# Network monitoring tools explained: Concepts and utilities for IT teams **By: Visakh** **19 minutes** **Last updated: July 28, 2026** Networks are comprised of interconnected software and hardware systems with multiple layers of control and communication. Each of these systems have to be monitored to ensure smooth network operations. Traditionally, IT teams have deployed a variety of network monitoring tools or utilities that are designed to monitor each type of system or layer. In this article, we'll explain each of these utilities and why they are important for an IT team. We'll also explain how and why modern IT systems demand unified network monitoring tools and how you can choose one for your team. ## PING tools PING is a network monitoring utility that is used to check the reachability or availability of a system connected to the network. PING tools operate by sending data packets from a source device to a destination device through the network. If the receiving device is up and running, it sends a reply or an "echo" back to the source. There are different kinds of PING tools depending on the protocol used to send the packet, the number of hops permitted within the network (Time to Live or TTL), and the size of the payload. Let's take a look at some essential PING tools. ### PING The primary PING utility uses the ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) to send data packets. Each ICMP packet contains a header and a payload. In Windows devices, 32 bytes of data is sent with the payload. In macOS devices, 56 bytes of data is sent. Once the destination device receives the data, it sends back the same amount of data as a reply. **What can you monitor with a PING tool?** - Uptime status - Round-trip time - DNS name/IP address - Packet loss **Why is PING important?** ICMP is a fundamental network protocol that sits directly on top of the Internet Protocol (IP). This ensures compatibility with any network device or system. ICMP echoes are also lightweight, adding very little overhead to your network. A single PING test helps you measure both the reachability and speed of a network connection. This simplicity and reliability have contributed to the widespread adoption of the PING utility. It is built into every modern operating system with a network stack, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Unix, BSD, Android, and iOS. Many modern network monitoring tools also use PING to track the uptime of key IT components. ### SNMP PING SNMP PINGs use the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) to monitor network devices. Unlike normal PINGs, SNMP PING uses a GET request to obtain information from the recipient device. Instead of getting an identical message as a reply, the recipient device sends an answer to the query asked by the sender. SNMP communications are enabled by a device's software layer. Information about the device is stored in a text database called the Management Information Base (MIB). Each data item in an MIB is stored with a unique ID, known as an Object Identifier (OID). SNMP PING uses OIDs to gather more information than a normal PING test. Most SNMP PING tools query the name and description of a device stored within its MIB. **Why is SNMP PING important?** While normal PING checks whether the device is plugged in and running, SNMP PING goes one step further and verifies whether the management interface is working. Moreover, some organizational firewalls are configured to block ICMP requests, so SNMP PING is a useful alternative in such networks. ### Proxy PING Proxy PING (also known as remote PING, distributed management PING, or SNMP-triggered PING) checks the availability of a network component through a separate or "proxy" router. Proxy PING is performed by a central console which sends an SNMP SET request to the router. The router then sends an ICMP PING to the recipient device. Once the router gets a response from the recipient device, the console uses an SNMP PULL request to fetch the uptime status of the recipient device. **Why is Proxy PING important?** Proxy PING is useful in troubleshooting network issues in distributed infrastructure. - If a branch office loses connection to a service, running a proxy ping from that branch's router helps find out whether it's a local issue or an ISP issue. - If the monitoring console is blocked from accessing a device due to security reasons, proxy PING is a good alternative. - You can check the connectivity of a device through multiple network segments. ### Traceroute Traceroute is a diagnostic utility used to track the path that data packets take from a source device to a destination device. It maps the route hop-by-hop across routers and switches, showing the delay (latency) at each point along the way. Traceroute operates by manipulating the TTL field in the IP header of the packets it sends. The TTL acts as a self-destruct counter that prevents packets from looping endlessly. The first packet is sent with a TTL of 1. The first router it hits reduces the TTL to 0, discards the packet, and sends back an ICMP "Time Exceeded" message. This router's IP and response time are recorded. It then increases the TTL to 2, 3, 4, and so on, finding each router along the path until the packet reaches its destination. **What can you monitor with a Traceroute tool?** - The list of routers in a network path - The round-trip time (RTT) to each intermediate router - Points in the network where transit delays occur - The exact router where data packets were dropped **Why is Traceroute important?** While a simple PING tells you if a connection is down, Traceroute tells you where it is failing. If a service becomes unreachable, running a Traceroute helps you determine if the outage is inside your local network, within your Internet Service Provider's (ISP) infrastructure, or at the destination server itself. Additionally, Traceroute is built into almost all modern operating systems, making it universally accessible for rapid network troubleshooting. ## IP tools IP tools are essential network administration utilities used to manage, translate, and monitor core network-layer parameters within an infrastructure. While PING tools simply test if a device is reachable, IP tools provide the contextual data required to ensure that devices can properly locate, identify, and communicate with each other across a local network or the internet. There are different kinds of IP tools depending on the specific network protocol or address layer they interact with. ### MAC Address Resolver Media Access Control (MAC) addresses are physical hardware addresses used within local area networks (LANs) to move data between devices connected to the same physical network segment. Devices in the LAN translate network-layer IPs to data link-layer MAC addresses during data transit. A MAC address resolver finds the MAC address associated with a specific IP address on a LAN. **Why is a MAC address resolver important?** IP addresses can change frequently due to DHCP leasing, but MAC addresses are physically burned into the network card at the factory. This makes MAC address resolution critical for device tracking, inventory management, and security. If a rogue device joins your network, a MAC address resolver can help identify the physical manufacturer of the machine and block it at the switch level. It is also essential when configuring DHCP reservations to ensure that specific devices always receive the same IP address. ### DNS Resolver A DNS resolver (Domain Name System resolver) transforms human-readable domain names into machine-readable IP addresses. A DNS resolver acts as the middleman between your computer and the global DNS database. When you type a website name into your browser, the resolver checks the local cache first. If the address isn't saved there, it queries a chain of DNS servers—starting with Root servers, moving to Top-Level Domain (TLD) servers, and finally reaching the Authoritative Name Server that holds the actual IP mapping. Once found, the resolver delivers the IP back to your device and caches it for future use. **Why is a DNS resolver important?** Network administrators monitor DNS resolvers to diagnose configuration errors, detect DNS hijacking, and ensure that newly updated domain records are propagating correctly. ### DHCP Scope Monitor A DHCP scope monitor is an administrative tool used to track and manage the IP addresses allocated by a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server. A scope is the consecutive range of IP addresses that a DHCP server is authorized to lease out to devices on a given subnet. The DHCP scope monitor constantly queries the DHCP server to track how many IPs are currently leased, how many remain available, and which reservations or exclusions are active. **Why is a DHCP scope monitor important?** If a DHCP scope runs out of IP addresses, new devices will not be able to join the network and will lose connectivity. A DHCP scope monitor helps administrators avoid this issue by sending alerts when usage reaches critical thresholds (for example, 85% capacity), allowing proactive remediation. ## Hardware monitoring tools Hardware monitoring tools track the physical health, environmental conditions, and underlying infrastructure of servers, switches, and data center components. ### SNMP Tools SNMP tools monitor the physical health of network devices, servers, and infrastructure components using a vendor-neutral standard. **Why are SNMP tools important?** SNMP is supported by virtually every enterprise hardware manufacturer, enabling centralized monitoring across multi-vendor environments. ### CLI tools Command-Line Interface (CLI) tools allow administrators to monitor network components directly via text-based commands. For Windows servers, administrators use Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) or CIM via PowerShell. For Linux, Unix, and network hardware, secure protocols like SSH are used to run diagnostic commands. Telnet may be used in legacy scenarios. **Why are CLI tools important?** CLI commands can be automated using scripts and integrated into configuration management platforms to trigger alerts when thresholds are violated. ### IPMI tools Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) tools manage and monitor server hardware independently of the operating system through a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC). Because the BMC runs on standby power, it can monitor and control the server even if the operating system has crashed. **Why are IPMI tools important?** IPMI tools provide remote access to diagnose hardware failures and perform power cycles when the operating system is unresponsive. ## Traffic monitoring tools Traffic monitoring tools analyze the data moving across a network, revealing bandwidth usage and communication patterns. ### NetFlow/jFlow/NetStream/IPFIX NetFlow collects and exports information about IP traffic as it passes through routers or switches. Packets are grouped into flows defined by attributes such as source IP, destination IP, ports, and protocol. Vendor variants include jFlow and NetStream. IPFIX is a vendor-neutral standard based on NetFlow v9. **What can you monitor with NetFlow?** - Top talkers - Bandwidth usage by application or protocol - Traffic patterns between source and destination pairs - Unusual spikes indicating potential security incidents **Why is NetFlow important?** NetFlow provides visibility into network usage without the overhead of full packet capture. ### sFlow sFlow monitors traffic through statistical sampling. It samples a fraction of packets and forwards truncated copies to a collector, which reconstructs flow information. **Why is sFlow important?** sFlow places minimal strain on devices and is suitable for high-throughput environments and mixed-vendor networks. ### AppFlow AppFlow is built on IPFIX and captures application-layer data such as HTTP URLs, response codes, and transaction times. **Why is AppFlow important?** AppFlow provides insight into application performance, helping teams distinguish between network and application issues. ## Streaming telemetry tools Streaming telemetry tools move away from polling and instead push updates from devices to collectors in near real time. ### gNMI gNMI (gRPC Network Management Interface) is part of the OpenConfig project. It runs over gRPC and uses Protocol Buffers. It supports operations to retrieve state (Get), push configuration (Set), and subscribe to updates (Subscribe). **What can you monitor with gNMI?** - Interface status and utilization - Routing table changes - CPU, memory, and temperature metrics **Why is gNMI important?** gNMI enables near-instant updates and unifies configuration and monitoring through a vendor-neutral protocol. ### YANG Push YANG is a data modeling language used to define configuration and operational data structures. YANG Push enables clients to subscribe to updates based on YANG models, either periodically or on change. **Why is YANG Push important?** On-change subscriptions reduce unnecessary data transmission and provide structured, vendor-neutral telemetry suitable for automation. ## Why IT teams switch to unified network monitoring tools Modern IT teams must meet strict uptime and performance standards in increasingly complex environments. Relying on separate utilities can slow resolution times and increase operational complexity. Unified network monitoring tools bring diverse monitoring capabilities under a single console. ManageEngine OpManager provides visibility into uptime and performance across multiple network layers. **Why choose OpManager over standalone network utilities?** - Combat tool sprawl with a unified console - Multi-protocol support including ICMP, SNMP, gNMI, WMI, CLI, and vendor APIs - Proactive fault remediation with automated workflows - Automated device discovery and topology mapping - AI-driven alerting and forecasting - IP address management with the OpUtils add-on Learn more about [OpManager's network monitoring capabilities](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/network-monitoring-tools.html). ## Resources to dig deeper ### Network monitoring tool ManageEngine OpManager is a network monitoring tool that turns raw telemetry into actionable insights. Learn more: https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/network-monitoring-tools.html ### Additional resources - [Server monitoring tools](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/server-monitoring.html) - [Network performance monitoring](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/network-performance-monitoring.html) - [Setting smart thresholds in OpManager](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/adaptive-thresholds.html) - [Forecasting performance trends](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/forecasting-performance-trends.html) --- ![Author](https://www.manageengine.com/itom/free-training/images/presenter/visakh.webp) **By Visakh** ManageEngine Team Editorial expert who specializes in ITOps, network monitoring, and full-stack observability.