This post will explain Spiceworks .Many items comprise Spiceworks. First, there are millions of network administrators and hundreds of vendors in this online community. However, Spiceworks also publishes and develops software. The company primarily produces software for network monitoring, inventory management, and help desk administration.
Today, our focus is on the network monitoring tool from Spiceworks. It’s an outstanding piece of software with many fantastic features. Although the Spiceworks Network Monitor is free, some potential users object to the fact that it is ad-supported software.
5 Best Spiceworks Alternatives for Even Better Monitoring
In this article, you can know about spiceworks alternatives here are the details below;
Spiceworks users have also expressed dissatisfaction with the package’s lack of customizability. We’re providing five of the top Spiceworks alternatives as a result of these factors.
We’ll first give you some information on Spiceworks, explaining what it is, where it came from, and what goods and services it offers, before we disclose our top five Spiceworks alternatives.
The Spiceworks Network Monitor’s operation, as well as that of pretty much any other network monitoring tool, will then be explained.
Finally, we’ll talk about the flaws of the tool.
After all, you’ll likely be looking for other solutions to Spiceworks’ shortcomings.
The top 5 Spiceworks alternatives will then be revealed.
We give a quick summary of each tool’s key attributes.
About Spiceworks
Although it was initially created to create IT management software, it is mainly a professional network for the information technology sector.
Spiceworks is a modern online community that enables users to work together as well as participate in a market to buy IT services and goods.
More than six million IT professionals and 3,000 technology vendors are thought to use Spiceworks.
Spiceworks is a software publisher with three major products.
There is a network monitoring platform called Spiceworks Network Monitor, a help desk management platform called Spiceworks Help Desk, and a tool for managing the inventory of IT assets called Spiceworks Inventory.
Although none of these tools are open-source, they are all freely accessible.
The Spiceworks Network Monitor
A common network monitoring tool is Spiceworks Network Monitor, which regularly polls monitored devices for their operational parameters via SNMP.
On a dashboard, it presents an overview of the monitored devices and allows users to drill down to access specific system information.
Additionally, it is capable of monitoring the development of a crucial parameter and sending notifications when it exceeds a set limit.
The administrators receive email alert messages.
Both servers and networking hardware will be under the watchful eye of the Spiceworks network monitor.
One significant aspect of Spiceworks’ products is that, despite being free, they are ad-supported and have advertisements on every web-based interface screen.
How Does it-or Any other Network Monitoring Too-Work?
There are numerous approaches you can take when it comes to network monitoring.
Depending on how much information you want,
Most of the time, administrators are primarily concerned with the operational characteristics of networking hardware, such as CPU load, memory consumption, and the bandwidth utilisation of the various interfaces, measured in bits per second.
SNMP, a capability that is incorporated into most network equipment, is used by network monitoring products like the Spiceworks Network Monitor.
Monitoring systems can read counters and gauges on SNMP-enabled devices remotely.
There are counters for bytes coming into and going out of each interface, as well as gauges for processor and memory usage.
Let’s try to describe how it functions without getting bogged down in the specifics.
It is straightforward to read counter gauge-type parameters using SNMP, such as CPU and memory use.
However, things get a little trickier when it comes to counter-type parameters.
You see, the interfaces of network devices often lack bandwidth utilisation metres.
They have byte in and byte out counters that are constantly increasing.
For each interface, they have one such pair of counters.
In addition, certain monitoring programmes can use these counters to show you an interface’s error rate, which is frequently a reliable indicator of an interface’s general health.
The SNMP network monitoring utility reads the bytes in and out counts of each interface and polls each device it watches every five minutes.
All of the remaining work is purely mathematical.
The utility subtracts the two counters’ prior values from their present values.
The number of bytes in and out over a five-minute period is the outcome.
The average bandwidth utilisation during the previous five minutes, expressed in bits per second, is obtained by multiplying these quantities by 8 (the number of bits in a byte) and dividing them by 300 (the number of seconds in five minutes).
However, the majority of monitoring solutions perform more than just SNMP reading and math.
The results are often kept in a database or file, and graphs or tables depicting the data evolution over time are produced and shown on a dashboard.
Some Drawbacks of Spiceworks Network Monitor
The Spiceworks Network Monitor has received harsh criticism despite its excellent performance, which is actually quite good.
The adverts that appear on each screen of the user interface are the biggest complaint users have with it.
Though some of us might grow accustomed to this, it might not be enough to stop anyone from utilising such a fantastic free tool.
However, there are some functional problems as well.
It is especially noticeable in the warning system of the product.
Although the Spiceworks Network Monitor does not offer as much alert customization as some rival programmes, some rival tools do.
First of all, it is impossible to send various alert notifications to various users.
Every alert is sent to everyone.
This can be a huge issue in larger businesses where separate groups oversee different equipment.
Additionally, the tool won’t transmit the warnings using your email system.
Spiceworks.com is in charge of handling notifications instead.
The application’s requirement that users authenticate with spiceworks.com rather than a local authentication method brings us to another drawback of the tool.
Some businesses may consider this to be a security concern.
The Best Spiceworks Alternatives
Numerous network monitoring tools can be found with a basic Internet search.
Some are open-source, some are commercial.
We made an effort to list the top five Spiceworks substitutes we could.
There are both paid and free tools on our list.
You can try any of the paid ones because there is a free trial accessible for all.
Remember that setting up many of these tools correctly requires some effort, so you might want to refrain from trying too many.
1. SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (Free Trial)
Both the high-quality network administration tools and the large number of free tools from SolarWinds are well-known.
Network Performance Monitor, sometimes known as NPM, is the company’s flagship product and a comprehensive network monitoring tool. This is another spiceworks alternatives.
Administrators can configure the tool and monitor devices using the program’s user-friendly GUI interface.
You must provide a device’s IP address, hostname, and SNMP connection information in order to add it to the Network Performance Monitor.
All the SNMP parameters that are accessible are shown after the system queries the device.
Simply choose the people you wish to appear on your graphs and reports.
Speaking of adding devices, one of this tool’s best qualities is its ability to scale.
It operates with the simplest networks and grows to accommodate big networks with tens of thousands of devices dispersed over numerous sites.
Let’s look at what NPM has to offer as alerting is one of the major shortcomings of the Spiceworks product.
Actually, it has the best alerting mechanism in the industry.
It may be used right out of the box with only a few configurations, but it is also highly customizable if you’re so motivated.
The alerting engine is intelligent enough to avoid sending messages for “unimportant” events in the middle of the night or for numerous servers that aren’t responding when the actual problem is a down router or network switch.
Starting at slightly under $3000, SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor costs more as you add optional components and monitor more devices.
Due to the complexity of the pricing structure, you must speak with the SolarWinds sales team to receive a complete quote.
A free 30-day trial version of the programme can be downloaded from the SolarWinds website if you’d want to try it before making a purchase.
2. PRTG
Another excellent monitoring system is Paessler Router Traffic Grapher, also known as PRTG. This is another spiceworks alternatives.
According to its publisher, PRTG can keep an eye on all of your IT infrastructure’s devices, traffic, and applications.
It is an all-inclusive solution that doesn’t rely on additional download-and-installed modules or add-ons.
Because PRTG is integrated, installation takes less time and is simpler than with most other network monitoring solutions.
You can select from a number of different user interfaces while using PRTG.
There are mobile apps for Android and iOS as well as a Windows corporate console and an Ajax-based online interface.
The autodiscovery system in PRTG is one of its best features.
In order to create sensors from established device templates, it will scan network segments and automatically identify a wide range of devices and systems.
We particularly adored PRTG’s map tool, which lets you make personalised maps using the data from your monitoring.
It is quite adaptable and configurable in terms of alerting.
You may even receive push notifications right to your device when utilising the free client apps for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone.
Depending on your requirements, you can also set up email or SMS notifications.
You may also create your own notification programmes thanks to a robust API.
The PRTG pricing scheme is rather straightforward.
There is a fully functional free version available, however it only allows you to monitor up to 100 sensors.
The free version will resume after the 30-day trial period, however the trial version is available for an infinite time.
You must buy a licence if you wish to continue monitoring more than 100 sensors after the trial period.
They range in price from $1,600 for 500 sensors to $14,500 for an infinite number of sensors.
One sensor is assigned to each parameter that is tracked. Also check grooveshark alternative
For instance, monitoring the bandwidth on each of a switch’s 48 ports counts as 48 sensors.
3. WhatsUp Gold
Another well-known brand in the world of monitoring tools is WhatsUp Gold from Ipswitch.
Originally an up-or-down monitoring method, it has subsequently developed into a full management toolbox with proactive monitoring for network traffic, applications, virtual environments, and device configurations.
WhatsUp Gold includes all the features we’ve come to expect from an enterprise-grade monitoring solution today, and they’re all accessible through a simple GUI. This is another spiceworks alternatives.
The auto-discovery engine in WhatsUp Gold will locate your devices and add them to the monitoring interface.
Along with your networking hardware, it will also locate any physical, virtual, cloud, or application servers that you may have.
For further details on each device, there is a clickable map view as well.
Additionally, WhatsUp Gold features a fantastic alerting system that notifies you about issues before people call.
You have the choice of using default thresholds or customising them to suit your needs through the tool’s Alert Center.
To specify what happens when a state change takes place, the system lets you establish action policies.
Email, SMS, Slack, and IFTTT posts are all methods for distributing alerts.
Services can be restarted by the system, and web alarms can be set off.
The free version of WhatsUp Gold is still accessible, but it can only now monitor a maximum of five devices.
In order to monitor more devices, paid licences are offered in three levels of capability, with prices varying according to the number of devices to be monitored.
A limited-time, fully functional trial version is also available for free.
4. ManageEngine OpManager
Another top provider of network administration tools is ManageEngine.
Almost any monitoring task you can think of can be handled by the OpManager, a comprehensive management solution.
The tool has a tonne of fantastic features and can be used with either Windows or Linux.
Among other things, an auto-discovery feature can map your network and provide you with a dashboard that is specially tailored to your needs.
The drill-down capability of the ManageEngine OpManager dashboard makes it incredibly simple to use and browse.
Additionally, if you enjoy using mobile apps, you may access the tool from anywhere using apps for tablets and smartphones.
Overall, this is a highly polished and expertly made product.
This is equally as effective at alerting in OpManager as all of its other features are.
It offers a complete set of threshold-based warnings that may be used to find, recognise, and fix network problems. Also check how to turn off pop up blocker on edge
For any performance statistic, a number of thresholds with various notifications can be configured.
There is a free performance of the development if you want to trial it before you buy it.
Although it is a fully free version as opposed to a trial with a time limit, it has some restrictions such only allowing you to monitor ten devices. This is another spiceworks alternatives.
For all networks but the smallest, this is insufficient.
The Essential or Enterprise options are available for larger networks.
One allows you to keep an eye on up to 1,000 nodes, while the other supports up to 10,000.
Pricing information is accessible by contacting ManageEngine’s sales.
5. Cacti
We’ve decided to add Cacti on our list for a few reasons.
First, it is arguably the most used free and open-source monitoring system.
It might not be as feature-rich as some commercial solutions but, given its price, it a wonderful tool.
Another rationale for its inclusion is historic.
Aside from MRTG–which is the mother of all network monitoring tools, Cacti is possibly the oldest still around.
Cacti was first released back in 2004 as a web front-end to RRD tool, the logging and graphing component of MRTG.
Its key components include a quick poller, powerful graph templating, and several data gathering methods.
Cacti also feature user access control and each user may be programmed to view a distinct set of graphs, a useful feature for large deployments with numerous support teams.
Cacti also has an easy to use web-based interface. This is another spiceworks alternatives.
It may scale from a small business or home LAN to sophisticated networks with thousands of devices on several sites.
Cacti uses RRDTool to store data in a SQL database and to build the graphs.
It is mostly developed in PHP, making it easy to customise to fit your needs.
The programme contains built-in templates for numerous sorts of devices that already includes most of the elements you could want to monitor on those. Also check alternatives to aim
And Cacti is so popular that numerous device-specific templates may be obtained either from device manufacturers’ websites or through community-driven Cacti forums.
The only thing lacking from Cati is an alerting feature.
But with its open-source PHP code, nothing precludes anyone from adding it, though.
In Conclusion
While the Spiceworks Network Monitor is a wonderful tool, a few flaws can discourage individuals from loving it or even from trying it.
- Fortunately, the market is more than saturated with such network monitoring products.
- We’ve introduced the five greatest we could locate.
- The pick is based on our criteria and viewpoint.
- You could have a favourite tool that we omitted to mention.
- This list may have been 20 or 25 items long and it would still be incomplete.
- But in our humble view, these 5 are the greatest Spiceworks alternatives you can find.