LinkRunner AT Network AutoTester vs. SolarWinds Engineer's Toolset

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
LinkRunner AT Network AutoTester
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
The LinkRunner AT Network AutoTester offers user-configured AutoTests for a wide range of tasks. This network tester’s cable test and switch identification facilitate problem isolation. The device is supported by netAlly after NETSCOUT divested its handheld troubleshooting devices in 2018. The LinkRunner device replaces the former and now obsolete OneTouch AT network troubleshooting technology acquired from Seattle-based Fluke Networks by NETSCOUT in 2015.N/A
SolarWinds Engineer's Toolset
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
SolarWinds® Engineer’s Toolset (ETS) helps users monitor and troubleshoot a network with over 60 tools for network management. ETS allows users to monitor and receive alerts in real time on network availability and health, and perform network diagnostics for faster troubleshooting and resolution of complex network issues. With ETS users can deploy an array of network discovery tools including Port Scanner, Switch Port Mapper or advanced Subnet Calculator, manage Cisco® devices with specialized…
$1,585
Per Instance
Pricing
LinkRunner AT Network AutoTesterSolarWinds Engineer's Toolset
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
One Time Price
$1,585
Per Instance
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
LinkRunner AT Network AutoTesterSolarWinds Engineer's Toolset
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
LinkRunner AT Network AutoTesterSolarWinds Engineer's Toolset
Top Pros
Top Cons
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User Ratings
LinkRunner AT Network AutoTesterSolarWinds Engineer's Toolset
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.6
(11 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
LinkRunner AT Network AutoTesterSolarWinds Engineer's Toolset
Likelihood to Recommend
NetAlly
All network administrators would be able to find a use for this tool in their environment. It allows people from outside of the networking industry to capture data required for a quick diagnosis. Things that typically would require me to be onsite for diagnosis can now be handed to Tier 1 techs for data collection and reporting. Since moving toward cable certification, we've experienced an almost unbelievably low level of cable failure. When it does happen, though, there is no guessing. Our Fluke units tell us what the problem is and where.
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SolarWinds
I have found the toolset especially useful for scanning subnets to discover devices, and for setting up temporary real-time monitors when we are troubleshooting or setting up new connections. The most useful aspect has been the ability to apply the tools to help troubleshoot and pinpoint intermittent issues. More general tools like Orion often do not have the granularity to detect issues like intermittent packet loss which are especially impactful to applications like Voice. The toolset gives us another level of capability to dig into issues.
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Pros
NetAlly
  • Identify the exact switchport a given line is plugged in to.
  • View the length and viability of any category or fiber optic cable.
  • It acts as a premade packet capture device, simple enough to walk someone through deploying while I'm offsite.
  • In the event LLDP based identification of a port fails, it has the ability to blink a switchport allowing for manual identification.
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SolarWinds
  • Various monitoring
  • Stores history
  • Suggests indices
  • Helps to find the SQL query text
  • Helps to see what machines/users the bad queries are coming from
  • Shows current blocking session
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Cons
NetAlly
  • Price. There is no other device on the market with the AT's feature set. Fluke knows it and charges accordingly.
  • The addition of bluetooth or a USB slot for a keyboard would be handy for certain functions.
  • The PC based remote connection process is old, and is one of the places where the OS shows it's age.
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SolarWinds
  • The unifying component that is intended to be the initial interface to the tools seems clunky. I prefer to start the tools individually rather than using it.
  • The port scanner could use some improvements to make it easier to use.
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Usability
NetAlly
No answers on this topic
SolarWinds
Very easy to use and intuitive. Just be careful with the WAN Killer...it does what it says.
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Support Rating
NetAlly
No answers on this topic
SolarWinds
Our organization uses it regularly. It is reliable, and we keep finding new uses for it
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Alternatives Considered
NetAlly
There is little to no competition in this field. If you need to do any type of advanced network monitoring/identification (or use 10G) then you're going to own a Fluke. While Ideal does have a couple of devices that appear to be the closest competitor, the differences are still extremely evident.
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SolarWinds
I haven't compared any tools similar to SolarWinds Engineer's Toolset. This might be because I'm pretty biased when it comes to monitoring, and reporting solutions. I've found that SolarWinds provides the biggest bang for the buck in my opinion. I'm sure there are other solutions on the market that compete, but I haven't tried any of them because I've been very satisfied with SolarWinds.
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Return on Investment
NetAlly
  • Drastic decrease in diagnosis time.
  • The certainty coming from the diagnostic process with the Fluke leads to less guessing and quicker fixes.
  • With multiple departments involved in the process of connecting devices to the network, the Fluke helps us to quickly certify a switch closet worth of cable and create error free documentation.
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SolarWinds
  • Spend less time downloading free buggy tools
  • All the tools in one spot, so you don't have to look around for tools
  • Get to the solution sooner
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ScreenShots

SolarWinds Engineer's Toolset Screenshots

Screenshot of Perform network stress tests with Engineer's Toolset WAN Killer. You don’t need to use real traffic for studying network activities, like testing traffic and load balancing. Instead, deploy Engineer's Toolset WAN Killer to help interactively test connections and adjust the IP traffic generated to achieve the desired network load based on your requirements.Screenshot of Quickly troubleshoot your network with enhanced ping capabilities and packet route tracing, among other network bandwidth usage and monitoring tools included in ETS.Screenshot of Using ETS, you can run scans to gain insight into how routers, hubs switches, and other devices are configured by analyzing SNMP queries and viewing MIB attributes. ETS is designed to help you more easily understand whether your network and ports are using appropriate settings.Screenshot of Config Compare, a part of ETS, is built to compare the running configuration of a Cisco router with the startup configuration. With the Cisco configuration compare tool, you can easily detect the changes made to the network, switch, and router configurations that are not committed to non-volatile memory (NVRAM).Screenshot of Manage your IP network from discovery to address tracking. Discover subnets on a seed router and scan the subnet or a range of IP addresses, generate a list of subnets along with their mask, size, range, and broadcast address and actively monitor subnets to identify and track which IP addresses are in use on your network.