SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA) vs. Wireshark

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
SolarWinds Netflow Traffic Analyzer is a network monitoring tool within the broader SolarWinds ecosystem. It includes core traffic monitoring features, as well as customizable traffic reports and alerts.N/A
Wireshark
Score 9.3 out of 10
N/A
Wireshark is a free and open source network troubleshooting tool.
$0
Pricing
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)Wireshark
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Wireshark
Free
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)Wireshark
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)Wireshark
Considered Both Products
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)
Chose SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)
So .. I still use Wireshark, but it can't even compare to Netflow. I went to the best of the best with SolarWinds out of the gate. Wireshark is just another utility I have used to gather traffic flows. SolarWinds puts all the data into a very understandable graph. The …
Chose SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer has more features compared to Wireshark and WhatsUp Gold.
Wireshark provided raw outputs while we were looking for intuitive graphical interface hence SolarWinds was preferred over Wireshark.
And WhatsUp Gold was good at monitoring networking …
Chose SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer compared to Wireshark and PRTG Network Monitor beats it by just the simple interface. Though all are manual setup, NTA takes it a step further with graphs and reports that analyze the data for you. In comparing to Extrahop from a bandwidth …
Chose SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)
For the needs of the company in which we monitor multiple departments, we have multiple branches and a centralized database to which we need permanent access, we have to look for a complex, robust and as an accurate option as possible for the administration of the bandwidth and …
Chose SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)
Due to the tight integration with the rest of the Orion system and that you're letting hardware send to software instead of trying to play man in the middle, NTA is just so much easier to use, provides better information, and is easier to display to management
Wireshark
Chose Wireshark
Wireshark is widely used and is the most popular packet analyzer available. It is a great debugging tool and easy to implement and use. It is Open Source and has a variety of options to analyze your network traffic.
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)Wireshark
Small Businesses
Auvik
Auvik
Score 8.4 out of 10

No answers on this topic

Medium-sized Companies
Darktrace
Darktrace
Score 8.6 out of 10
PRTG
PRTG
Score 8.6 out of 10
Enterprises
Darktrace
Darktrace
Score 8.6 out of 10
PRTG
PRTG
Score 8.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)Wireshark
Likelihood to Recommend
8.1
(61 ratings)
9.5
(29 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(10 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
8.1
(49 ratings)
10.0
(3 ratings)
Online Training
8.2
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.2
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)Wireshark
Likelihood to Recommend
SolarWinds
I would suggest this tool to any user that has to monitor multiple sites and locations where bandwidth monitoring can be a labor. This software works really well for central monitoring of multiple sites and services where having a technician onsite isn't feasible. I really like the reporting, though, and would recommend this for someone wanting to keep an eye on bandwidth usage for replication of data across sites.
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Open Source
I don't know of any other tool that works as well as Wireshark for packet capture an inspection. It's extremely easy to get up and running, and even with little to no knowledge of how to use the tool, you can be looking at all the traffic coming off a network interface.
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Pros
SolarWinds
  • The level of customization possible with Network Bandwidth Analyzer is very valuable. Rather than being stuck with a "one-size-fits-all" presentation, an administrator can easily create customized views, reports, and alerts so that users can have a more tailored view of the data provided by Network Bandwidth Analyzer. This has the effect of making the tool more attractive to the end user.
  • The NetFlow Traffic Analyzer piece of Network Bandwidth Analyzer provides the details on bandwidth usage on the network. More than knowing how much bandwidth is being used, one is provided with detailed information on how that bandwidth is being used. This provides invaluable information for capacity planning and even certain forensic tasks faced by the network engineer.
  • The ability to produce network maps provides an easy way to create an attractive and functional NOC/SOC view of the entire network. Both technician and the occasional passerby can quickly determine if there are issues to be addressed. The ability to customize a map with background images and custom icons and stencils can make these maps really pop.
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Open Source
  • Light-weight software - Does not require high end specifications; also runs smoothly on Legacy systems
  • Filter function - Lets you filter you packets from thousands to tens so as to find your target much easily
  • Simultaneous capturing on all the network adapters - You can capture packets from all the Network Interface Cards (NIC's) at once.
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Cons
SolarWinds
  • The ability to intuitively and quickly serve up specified information up to a dashboard for general “public” consumption, that cycles through several pages of information.
  • The ability to intuitively set up alerting on bandwidth levels, instead of having to dig through all types of alerts available to find the one needed.
  • Provide a pricing model based on different support levels: if I want only available update installations, don’t make me pay the same amount as those wanting full support.
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Open Source
  • A more user-friendly interface would be nice, but then again it is not really designed for those who are not quite comfortable with this type of software.
  • Changes to functionality on updates - this can sometimes happen unexpectedly and can be an annoyance.
  • More powerful data processing would be welcomed
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Usability
SolarWinds
As far as rating for usability is concerned I would give 10/10 as NTA is very easy to use. All you need to do is install that module and ask network Team to configure the Netflow towards Server IP. [The] rest is pre-configured and reports are pre-built. Moment you receive the flows from Network all you will have is information about traffic.
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Open Source
I give Wireshark a 10 for usability because it is very usable. Just about anyone can capture packets within a few seconds of opening the program. The analysis is a science but as far as just using Wireshark; it's very easy.
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Support Rating
SolarWinds
It is useful for our Infrastructure team and also provides valuable insights to our application team regarding the traffic being sent from various endpoints. They can monitor their applications and ensure there are no network issues that may impact their application.
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Open Source
I don't believe Wireshark has "true" support as the software is open source. However, there is an active & friendly community around Wireshark that are more than happy to help answer questions. From a comprehensive Wiki and FAQ section on the site to the Ask a Question forum and bug tracker section, there's plenty of support options to make sure your questions and issues are addressed.
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Online Training
SolarWinds
The training offered by SolarWinds is some of the best out there. They have several different videos that go into great detail from initial setup to advanced configurations. In addition to the view at your own pace video, they also have live training for customers that focus on a single product and you can ask questions with the folks who develop the software. I have had good success with their live sessions and getting questions answered.
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
SolarWinds
No answers on this topic
Open Source
Simple and easy setup.
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Alternatives Considered
SolarWinds
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer compared to Wireshark and PRTG Network Monitor beats it by just the simple interface. Though all are manual setup, NTA takes it a step further with graphs and reports that analyze the data for you. In comparing to Extrahop from a bandwidth comparison, Extrahop wins but Extrahop is a lot more than just a bandwidth monitoring and cost.
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Open Source
Wireshark is a free tool that came highly recommended by one of our former network security consultants. Using the tool he was able to resolve all of our higher tier network tickets, so we observed first hand why we needed to add Wireshark into our toolset. We received in-depth instruction and training scenarios that demonstrated the effectiveness and power of the product, so we didn't spend any time reviewing competing products.
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Return on Investment
SolarWinds
  • Be prepared to answer lots of questions. When people see the data in NTA they are going to want to know why App A is talking to App B. Be ready to explain!
  • Hand the keys to the NTA kingdom to the network team. They will thank you. Everyone wants to have friends on the network team, right?
  • Be prepared to invest in some significant compute and storage performance to keep up with your NTA monitoring
  • Running the latest firmware for your network gear is (often) required to take advantage of all the flow-monitoring. You upgrade regularly, right??
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Open Source
  • Identifying bugs in the network has never been smooth and near-perfect.
  • Wireshark has made sure our equipment and software is working properly via analyzing network data.
  • Analysis of IP packets and Sip call flaws has saved us a lot of time and confident result.
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ScreenShots