Switch Monitoring with PRTG
- PRTG works with all the biggest manufacturers
- PRTG monitors switch hardware
- PRTG monitors traffic
- PRTG automatically sounds the alarm in the event of errors
- PRTG is all-inclusive with no additional costs
Switch traffic monitoring:
3 types of sensors to help you get started
iWhat is a sensor?
In PRTG, “Sensors” are the basic monitoring elements. One sensor usually monitors one measured value in your network, e.g. the traffic of a switch port, the CPU load of a server, the free space of a disk drive. On average you need about 5-10 sensors per device or one sensor per switch port.
SNMP sensors:
PRTG comes with preconfigured SNMP sensors for the switches of manufacturers such as HP, Cisco, and Dell.
Packet Sniffer Sensor:
The Packet Sniffer Sensor monitors traffic, and filters by IP addresses, protocols, and data types.
NetFlow/sFlow/jFlow sensors:
Thanks to the PRTG NetFlow sensors, you can also monitor the traffic and bandwidth of switches from manufacturers such as Cisco and Juniper.
Switch monitoring:
3 sensors for monitoring hardware
SNMP Memory Sensor:
This sensor monitors memory.
Ping Sensor:
The PRTG Ping Sensor monitors the availability of your switches.
i Ping is a command-line utility, available on virtually any operating system with network connectivity, that acts as a test to see if a networked device is reachable. The ping command sends a request over the network to a specific device. A successful ping results in a response from the computer that was pinged back to the originating computer. Read more ...
A sneak peek into switch monitoring with PRTG
SNMP Traffic Sensor
"Sunburst" dashboard in PRTG
Device overview
5 good reasons to choose PRTG as your switch monitoring tool
PRTG is independent
Cisco, HP, Huawei…PRTG is compatible with any switch manufacturer that offers SNMP. It also comes with preconfigured sensors for many leading switch manufacturers, which speeds up the setup process.
PRTG is comprehensive
PRTG is the perfect tool for monitoring all your hardware – including servers, routers, and switches. You can also keep a constant eye on bandwidth and applications.
iBandwidth is measured as the amount of data that can be transferred from one point to another within a network in a specific amount of time. Typically, bandwidth is expressed as a bitrate and measured in bits per second (bps). It refers to the transmission capacity of a connection and is an important factor when determining the quality and speed of a network. Read more ...
PRTG sounds the alarm
If a switch malfunctions, you’ll know so at once. PRTG comes with a customizable notification system, which promptly sounds the alarm so you can quickly go about fixing the problem.
PRTG improves security
With PRTG, you’ll immediately see if a port is open. As a result, you can close gateways and enhance the security of your network.
PRTG optimizes bandwidth consumption
Which applications are responsible for the most traffic? Where do bottlenecks tend to arise? PRTG provides quick answers to these and other questions, and thus boosts the efficiency of your network!
Over 95% of our customers recommend PRTG
Paessler AG worldwide trialled PRTG in over 600 IT departments.
The aim was to tune the network monitoring software closer to the needs of the administrators.
The result of the survey: over 95% of the participants would recommend PRTG - or already had.
Your switch monitoring at a glance
– even while on the go
PRTG can be started within minutes and it's compatible with many mobile devices.
PRTG is compatible with a variety of switch manufacturers
A lot to choose from
Most router and server manufacturers are also in the business of switches. In fact, the number of available switches is constantly on the rise. We will therefore only cover a few of the products made by some of the main manufacturers. Status as of 2017.
Mixing manufacturers
Many administrators use a variety of different switches from a variety of different manufacturers. As a result, they often find it difficult to find monitoring software that can monitor all their switches at the same time. That’s where PRTG comes in: our switch monitoring software is compatible with nearly every major switch manufacturer.
Common switch manufacturers
Cisco
Cisco makes a variety of different switches for companies and organizations, including Cisco Catalyst series switches, Cisco Industrial Ethernet series switches, and Cisco Nexus switches. Learn more about Cisco monitoring with PRTG here.
HP
HP offers a variety of switches that can be used for both large or small data centers. An example: the HP Procurve switch. PRTG comes with several preconfigured sensors for HP products.
Huawei
Huawei also makes Ethernet switches for larger corporations. Some of these include campus switches (S12700 series), data center switches (CloudEngine series), and SME switches for smaller companies.
Juniper
Juniper offers two types of switches: EX switches and QFX switches. Administrators are often looking for the best way to monitor these switches.
Dell
Dell offers Dell Networking X-Series switches to company networks which support SNMP. PRTG comes with various preconfigured SNMP sensors for Dell. Learn more about Dell monitoring here.
Arista
Arista makes layer 3 switches. Compared to Cisco, Arista is a smaller manufacturer. Nevertheless, its switches are used by many companies and organizations.
Switch port monitoring with PRTG
Security: Keeping an eye on open switch ports
When monitoring switch ports, administrators are up against some major challenges.
They must be able to continually check for open and closed ports, as well as potentially dangerous open switch ports. With PRTG, you'll keep constant track of your ports – and automatically receive an alarm if something goes awry.
An overview of switch port capacities
If a switch is stretched beyond its capacities, then it is sure to break down. Such a situation is both frustrating and unnecessary, for with PRTG, you are quickly informed of impending overloads and can upgrade or relieve the switch accordingly. Learn more about port monitoring with PRTG here.
Award winning solution
We work hard on making our software as powerful and easy-to-use
as possible for our customers each and every day.
Of course it makes us proud when we get awards for that.
Practical tip: Hey Daniel…happen to have any port monitoring tips up your sleeve?
“With its routers, switches, hubs, and bridges, your network has a great many ports which potentially need monitoring. I would recommend creating at least one active sensor per port on each of your main network components. By doing so, you can monitor all the active ports of your network device, as well as the device’s CPU and RAM. On the other hand, for those network components which are not so important, you can usually get by with using paused sensors instead of actively monitoring each and every port.”
Daniel Elsner, PRTG Product Development
PRTG simplifies your day
Our monitoring software works for you and promptly notifies you of potential issues.
It frees you to concentrate on your day-to-day tasks with peace of mind.
PRTG saves time
With PRTG, you get one central monitoring tool for your servers and entire network. Enjoy a quick overview of your whole infrastructure via our dashboard and app.
PRTG saves worry
Customizing PRTG is a breeze. Getting started or switching from another network monitoring tool is easy thanks to the PRTG auto-discovery and pre-configured device templates.
PRTG saves money
80% of our customers report substantial or even exceptional cost savings in the area of network monitoring. The experience shows that the costs for licenses have paid for themselves within a matter of weeks.
Need help with other areas of your network? Be sure to check out the following topics:
Port monitoring
PRTG monitors open and closed ports, traffic, and bandwidth. Along with SNMP, NetFlow, and packet sniffing sensors, PRTG comes with additional port sensors such as the Port Range Sensor. Learn more about port monitoring here.
i NetFlow is a protocol for collecting, aggregating and recording traffic flow data in a network. NetFlow data provide a more granular view of how bandwidth and network traffic are being used than other monitoring solutions, such as SNMP. NetFlow was developed by Cisco and is embedded in Cisco’s IOS software on the company’s routers and switches and has been supported on almost all Cisco devices since the 11.1 train of Cisco IOS Software. Read more ...
Router monitoring
PRTG monitors your routers. In the event of error messages, high bandwidth use, firewall failures, or suspicious traffic, the notification system of PRTG automatically sounds the alarm. Learn more about router monitoring here.
Network monitoring
PRTG is a Swiss Army knife for your network. Its dashboard lets you quickly keep track of hardware, software, and all the other components in your network. PRTG is also available as an app for when you are out of the office. Learn all about network monitoring with PRTG here.
Packet sniffing
Want to take a closer look at your traffic? The PRTG Packet Sniffing Sensor lets you monitor data packets, which you can then filter by IP address, protocol type, data type, or other values. Learn more about packet sniffing here.
NetFlow monitoring
The NetFlow protocol is mainly used by Cisco devices. PRTG is compatible with all the major NetFlow versions. It also comes with preconfigured sensors for other Flow protocols like IPFIX. Learn more about NetFlow monitoring here.
Ping monitoring
PRTG uses ping to check the availability of your network devices in real time, and promptly reports errors so you can take action at once. The Auto Discovery feature makes setup both quick and easy. Learn more about ping monitoring here.
PAESSLER AG –
German quality engineering
Made in Germany: The PRTG Network Monitoring Tool is the fruit of an engaged team. The company was founded by Dirk Paessler. PAESSLER AG's headquarters are located in the city of Nuremberg, in the heart of Germany. We combine typical German virtues such as high quality standards, industriousness, and commitment with international, cosmopolitan flair. Read more about our firm here. By the way: We are regularly looking for new recruits.
Case Studies: Airports, utility companies, banks, colleges, hospitals: PRTG is present in every industry. For each of our customers, business and organizational processes depend on the proper functioning of the network infrastructure. The PRTG customer satisfaction is close to 100%. Read in our case studies how our customers use PRTG.
Product tests: It goes without saying that we are convinced by the quality of PRTG. But what about the others? PRTG has always performed extremely well in tests. PRTG user “LanLine” sums it up best: “PRTG was already good several years ago, and has gotten better from version to version ever since.” Such has been our steadfast and sincere goal. Read more about monitoring software product tests and comparisons here.
Support: Our support team works hard every day to help customers solve their monitoring problems. Our goal is to resolve all inquiries within 24 hours (on business days). We've drafted a comprehensive manual and built up an extensive knowledge base featuring videos, webinars, and FAQs. All support, of course, is also included!
Getting started is easy: The trial version is free, which means you can try our monitoring tool risk-free. To switch to another version of PRTG, simply search for an appropriate license. You can upgrade any time you like.
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PRTG |
Network Monitoring Software - Version 18.3.44.2054 (September 24th, 2018) |
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Hosting |
Download for Windows and hosted version available |
Languages |
English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese |
Pricing |
Up to 100 sensors for free (Price List) |
Unified Monitoring |
Network devices, bandwidth, servers, applications, virtual environments, remote systems, IoT, and more... |
Supported Vendors & Applications |
Free Trial
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