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IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) vs Wireshark comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM SevOne Network Performa...
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
54
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (34th), Server Monitoring (18th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (34th), Log Management (38th), Cloud Monitoring Software (27th)
Wireshark
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
Network Troubleshooting (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Network Management solutions, they serve different purposes. IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) is designed for Network Monitoring Software and holds a mindshare of 1.1%, up 1.0% compared to last year.
Wireshark, on the other hand, focuses on Network Troubleshooting, holds 19.7% mindshare, up 13.2% since last year.
Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM)1.1%
Zabbix3.8%
SolarWinds NPM3.7%
Other91.4%
Network Monitoring Software
Network Troubleshooting Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Wireshark19.7%
AirMagnet Survey PRO8.3%
DX Spectrum7.3%
Other64.7%
Network Troubleshooting
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1543041 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network monitoring engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Provides consistent infrastructure monitoring with excellent usability and support
The primary use case of IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) is network monitoring. It helps to maintain the infrastructure's availability and ensure that alerts are generated when needed The most valuable features of IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) are its stability,…
reviewer2837244 - PeerSpot reviewer
It System Engineer at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Packet analysis has improved real-time troubleshooting and simplifies mapping complex data flows
The best features that Wireshark offers are everything. Every time I look into Wireshark, I find something new. The ability to capture real-time packets and understand how the packet is working and moving through how many hops and to how many points it reaches makes it a wonderful tool. The specific feature I use most is capturing packets of real-time communication and seeing how the packet is working. I rely on all the filters it has to check the protocols and see the communication between one end and another end and what the hops in between are, and if there is a proxy, how it behaves. Everything helps us check out the issue and troubleshoot it. I do not have anything additional to add about the features; everything looks really fine. The graphics are also good, and you can change its graphical features, making it a pretty nice tool. You can also use it with the PCAP file, which is really nice. Wireshark has positively impacted my organization by giving us the ability to capture packets and see into the network how it is working and what we can clarify about the network, specifically how we can remove many hops in the communication channels. A specific example of a measurable outcome is that we have a few switches in our network that, when we use Wireshark analysis, we find should not be needed or can be replaced with automatic switches instead of manual switches, such as switches which do not have any active features and only passive switches. That has saved us a lot of time.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"This performance data is key, and having such integration means that we get value out of SevOne fairly quickly."
"SevOne really did a number for us, during the pandemic, of isolating which load balances were overloaded with users working from home, so that right there was worth its weight in gold because the management created all these reports for load balancers for access for remote workers and that's all they focused on for a couple of months."
"SevOne is the one tool which provides multiple features, and the servers or databases have different plugins that can be used to monitor various components of the network and applications."
"SevOne’s data collection functionality is very good. From a collection point of view, we pull SNMP data, which is simple. It is easy to manipulate the pull in the estate. It is really simple compared to some of the other products that we have used. However, for deferred data, i.e., things that we import or don't pull directly, we tend to have a preplanned integration. So, its Universal Collector is really useful."
"The reporting capabilities provided important metrics and data that helped in the oversight of our system, network, and overall IT infrastructure, both in terms of applications and hardware."
"SevOne NPM helps our customers detect performance issues faster and, once it's properly configured, it will help you address some issues right away, cutting troubleshooting time by one to three hours and enabling you to proactively address potential performance issues before a failure occurs."
"But it is a good tool that works nicely; so far, we don't regret it."
"Customer Service: Fantastic – responsive."
"It helps in analyzing if something looks suspicious, such as a brute force attack or scanning from somewhere."
"It is a stable product. I would rate the stability a ten out of ten."
"The solution is easy to install and use."
"The best thing about Wireshark is the community/ecosystem."
"Wireshark has been getting better and better in the time I've been using it and it is a very helpful tool."
"I believe everyone should use this tool if they need to analyze packets."
"Wireshark is a dynamic software that has developed and adapted to the latest technology advancements and network challenges."
"The product is simple to implement."
 

Cons

"As I mentioned before, there are cheaper solutions available."
"NMS has several areas for improvement. It should be more user-friendly inside of NMS for some of the functionality in there. It's been getting better the last version or two, but the there have been bugs in there whenever I've gone to new versions."
"Although it is a very good monitoring tool, it can be confusing when you try to add devices and they don’t appear correctly."
"There are a lot of pain points. My main problem is that we don't have a high availability system."
"High-frequency polling is data-intensive because you're pulling more. If SevOne could figure out a way to manage the impact of high-frequency polling on the system, that would be very popular."
"I am impressed with their LAN side, WAN side on the Wi-Fi domains, but the SD WAN has room to improve."
"Enhanced baselining capability would be an improvement."
"Customer service is very bad. The support is a kind of blog where you leave your question or problem, then they try to resolve it as soon as possible."
"Wireshark could be improved by adding more monitoring features."
"There is a disadvantage when it comes to sampling intervals. Additionally, I've heard from a colleague that Wireshark might be less effective in the voice domain."
"One con is that this software is only an observer, not an interactive component of the network, meaning you cant change anything with it."
"You need some basic knowledge to work with Wireshark. Maybe it could be more user-friendly just for new users. Just for the new generation."
"I wish the filters were a little bit more prepopulated."
"I would like to see Wireshark improve the ease of application of the command. The command is very powerful, but not easy to apply."
"The volume of data on a typical TCP segment is so large that it can be challenging to capture and find the right data."
"A room for improvement in Wireshark is its ease of use for beginners. It could be better. Another room for improvement in the tool is for it to provide more details about the traffic load. At the moment, Wireshark is adequate for me, so there isn't anything I'd like added to it in its next version."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are cheaper solutions available."
"Have a bank of licenses, because it is about the number of objects (RAM, ports, CPU, etc.)."
"The tool is not expensive. We were able to negotiate with SevOne on pricing."
"Although I don't have exact details in terms of cost, my experience has been that SevOne is willing to make a deal with the customer."
"Prices per license are not huge, but they exist."
"There are different options available for licensing, with the per-device option being more expensive but more flexible."
"It is inexpensive compared to other monitoring tools."
"A blocking point is the high upfront cost because it is challenging to get it accepted and the purchase approved."
"The solution is open source so is free."
"Wireshark is free of charge, and there's no license involved."
"This is an open-source product that can be used free of charge."
"Wireshark is open source and gives great value and functionality to the network investigation."
"It is free."
"I am using the free version of this solution."
"We are using a freeware version of this solution, so there are no licence costs involved."
"It is free to download and install. It runs on multiple platforms, so how can you go wrong?"
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
6%
University
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise45
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise29
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with SevOne Network Data Platform?
There is room for improvement in the integration with different vendors and the reporting capabilities. It would be beneficial to have out-of-the-box integration with third-party vendors and improv...
What is your primary use case for SevOne Network Data Platform?
The primary use case of IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) ( /products/ibm-sevone-network-performance-management-npm-reviews ) is network monitoring. It helps to maintain the infrastru...
What advice do you have for others considering SevOne Network Data Platform?
To compete with custom-built tools, IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) should accommodate the desired features and be timely in the delivery of feature updates. I would rate the overal...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Wireshark?
Wireshark is priced at a medium range, not too high, not too low. The pricing could be more flexible, and they might make it more expensive. That said, compared to other products, it is competitive.
What needs improvement with Wireshark?
Wireshark can be improved if it provides the accessibility of capturing packets from one device that is installed in the network without needing the port-mirrored facility. They could provide somet...
What is your primary use case for Wireshark?
Wireshark's main use case is capturing packets and reviewing the data flow over the network. Regarding my main use case for Wireshark, it is a great tool and would be one of the best tools availabl...
 

Also Known As

SevOne
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ATOS, Devereux, Spark New Zealand, Access4, Rogers Communication, Lumen (formerly known as CenturyLink)
Comversion, ADP, Talbots
Find out what your peers are saying about Zabbix, SolarWinds, Datadog and others in Network Monitoring Software. Updated: August 2026.
909,099 professionals have used our research since 2012.