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SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer vs Zabbix 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

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic ...
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (5th)
Zabbix
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
104
Ranking in other categories
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (9th), Network Monitoring Software (1st), Server Monitoring (1st), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (1st), Cloud Monitoring Software (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Network Management solutions, they serve different purposes. SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is designed for Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) and holds a mindshare of 7.7%, down 10.3% compared to last year.
Zabbix, on the other hand, focuses on Network Monitoring Software, holds 11.5% mindshare, down 11.8% since last year.
Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Dr. SureshHungenahally - PeerSpot reviewer
Used for capacity planning and handles a variety of protocols with easy setup
We conduct network traffic analysis for a couple of key reasons. First, we look for traffic anomalies, such as unexpected increases or decreases in network traffic within specific segments. This helps us determine if the network needs to be re-architected. We also analyze peak bandwidth and bandwidth consumption across various network segments, which is crucial if someone is planning to transition to software-defined networks. The network traffic analyzer tool allows us to simulate scenarios and compare before-and-after results. Additionally, it supports traffic sources like NetFlow and SFlow, and we regularly check the quality of service using NetFlow. The tool handles a variety of protocols, such as NetFlow version 5 and version 9, JFlow, and SFlow, making it independent of the underlying technology.
ASM Naushad Alam - PeerSpot reviewer
Allows any number of customizations but lacks functionality for finding root causes
We have not yet purchased the commercial version so have a lack of technical ability. We do not yet fully know the key points or key features of the solution. We just use what we use along with WhatsUp Gold. Based on our use only, stability is rated a seven out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"NTA's most valuable feature is traffic analysis and visibility."
"For managing the traffic, it provides you a response about whether the traffic is down, up, or heavy, which is a very powerful feature. It has a good response time. We have been using this solution for many years, and we don't have any problem with this solution."
"It helps us know when a branch is down because it has a graphic presentation of all the locations a node represents."
"The dashboard alerts me when a critical device goes off the network."
"It allows us to pinpoint which protocol is overloading the link."
"The monitoring is perfect, showing you the details for the utilization of resources and network bandwidth."
"It doesn't cost too much."
"It is great at telling you if your devices are working and it keeps an eye on your network's overall performance."
"Like other common Linux distributions, some of the most valuable features of this solution are the ease of use and deployment. It's simple and has a lot of packages and a lot of software."
"The most valuable feature is monitoring."
"The solution allows for good integration with other products."
"The initial setup, while not simple, is easier than other products."
"The level of discovery-based configuration that lets us auto-configure the monitoring for various systems is a valuable feature."
"We are able to do problem determination on runaway processes."
"I'm supervising all the IT departments, and Zabbix seems quite good for them. It provides graphics and information in real time. We get alerts about crashes on the system, enabling us to quickly repair issues. We can easily find devices with problems."
"The most valuable feature is the alert and alarm monitoring."
 

Cons

"The solution needs better log management and log coordination with tools."
"SolarWinds' technical support is ok, but it could be faster and more knowledgeable."
"It is a scalable solution, but it is costly to scale. Therefore, I would rate scalability at eight out of ten."
"Customer Support is quite complex."
"The Atlas module that is used for building the network map is very bad."
"It does not flow. It cannot do our metric performance monitoring. So it is very limited. They can do it but in a very limited fashion. It is only good for SNMP-based alerts."
"As people always complain about the pricing for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer, it's an area for improvement in the solution. People find it expensive. Another area for improvement in SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is support, as it could be better."
"One area that we struggle with is the price. Because the price of this solution is so high, we are largely unable to introduce it into the local market, and only the banking sector has the means to afford it."
"Zabbix isn't very good at automation just yet."
"Outside of the normal standard monitoring, I would like to extend patching, importing patching, and supporting patching for Windows Servers."
"The integration of the product is not so easy, especially when it comes to the application database."
"The System Center Operations Manager can be improved."
"The networking monitor is not too easy to work with."
"The server monitoring could be better."
"I would like to see a more flexible mobile client, and better HA out of the box."
"As far as improvements, sometimes I get a bit frustrated when I move from a previous version to a new one because some configuration has changed—I need to investigate the documentation to deal with some configuration. But it doesn't take much time, so it's okay."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is reasonable."
"The pricing is really good."
"While the pricing is fair, it could be better."
"The price of this solution is exceptional."
"We pay yearly, and we are happy with its price."
"The licensing for this solution is based on the number of nodes."
"For our environment, we pay approximately $25,000 USD yearly."
"I don't have information on the licensing cost for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer because it's bundled with another SolarWinds solution. My organization has seven different models and pays for the license yearly. My organization also had to deploy additional pollers, but the cost wasn't very expensive, though I can't give the exact numbers."
"This solution is open-source and free to use."
"Zabbix is open-source so if one wishes to implement it in-house, they must have qualified professionals to set up and optimize databases, Linux/Unix OS, PHP, Apache, and depending on what is monitored, a full-stack network and systems administrator may be needed."
"We use the open-source version of Zabbix."
"The tool's licensing costs are yearly."
"I was using the free, Community Edition."
"It’s free of cost."
"For pricing, it's free. We don't pay anything for it. They open-source the code, and people pay for support."
"The solution is open source so is free."
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Comparison Review

it_user174738 - PeerSpot reviewer
May 31, 2015
Nagios vs. Zabbix vs. PRTG vs. Spiceworks vs. Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor
I have researched a quite a few network monitoring tools which can be used for various monitoring purposes of not only the servers, but the intermediate routers as well. There are majorly three types of these softwares. Ones which are completely open-source, you can do almost anything you want…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
71%
Computer Software Company
4%
Financial Services Firm
3%
Government
2%
Educational Organization
39%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?
I have worked from 1973 with all kind of systems in large enterprises across the world. And have experience with all kind of software in monitoring from infra to end to end, it depends on the funct...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer?
The product is expensive. I rate the product’s pricing as one out of ten, where one is expensive, and ten is cheap.
What needs improvement with SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer?
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer could improve its flexibility and integration with AI to provide analytics beyond just showing up/down statuses and traffic volumes.
What do you like most about Zabbix?
The template system in Zabbix is very beneficial as it saves time in configuration.
What needs improvement with Zabbix?
I'm using the free version of Zabbix, and I'd like to see more customization options, especially for setting trigger thresholds.
 

Also Known As

Netflow Traffic Analyzer
No data available
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Oceaneering International, Asia Pacific Network Information Centre, 335th Signal Command, Immofori
1. IBM 2. Dell 3. Cisco 4. HP 5. Oracle 6. Microsoft 7. Amazon 8. Google 9. Facebook 10. Twitter 11. LinkedIn 12. Netflix 13. Adobe 14. VMware 15. Salesforce 16. SAP 17. Intel 18. AT&T 19. Verizon 20. T-Mobile 21. Vodafone 22. Ericsson 23. Nokia 24. Siemens 25. General Electric 26. Honeywell 27. Philips 28. Sony 29. Samsung 30. LG 31. Panasonic 32. Toshiba
Find out what your peers are saying about SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer vs. Zabbix and other solutions. Updated: September 2020.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.