IxChariot vs LinkRunner comparison

Keysight Technologies and NetAlly are both solutions in the Network Troubleshooting category. Keysight Technologies is ranked #11, while NetAlly is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.0. Keysight Technologies holds a 4.9% mindshare in NT, compared to NetAlly’s 19.6% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Keysight Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of NetAlly users who would recommend it.

IxChariot

Read 2 IxChariot reviews

293 Views
123 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

LinkRunner

Read 20 LinkRunner reviews

2,466 Views
707 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

IxChariot

LinkRunner

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 11, 2024

LinkRunner and IxChariot are competing network testing tools. User reviews indicate that IxChariot generally offers superior features, making it preferable despite higher costs.

Features: LinkRunner is praised for its ease of use, quick testing capabilities, and reliability in network diagnostics. IxChariot is recognized for its advanced testing features, comprehensive performance analytics, and flexible scripting options.

Room for Improvement: LinkRunner users seek more advanced diagnostic features and better integration with other tools. IxChariot users suggest improvements in its interface and enhanced ease of use for less advanced users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: LinkRunner is noted for its straightforward, quick deployment and responsive customer support. IxChariot’s setup is more complex, reflecting its advanced capabilities, but users report satisfactory customer service.

Pricing and ROI: LinkRunner offers competitive pricing and a quicker ROI due to its simplicity and efficiency. IxChariot justifies its higher setup costs with advanced features and longer-term ROI through enhanced network performance insights.

To learn more, read our detailed IxChariot vs. LinkRunner Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IxChariot vs. LinkRunner

March 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 842,767 peers since 2012

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

IxChariot

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

11th

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

LinkRunner

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Network Troubleshooting category, the mindshare of IxChariot is 4.9%, up from 2.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of LinkRunner is 19.6%, down from 23.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Troubleshooting

Featured Reviews

Venkat Lkmula

Tech spesialist at INT tech services

A vast solution with user-friendly features and reasonable pricing

It is very scalable. You can easily increase the payers in the license activation. If you have any issues, the IxChariot host system can be rebooted. We currently have about 100 setups in our lab. Out of those 100 setups, around 90 are being used. So overall, 90% of the setups use a minimum of 10 paces where we test the range versus rate. In addition, we are building up several test bits, which will increase the usage. No maintenance is required for this solution unless the host system has a problem. Once IxChariot is installed, it automatically updates if you set it to auto-update.

Read full review

Jesse_B

Manager of networks and infrastructure at a government with 5,001-10,000 employees

Impressive ease of use, gives comprehensive results in seconds, and saves a lot of time and resources

I've found the VLAN test feature to be most valuable. That's because not many devices do VLAN tests. Normally, I have to send a center technician to check a line and see if it's alive. If it's working, then I have to send a network technician out to log into a switch and see which port it's on and on which VLAN that port is. That's two persons and two separate visits. This device does all of this in a matter of seconds, and that has saved me a lot of time, troubleshooting, and resources. Its ease of use is very impressive. LinkRunner allows me to have my technicians run tests that are normally too complex and require a network specialist. AutoTest works with just one click. AutoTest does a lot of testing that would normally require a network specialist to log in to a switch and check out VLAN based on a port. My technicians don't have to log in to the switch anymore. They can just do AutoTest and information is provided online. So, I no longer have to send a specialist. I can have my technician run these very complex tests. It saves me on resources, time, and site visits. When it comes to troubleshooting, based on my experience, it has given very useful and very helpful information, especially for my field technicians. It has reduced my visits and the amount of presence because it gives a very comprehensive report on your network tests. It tests multiple variables and multiple parameters and gives a very informative report that makes it easy to pinpoint what is the root cause. There are many tools in this one solution. It's basically a bunch of toolkits or tool sets in one device, which makes it very powerful testing equipment.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Implementing IxChariot is very easy and user-friendly."

"Performance testing is the most valuable feature. It gives a brief summary of the information we're looking at, such as latency, jitter, and the available throughput."

"It provides a way to test 10Gig connectivity. Previously, we had to hook up a switch. That was our only way. Now, with LinkRunner, we can test on the fly if an SFP is bad or if the switch has the right configuration on it."

"The most valuable feature is the end-to-end testing with the "dart," as they call it, where you can test for faults in the cable or if they've been terminated properly."

"The LLDP decoding is better than on some of the other devices that we've used. Specifically, it goes beyond the minimum of the LLDP data to decode, and it shows the LLDP port descriptions. That makes it vastly simpler to identify which port you're connecting to on a switch that's patched back to some other building, rather than having to figure out an SNMP index or something else."

"In terms of network validation, and copper and fiber Ethernet configuration, I can't imagine life without LinkRunner devices. The minute I got the 10G, everybody was fighting over it. They had never used such a device before and it was just breathtaking for them to very quickly see the validation you can gain from these devices."

"AutoTest is very helpful. It's very streamlined and it's very easy to set up and very easy to identify what we want to achieve. It's probably the feature we use the most. It provides us with LLTD, which is very useful."

"It is fast in providing results. It is pretty accurate."

"In terms of documenting ad hoc additions and other changes to wired ethernet connections, this product is very good. It keeps the information in the cloud and I have the ability to name it. This makes it very nice and easy to see."

Cons

"The graphical user interface needs to be improved."

"One area where LinkRunner could be improved is the battery life. Depending on which tests are run, it gets a decent six to eight hours. However, sometimes we need to do back-to-back shifts to meet a deadline, and we need access to an outlet to keep it plugged in and charging. It takes about an hour or two to charge."

"It's a bit bulky. It would be nicer if it were a little bit smaller and packed with all its features. I would also like it if the screen were a bit bigger."

"Unlike using an application like Wireshark, this device gives us no way to see network packets specifically to look at what's going on. It doesn't have the capability."

"If it weren't for the battery, it would probably get an eight out of 10. But because of the battery, it's infuriating and it's not reliable."

"It is a great tool, but in the long-term, they can make its processor more powerful to do more functions. They can upgrade the hardware to make it run faster and more efficiently from the process point of view. That'll be beneficial because the technology is evolving and the network traffic is going higher and higher. We have to leverage better spec products to handle the traffic load."

"A feature that I would like to see is the ability to send a tone down the cable. That would be great. I have to use a separate tool for that. If I'm trying to troubleshoot a cable that is not plugged into a network switch, I need the ability to tone."

"It's a little bit tough getting used to at first, but once you get the hang of it, and once you start using it more, like anything, it gets easier. The difficult part, at first, is knowing where to find each test and how to use the tests."

"I wish they had software that could create continuous streams of traffic. I'm not sure if that's possible with LinkRunner, but it would be very helpful in some of the test case scenarios that clients are looking for, in regards to quality of service"

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"Compared to another company's product, LinkRunner is cheaper, but it's still about $1,000 too expensive, considering that the operating system is a free operating system. The OS has just been tweaked to give you a graphical interface. I don't think it's priced right."

"It's expensive but you definitely get what you pay for. I would buy another one if I had to."

"The price was fine. You pay for the unit, and there are no licensing or maintenance fees."

"It's an expensive device. Don't expect it to be cheap. But the pricing is good. It certainly seemed in line with anything else I was looking at at the time."

"I would buy another one if I had a chance but they're too expensive. If they made it a bit cheaper, I think a lot of network engineers and network administrators would immediately jump onto it."

"It was difficult to sell this to my management because the price is really high compared to other testing tools. However, we've seen a pretty good return on investment considering our outcomes and the time we have saved. The first year has been great."

"I didn't have to buy it, but if I was going to have my choice, I wouldn't buy it just because of the price point. It works pretty well to do one thing. For the cost, it is definitely not worth it. There are other products out there that can do the same thing for probably 70% less. I am not aware of any additional costs."

"It's reasonably priced in my market. It provides good value for money. The device is competitively priced as compared to other solutions. It gives you a lot of functionality and saves you a lot of time and resources. I see it as a good buy and good value for money. I stand for it."

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

15%

University

13%

Healthcare Company

Government

University

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Healthcare Company

10%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Comparisons

No data available

NetAlly EtherScope nXG vs LinkRunner

Compared 30% of the time

LinkSprinter vs LinkRunner

Compared 25% of the time

AirCheck G3 vs LinkRunner

Compared 12% of the time

OneTouch AT Network Assistant vs LinkRunner

Compared 10% of the time

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Network Troubleshooting

March 2025

Download IxChariot product report

Buyer's Guide

LinkRunner

March 2025

Download LinkRunner product report

Overview

IxChariot instantly assesses and troubleshoots networks and applications before and after deployment. This powerful assessment tool uses software agents called Performance Endpoints to simulate application traffic and deliver key performance metrics to a central console for easy management

Validate your devices and networks with proven software-based solution you can rely on
Instantly assess network performance, including wireless performance and geo-location
Manage your tests from modern and intuitive web-based user interface
Leverage distributed and portable performance endpoints deployed on mobile, PC, Mac or in any hypervisor or cloud provider
Validate Wi-Fi clients and access points (APsP based on Wi-Fi Alliance certification tool

Keysight Technologies

LinkRunner AT 3000 & 4000. Next Generation Copper and Fiber Ethernet AutoTester. Fast and comprehensive validation of network links and powerful copper and fiber network connectivity troubleshooting. Tests from 10Mbps to 10Gbps, PoE, VLAN, switch port, path analysis, packet capture, topology mapping and so much more!

NetAlly

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Philips Healthcare, HCA Healthcare, University of South Dakota, Memorial Hermann, Baltimore County Public Schools, Aaramrak.

Buyer's Guide

IxChariot vs. LinkRunner

March 2025

Free Report: IxChariot vs. LinkRunner

Find out what your peers are saying about IxChariot vs. LinkRunner and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

842,767 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our IxChariot vs. LinkRunner report.

See our list of best Network Troubleshooting vendors.

We monitor all Network Troubleshooting reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.