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The average cost of downtime is over $5,000 per minute. And by that logic, an hour-long downtime would cost you around $300,000.
However, you can save your organization from downtime by integrating the right network monitoring tools. With the right tool, you can track your entire network in real time and quickly identify and resolve issues.
Below, we’ve listed 6 network troubleshooting tools for IT teams in 2025. Compare your options based on your requirements and minimize network disruptions.
Wireshark
Source: Wireshark
Wireshark is one of the most popular and free network protocol analyzers that IT admins prefer. It lets you see what’s happening on your network (Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB, and more) at a granular level.
Wireshark helps you find the IP addresses of recalcitrant devices, ensure the accuracy of Wake-on-LAN (WoL) packets, dissect protocols, and identify issues with ARP, DNS, and DHCP.
Another thing you can do with Wireshark is identify devices infected with malware. It shows you what devices are talking to which servers. You can capture anything suspicious and see if it’s a risk.
Pros:
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Open source, free to use.
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Real-time visibility into the network for easier issue identification
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Users highly value the ability to capture, log, and analyze packet data
Cons:
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Can be slow or even crash when analyzing large amounts of data
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It’s complex and might require some training for new users
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The GUI can be improved
User Reviews:
Source: Verified G2 Review
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor
Source: TrustRadius
SolarWinds, a popular observability, database, and ITSM platform, also has a network performance monitor. With a customizable console, you can monitor your entire infrastructure and detect and resolve issues with proactive monitoring.
The SolarWinds NPM platform lets you easily set up and customize alerts, notifying the respective teams on time. You can also create customized reports using multiple sources, such as SQL queries, SNMP, and OIDs, to drive more actionable insights.
This platform is suited for medium to large enterprises looking for a quick and easy way to gain visibility into their ever-expanding networks.
Pros:
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Alerting features are robust and help prevent downtimes
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Customizable reporting capabilities fuel better decision-making
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User-friendly interface and supports a range of data sources
Cons:
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It may not be suitable for non-Cisco vendors
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Updates can be tricky and might even disrupt operations
User Reviews:
Source: Verified TrustRadius Review
Source: Verified TrustRadius Review
PRTG Network Monitor
Source: Paessler
PRTG Network Monitor helps you monitor all your IT infrastructure systems, devices, traffic, and apps. It’s easy to use and lets you stay ahead of your infrastructure issues.
Some key functionalities include auto-discovery, real-time maps and dashboards, customizable alerts/notifications, and distributed monitoring via remote probes.
This solution allows you to monitor network throughput, utilization, and availability. It offers a visual overview of the entire network, which further helps identify and fix performance issues before they disrupt operations.
Pros
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Easy to use and comprehensive monitoring
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Alerts help users stay informed about network health
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Helps identify issues early
Cons
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The user interface could use some modernization
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There can be a learning curve due to the vast range of features
User Reviews
Source: Verified Capterra Review
Source: Verified Capterra Review
Nagios XI
Source: Nagios XI
Nagios XI, from Nagios, is a comprehensive network, server, and application monitoring platform. Using this solution, network admins can monitor servers' performance, disk usage, memory utilization, CPU utilization, and network devices such as switches and routers.
Nagios XI offers real-time monitoring and instantly alerts the concerned teams to prevent network outages and minimize disruptions.
This is a perfect solution for mid-sized businesses and enterprises that need proactive troubleshooting, network uptime, and accurate live data reports.
Pros:
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Easy to use and helps reduce MTTR
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The alerting and notification system is reliable
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Comprehensive monitoring capabilities (network, database, Windows Server, and cluster service)
Cons:
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The UI could use some improvement
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Finding the root cause of the network issue can be complex
User Reviews:
Source: Verified TrustRadius Review
Source: Verified TrustRadius Review
NsLookup
Source: NsLookup
NsLookup is a command-line tool that allows IT admins to resolve domain names into IP addresses and vice versa.
As a network troubleshooting tool, it lets you determine if the impacted website's DNS returns the correct IP address. If the IP doesn’t match the expected server address, you’d know what to investigate: DNS server settings, propagation, or zone misconfiguration.
Pros:
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Zero cost, it is a free tool.
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It comes pre-installed on Windows, macOS, and Linux devices
Cons
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Lacks a GUI
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Cannot run in the background as a service
User Reviews
Source: Reddit
Ping
Ping or ping is a standard network troubleshooting command that is pre-installed in all operating systems. This command helps you test reachability, measure latency, detect packet loss, and test MTU sizes.
Ping sends an Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) echo request to a host computer over an IP network. If the requested host is reachable, this command sends back an ICMP echo reply and tells the time required to reach the host and other data, such as errors.
You can also automate monitoring by scheduling pings to track uptime, packet loss, and round-trip times. In a threshold breach, an alert will notify the relevant team, who can take the necessary action.
Pros:
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Simple and quick to use.
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Available on most operating systems.
Cons:
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Limited to basic connectivity checks; does not provide detailed diagnostics.
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Can be blocked by firewalls, leading to misleading results.
Trends in Network Troubleshooting for 2025
Here are the top network monitoring trends that’ll change the way IT teams approach troubleshooting:
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AI-Driven Network Monitoring: AI and ML are changing the way we think about network monitoring. With these technologies, IT teams can use predictive analytics to predict potential network errors and fix them without manual intervention.
Here’s a Reddit user talking about the same:
Source: Reddit
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Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Monitoring: As organizations' workloads increase, they opt for hybrid and multi-cloud environments. These distributed infrastructures require networking tools that offer centralized visibility across platforms.
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Focus on User Experience: Modern IT teams prefer network monitoring tools with intuitive interfaces, easy configuration, and almost zero learning curve.
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Proactive Maintenance: More organizations will focus on proactive maintenance instead of reactive responses. By scheduling regular, data-driven inspections, IT teams can detect issues early and minimize downtimes.
Final Words
The right network troubleshooting tools will turn guesswork into certainty, allowing you to pinpoint issues quickly and reduce downtime.
But there’s a problem. While you have your network covered, what about your remote or hybrid employees' endpoints, such as laptops or computers?
Troubleshooting network issues doesn’t start with the network—it begins with the device.
Here’s how you can solve this issue with Workwize—a global ITAM solution offering complete visibility into your assets across the network.
You can see who owns each device, what software is installed, when it’s due for return, and what’s connected. By integrating network monitoring with Workwize, you can perform faster root-cause analysis and reduce blind spots in your environment.
Want to see how this works in action? Book a Demo with Workwize.
