database at all times. On the other hand, this is not an issue because Datadog Infrastructure allows you to establish performance threshold values for each statistic and notifies you if any of them are exceeded. Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring features an integration that enables the monitor to extract performance information straight from the Cassandra DBMS. This allows the monitor to produce current reports on performance, as well as store data for historical study. Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring also contains a feature that lets the monitor store statistics.
The infrastructure system is also responsible for monitoring associated systems that are dependent on your databases, as well as all the resources that are used to support them. With the help of this chain of dependencies, you will be able to swiftly determine the underlying source of any issue that may crop up in your database-dependent apps. It can also quickly determine the root cause of performance issues by identifying problems that exist within, above, and beneath your Cassandra database.
The use of Datadog is covered by a monthly subscription fee, and the entirety of the platform is partitioned into separate monitor modules. You can add on Datadog APM to get distributed tracing of all the layers of services that serve each application, and the Network Performance module offers capabilities for analyzing traffic flow in its own right.
6. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor
A tool for monitoring networks and applications, SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor are capable of monitoring Apache Cassandra. The functionality and availability of Apache Cassandra servers running on Linux or Unix can be tracked with the help of this monitoring tool. One consolidated dashboard allows users to examine information regarding the status of services and nodes, as well as track the activity of networks.
Key Features:
- Targeted at corporate and other large networks
- Metrics and infrastructure resource utilization that are unique to Apache are monitored.
- Provides early warning of performance issues, allowing administrators to address them before they have a negative effect.
- Completely compatible with Linux and Unix installations
- Allows for easy dashboard personalization using drag-and-drop widgets
In addition, SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor allows you to configure individualized alerts. Increased latency or continuing hint activity are examples of some of the factors that are monitored. You may examine alerts by going to the All-Active Alerts page, which provides a list of all active alerts along with information regarding the reason for the alert as well as the amount of time it has been active.
SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor is a great product for monitoring Apache Cassandra because of its alert system and its configurable dashboard. This is one of the reasons why this product is so highly regarded.
7. AxonOps 3-in-1 Cassandra Operations
AxonOps Three in One Cassandra Operations is a comprehensive management suite that is provided for Cassandra instances and is hosted in the cloud. Multiple Cassandra nodes can benefit from the monitoring, maintenance, and backup services that are included in the all-in-one package. This service will gather critical performance data once every five seconds, store them for later study, and display them live in the system console. In addition, this service will collect them for historical analysis.
Key Features:
- The console comes equipped with the Adaptive Repairs system, which will fix any node problems automatically.
- You can either force a rolling restart to happen immediately or schedule it at a later time.
- Hardware resources like processor, memory, and storage space utilization are tracked by the software.
- Provides a log viewer for viewing and analyzing logs; saves log messages; performs routine maintenance on Cassandra instances
The AxonOps monitoring service compiles a list of standard database performance measures; however, because the service’s screens are fully modifiable, you can direct your attention to the metrics that are most relevant to the operation of your company. The program also comes with a set of alert rules, all of which may be customized by the user, or they can be written from scratch.
AxonOps is not just a platform for monitoring Cassandra; it also offers administration capabilities, such as the management of Cassandra logs and the scheduling of maintenance. This makes it significantly more than just a monitoring tool. Additionally, the system offers a backup solution that gives users the option to save repositories either locally, in their own cloud accounts, or on the AxonOps platform itself.
The AxonOps service creates a map that connects the nodes of your database to the racks in which they are housed, as well as the servers that host those nodes. A graphic representing a live performance shows this connection between the two of them. If a database is having issues, the node in question will be presented in a red hue, whilst node instances that are healthy would-be colored green.
