Complete networking tool for any sysadmin or network tester
April 30, 2021

Complete networking tool for any sysadmin or network tester

Dylan Eikelenboom | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Nmap

For our organisation, we use Nmap on a weekly basis, especially in the technical departments (IT development, technical support), primarily for network troubleshooting purposes; We use it to identify network problems, see the route our network messages take geographically, and more. It is quite extensive, and I can say that after a couple of years of use, I am still sometimes surprised about new features I didn't know existed. Lately I have used it quite alot for verifying the encryption settings of our websites (TLS versions, ciphers, SSL certificates), to make sure it is up to our cybersecurity standards.

Pros

  • It is open source, so you can verify how it works
  • It is very extensive, with lots of advanced networking features
  • It is very lightweight and easy to start up

Cons

  • The learning curve is quite steep
  • On Windows, not all functions are available
  • If you do not limit your scan range, a command can take a really long time to complete
  • Checking network cybersecurity compliance
  • Troubleshooting network problems
  • Auditing for security vulnerabilities
  • Technical support can use this to streamline customer problems much quicker
  • Software development use this to make sure all new release are up to security compliance standards
  • Security uses this to test for new vulnerabilities
Alternatives to Nmap (other IP scanners) are often much more limited in what they can do; They often only allow you to scan a specific subset of ports or a limited number of IP addresses in one command. Nmap is unrestricted in that regard. What makes Nmap stand out above the rest, is the complete network analysis package you get with it. It allows IP scanner, network deep-dives, hardware analysis, vulnerability analysis, encryption detailing, and so much more, in one free application

Do you think Nmap delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Nmap's feature set?

Yes

Did Nmap live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Nmap go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Nmap again?

Yes

Nmap is the ideal solution if you are working alot in network environments. If you come to grips with the syntax and the most-used features (the online community helps alot), you will be able to much more quickly and thoroughly troubleshoot networks or check for security vulnerabilities, for instance. It is free to use and is available for Windows and Linux, so I would say it is very much warrented for any network administrator or sysadmin to take it out for a spin.

Nmap Feature Ratings

Network Performance Monitoring
7.0
Automated network device discovery
5
Network monitoring
9
Network capacity planning
7
Network mapping
8
Hardware health monitoring
6

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