PRTG Traffic Grapher - User Manual
Comparison of SNMP, Packet Sniffing, and NetFlow
The following table shows the differences between the three methods that can be used for Bandwidth Monitoring:
|
|
SNMP |
Packet Sniffing |
Netflow |
|
Setup |
Easy |
Easy to Complex (depending on filter rules used) |
Can be complex (e.g. the switch must be configured) |
|
Traffic can be filtered |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Differentiate bandwidth usage by protocol or IPs |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
PRTG can show Toplists (Top Talker, Top Connections, Top Protocols, etc.) |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Filter bandwidth usage by IP |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Filter bandwidth usage by MAC address |
No |
Yes |
No |
|
Filter bandwidth usage by physical network port |
Yes |
No |
No |
|
Monitor network parameters other than bandwidth usage |
Yes |
No |
No |
|
CPU load on the machine running PRTG |
Low |
Higher, depends on the amount of traffic |
Higher, depends on the amount of traffic |
|
Excess bandwidth usage of monitoring |
Small |
None (except when monitoring switch ports are used) |
Depends on the traffic |
What is PRTG Traffic Grapher?
PRTG Traffic Grapher is an easy to use Windows software for monitoring and classifying bandwidth usage. It provides system administrators with live readings and long-term usage trends for their network devices. The most common usage is bandwidth usage monitoring, but you can also monitor many other aspects of your network like memory and CPU utilizations.