Item: SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)
Rating: 7
Author: Matt Brown

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use SolarWinds Netflow Traffic Analyzer to monitor the sites in our WAN. We are able to see how much bandwidth is being consumed, who is using the most, and where the traffic is going to or coming from.

Pros and Cons

Easily spot when nodes are down.
Helps you qos traffic to priority sites.
Show you how much bandwidth sites and apps are using.

Building custom reports isn't that easy.
Database maintenance doesn't always run and will fill the database.
Real time traffic reports aren't always available.

Return on Investment

We were able to determine what sites consume the most bandwidth and provide more to them.
We are now in the process of laying our own fiber to get better speeds.
The alerts let you know where to begin troubleshooting issues.

Alternatives Considered

I have used Cacti in the past. The user interface for Solarwinds Netflow Traffic analyzer is a little easier to work with. Easy to make real time traffic charts from each node.

Other Software Used

Extreme Networks Network Access Control (NAC), Extreme Ethernet Switches

Likelihood to Recommend

I find the SolarWinds Netflow Traffic Analyzer would be well suited for businesses small and large. It might not be appropriate for businesses with very few employees that do little networking.

SolarWinds

Overall Satisfaction with SolarWinds Netflow Traffic Analyzer