Paessler PRTG Network Monitor focuses on exactly that: monitoring. The tool excels at its primary focus of being a unified infrastructure management and network monitoring service. Delivered by German tech company, Paessler AG, the platform is available in a free edition for up to 100 sensors, which should make evaluation easy. PRTG lets you monitor network devices such as access points, routers, and switches, as well as software and cloud-deployed infrastructure, including applications, servers, services, storage, and even workstations allw while maintaining as much simplicity as possible. That said, it still doesn't quite manage to unseat our current Editors' Choice winner in the infrastructure management category, MMSoft Pulseway, mainly because it doesn't check quite as many feature boxes and its sensor-based pricing can quickly get expensive. In October of 2017, Paessler revamped the PRTG Network Monitor user interface (UI). The product now has a more modern dashboard with analytics-style displays such as the starburst graphic below. It has also been tweaked for performance. The main menu has been streamlined, and Paessler AG has attempted to get more information on the screen without adding clutter. On top of that, the UI is also responsive, which means it will optimize itself for whatever device you're using (desktop, tablet, smartphone). The company has even changed its icons to vector graphics so they'll render better on high-resolution displays. The new UI will appear on Paessler PRTG Desktop, which is due in the second quarter of 2018. Paessler PRTG Desktop is a platform-agnostic graphical interface that augments Paessler PRTG Enterprise Console. This will let you perform most functions from non-Windows devices. The main version of the app still carries the screenshots you see in this review but you can see the new version in Paessler PRTG Preview 17.3.34. Installation and Setup As is common with network monitoring and infrastructure management solutions, Paessler PRTG Network Monitor's architecture involves at least one core server along with probes deployed throughout the network. Note that, because Paessler PRTG Network Monitor is agentless, there's little in the way of installation into the network devices. All that's required is a set of log-in credentials for each device and details on the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) settings. As long as they're the same for each device, then it's all automatic. This is made even easier because of Paessler PRTG Network Monitor's auto-discovery function, which will find most devices on your network. The Paessler PRTG Network Monitor core server includes a probe install (known as a local probe) as well as a proprietary database, web server, report engine, notification system, and other features key to the functionality of the system. Paessler recommends that computers functioning as a core server or probe be dedicated to this functionality for both security and performance reasons. The core server installation results in several options for administrative use. An AJAX-based web app allows for monitoring from any computer with a browser, while the Enterprise Console, a Microsoft Windows app, lets you connect to more than one core server to retrieve monitoring data from various parts of your network. Mobile apps for monitoring on the go are also available for Android and Apple iOS devices. Inventory and Sensor Recommendations Probes are the key to not only monitoring your network but also to identifying devices and services on your network you may wish to begin monitoring. In situations where the local probe cannot discover or communicate with segments of your network, a remote probe can be installed to communicate back to the core server. As devices are discovered and the probe enumerates the services and hardware it can monitor, devices are added to the Paessler PRTG Network Monitor object hierarchy. Groups offer the ability to form collections of similar devices to configure settings once for an entire group of devices. Individual devices can be added manually to multiple groups, though this could confuse things when managing settings at the group level. Paessler PRTG Network Monitor offers sensor recommendations for devices based on network scan results and provides these recommendations on the device details screen. Each data point requires a sensor, which can be monitored or ignored as needed. Sensors can be added, paused, or removed depending on your organizational requirements. The sensors are sufficiently flexible that you can essentially define sensors to measure anything on your network that can be measured. In fact, Paessler AG holds a sensor contest each year to find the most unique uses for its sensors. For example, one winner developed a sensor that let the network monitoring system count the number of letters arriving in a rural mailbox. The company keeps a repository for sensor scripts to let users develop sensors more easily. In addition to creating groups as a means or organizing devices, Paessler PRTG Network Monitor also supports tags as a means of providing organization. Devices or sensors throughout the group structure can be tagged to give you both a list view of devices containing that tag and the ability to edit the setting of devices containing a particular tag. Tags can also be inherited, so applying them to a group will result in member devices being tagged. Sensors or devices can be marked as a favorite or configured with a priority to provide more visibility over critical aspects of your infrastructure. Monitoring and Notifications The Paessler PRTG Enterprise Console provides visibility on alerts and performance counters at each level of the hierarchy, providing a quick overview of your entire network, individual alerts on a server, and multiple levels of detail in between. Key indicators, such as down devices or warnings, are shown in multiple places. There's an overview at the top of the Enterprise Console that shows total counts as well as more focused results within the object hierarchy view, which becomes more dialed in as you navigate through the tree. In addition to the device view, the Paessler PRTG Enterprise Console offers table views of sensors, alarms, and logs, which can be sorted or filtered based on your requirements. Notifications can be configured at multiple points in the object hierarchy. Notifications can be triggered on various events and thresholds, such as a ping monitor not being able to connect or only if the remote server is unreachable for 15 minutes. A variety of notification types are available, including email, log entries, push notifications, Short Message Service (SMS), SNMP trap or system log (syslog) messages, or even more advanced functions such as an HTTP action or executing a program. Reporting and Dashboard Paessler PRTG Network Monitor's reporting engine is one of the best we've seen in terms of letting you create custom reports. Templates are provided to get you started quickly, and reports can be configured to a specific security context to prevent users from overreaching their permissions. The core of the report design process revolves around sensors, which can be included or excluded based on tags. You can also define a schedule for the report to execute on, as well as the time span applicable to the report. Certain template types will also let you include the raw data in CSV or XML formats. One of our favorite Paessler PRTG Network Monitor features is the ability to create interactive, HTML-based maps that function as a live dashboard. By using these maps, you can quickly diagnose problem areas in your network and begin remediation. The value of the map feature is in the ability to customize the layout to your organization, which does involve a learning curve. But once built, it can show you alerts that correspond to areas of your network, whether they're physical locations or logical services. Pricing and Tiers Paessler PRTG Network Monitor's licensing is based on sensors, not agents. Paessler estimates that most devices will require between 5-10 sensors to fully monitor the device but this number can be adjusted up or down based on your requirements. That provides flexibility, but also means you'll need to be careful during your evaluation phase. Paessler PRTG Network Monitor is available for a one-time cost of $1,600 for 500 sensors; $2,850 for 1,000 sensors—all the way up to $14,500 for their XL1 tier or $60,000 for their XL5 tier, which both offer unlimited sensors. A freeware edition is also available but it's limited to 100 sensors. Maintenance costs for the first year are included in the purchase price. Subsequent annual maintenance will set you back 25 percent of the current list price of the original license price. Discounts of 5 percent per year are available when purchasing maintenance two years in advance while discounts of 10 percent are available when purchasing maintenance for three years in advance. Overall, Paessler PRTG Network Monitor is what you'd expect from a solid contender in the network monitoring and infrastructure management space. The hierarchical structure of the device views, the ability to group similar sensors with tags, and even the printable QR codes at each level are key usability features that put a wealth of data at your fingertips without overwhelming you. Add to the functionality of the UI a comprehensive reporting suite, complete with the ability to design interactive data maps that update automatically, and Paessler PRTG Network Monitor is a strong competitor in every phase. Paessler PRTG Network Monitor Bottom Line: Paessler PRTG Network Monitor does s solid job as both an infrastructure management tool as well as a network monitor. Companies of all sizes could make good use of this package.

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