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LinkRunner AT Network AutoTester vs. SolarWinds Engineer's Toolset

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    LinkRunner AT Network AutoTester

    Score10 out of 10
    N/AThe 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

    Score7.6 out of 10
    N/ASolarWinds® 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
    Considered Both Products
    NetAlly
    No answer on this topic
    SolarWinds
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Would buy again
    11 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    90%
    Delivers good value for the price
    9 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    11 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    10 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    10 Answers
    Best Alternatives
    LinkRunner AT Network AutoTesterSolarWinds Engineer's Toolset
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    Medium-sized Companies
    Cisco Catalyst Assurance
    Score8.1 out of 10
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    Enterprises
    Cisco Catalyst Assurance
    Score8.1 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    LinkRunner AT Network AutoTesterSolarWinds Engineer's Toolset
    Likelihood to Recommend
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    8.6
    (11 ratings)
    Usability
    10.0
    (1 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
    The tool was recently used to help identify a hardware issue. We were having connectivity problems which was identified with the LinkRunner that has the SFP to test fiber connections. We were able to show the vendor on sight that the link was good and that it was the vendor equipment that had the issue This resulted in them replacing the physical equipment to bring services back online.
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    NetAlly
    • It could be updated for Mgig or 10Gb.
    • Some devices should have SFP+ modules capabilities
    • Could be combined with other tools
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    NetAlly
    The network tester is one of the easest devices I have ever used. It does have capabilities that other testers simply don't have. Being able to identify the switch port it is plugged into, the address of the switch, the switch name, along with the VLAN has helped on so many occasions
    Read full review
    SolarWinds
    Very easy to use and intuitive. Just be careful with the WAN Killer...it does what it says.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.