LAN Monitoring Software in 2024: Features & Top 5 Tools

Choosing good LAN monitoring software helps keep the local area network in good health and effective management of the network. This article presents before you a few aspects of LAN monitoring and imparts a little bit of knowledge about why and how to monitor your LAN. It also outlines the top five best LAN monitoring solutions available in the market.

5 Best LAN Monitoring Software

Many network monitoring software are designed with the flexibility to monitor various types of networks, including LANs, WANs (Wide Area Networks), and even wireless networks. These tools are equipped with features that allow them to monitor the health, performance, and security of local network environments. The solutions we listed below are some of the popular network monitoring tools that serve as LAN monitoring tool:

* Vendors are ordered alphabetically.

Transparency Statement: AIMultiple works with B2B tech vendors, including AKIPS. Vendors with links are among AIMultiple’s sponsors.

Vendor Selection Criteria

We narrowed down our LAN monitoring software comparison using three main factors:

1. Number of employees: We looked at vendors with 15+ employees on LinkedIn.
2. Number of user reviews: We gave preference to solutions with user reviews from the popular B2B review websites (such as G2 and Capterra), as it indicates a proven track record based on user experiences.
3. Average review ratings: We selected the vendors with at least 4.5 points on average.

For a detailed evaluation of these vendors, you should check our in-depth vendor selection guide where we evaluate each vendor based on real customer experience and reviews. Also, take a look at some free network monitoring solutions to see if they will give you the features you need.

What is LAN Monitoring?

Local area network (LAN) monitoring refers to the procedures of observing, testing, and assessing an internal computer network. Its primary purpose is to:

• Detect slowdown or failure in network components
• Utilize the data collected to scrutinize and alter network sections
• Enhance network performance across devices
• Alert network administrators when performance thresholds are crossed

LAN monitoring tools, also known as LAN monitor solutions, are used by network administrators to monitor network performance and achieve these goals.

Potential network failures and performance issues like bottlenecks, overloaded servers, and other network devices can be detected by a competent network monitoring software that offers LAN monitoring.

What are the functions of LAN monitoring?

The main function of LAN monitoring software is to oversee and manage the operation and health of a local network environment to ensure its optimal performance, reliability, and security. This involves several key tasks:

1- Performance monitoring

Tracking the performance metrics of network devices (such as switches, routers, and servers) and connections within the LAN to ensure they are operating efficiently. This includes monitoring bandwidth usage, latency, packet loss, and error rates to identify and resolve performance bottlenecks.

2- Fault detection and diagnosis

Identifying and diagnosing network issues, such as device failures, connectivity problems, or configuration errors. LAN monitoring software can alert administrators to these issues in real-time, allowing for swift resolution to minimize network downtime and disruptions.

3- Security surveillance

Monitoring network traffic for unusual or suspicious activity that could indicate security threats, such as unauthorized access, malware infections, or data breaches. This helps in maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of the network and its data.

4- Traffic analysis

Analyzing the flow of data within the LAN to understand usage patterns, identify heavy bandwidth consumers, and optimize network traffic. This ensures that network resources are allocated efficiently and helps in capacity planning.

5- Asset management

Keeping an inventory of all network devices and software, including their configurations, status, and any changes made over time. This aids in maintaining an organized and well-documented network infrastructure.

6- Quality of Service (QoS) management

Ensuring that critical applications and services receive the bandwidth and resources they need to perform optimally, which may involve prioritizing certain types of traffic over others.

7- Network health and reporting

Providing comprehensive reports and dashboards that offer insights into the overall health of the LAN, including performance trends, detected issues, and resolved problems. This helps in making informed decisions regarding network management and future planning.

What is the difference between LAN monitoring and network monitoring?

Focusing primarily on the performance and reliability of local area networks, LAN monitoring is contrasted with network monitoring which covers a broader spectrum of network types and sizes, including:

• LAN
• WAN (wide area network)
• Other network infrastructures

LAN monitoring typically covers a geographic area with a radius of one kilometer or less, making it suitable for a single building or campus.

In contrast, network monitoring includes WANs that cover much larger geographic areas spanning cities or countries. If interested, you can check our WAN vendor selection guide.

If you have questions or need help in finding vendors, feel free to reach out:

For more on network monitoring

• Top 8 Network Observability Tools in ’24: 2k+ Reviews Analyzed
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• Top 5 LogicMonitor Competitors in 2024 based on 2K+ Reviews
• Top 4 Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor Competitors in 2024