PRTG Network Monitor reviews, rating and features 2023 | PeerSpot

Pros and Cons

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What is our primary use case?

We’re using PRTG Network Monitor for server-level monitoring and network-level monitoring, and in our network, we have switches and firewalls.

We’re also using the solution for bandwidth monitoring and internet link monitoring.

We’re also planning to use PRTG Network Monitor to monitor CCTV and other IoT devices.

What is most valuable?

I like that PRTG Network Monitor is evolving as a product. For example, it’s releasing new sensors on the OT, Modbus, and MQTT side, but its most valuable feature is the remote probe.

Other OEMs in the market will charge you after some time if you have multiple sites distributed within a particular region. Suppose you have four or five locations and deployed the agent; other solutions will charge you extra or add commercial charges to your invoice. Still, PRTG Network Monitor allows up to sixty or eighty remote probes for one server, particularly when you buy the PRTG main server license. I find this pricing model helpful, mainly because my company has multiple sites here in India, between thirty to forty sites. The company doesn’t need to buy an additional license or commercial license.

The remote probe will be deployed at the site remotely, and PRTG Network Monitor will monitor the site and feed all monitoring data to the central server. It is beneficial because it ultimately gives you visibility from the central server. The remote probe feature in the tool helps you monitor remote systems or your network, so it’s an outstanding feature available in PRTG Network Monitor compared to other OEMs in the market. Some OEMs may have the feature, but the charges would be huge for such a feature.

What needs improvement?

Here’s an area for improvement in PRTG Network Monitor: my company needs to perform SNMPv3 monitoring, and by default, SNMPv2 is there. From a security point of view, SNMPv3 monitoring needs to be stronger. Otherwise, it’ll reduce performance when you need to monitor it at the server level. It’ll impact performance, including the PRTG Network Monitor performance.

If my company does a large number of SNMPv3 queries, that will reduce server performance, so PRTG recommends not scanning or monitoring a massive amount of SNMPv3. If PRTG Network Monitor can evolve into agent-level configurations rather than server-level configurations, where you can install the agent on the server and the agent provides the necessary feedback, that would improve the tool.

Performance-wise, PRTG Network Monitor still needs improvement because a large number of SNMPv3 queries reduces tool performance. It could also impact the server level. If the monitoring method for PRTG Network Monitor could be similar to other OEMs, such as SolarWinds, where the agent is on the server and provides server performance information to the main console server, that would be great.

Another area for improvement in PRTG Network Monitor is reporting. For example, if you want the report or the dashboard in a particular format, you’d need to exert some effort. You cannot do it without the support of the vendor or an expert. As a customer, you cannot configure PRTG Network Monitor reports independently because reporting is difficult.

For how long have I used the solution?

I’ve been working with PRTG Network Monitor for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I didn’t see many stability issues in PRTG Network Monitor, so it’s a nine out of ten. Most of the time, the tool works fine.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

PRTG Network Monitor is a scalable tool, and I’d give it a rating of nine out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

At the moment, PRTG Network Monitor support is only email-based, and that has to be improved. You never receive remote session support from PRTG. If you’re facing an issue, you either need to work with the vendor, or if you need OEM support, you must send an email.

The PRTG Network Monitor support team responds to your email, but it usually takes a lot of time. If support can directly join the remote session to brief you on the process, it would be easier than just getting email-based support.

Whenever my team communicates via email, support will provide a reference link or KB article link that tells you how to configure PRTG Network Monitor.

It would be helpful for any customer if PRTG had remote-based support, and it’ll be simpler to show customers how to configure the tool.

My company only takes a little support from the PRTG Network Monitor team nowadays, but I’d give support a seven out of ten. The PRTG technical support team usually responds quickly over email, and it’s good. The only limitation is the absence of remote support.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I didn’t use other solutions apart from PRTG Network Monitor. My company had a lot of issues at the time the decision to use the tool was made. My company was blind as it didn’t have any monitoring tool, yet it had a lot of sites, internet links, and services. Because I worked on the PRTG Network Monitor in my previous company, I was aware of its performance and that it meets basic requirements and the company budget, versus SolarWinds, which would require a larger budget, so my company went with PRTG Network Monitor. I deployed it within the environment, and the tool works fine so far.

How was the initial setup?

Setting up PRTG Network Monitor was easy, so I’d rate its setup an eight out of ten.

Installing the tool was straightforward, and there wasn’t much required to set PRTG Network Monitor up. It’s only the dashboard that requires a lot of effort.

Completing the setup for the tool took around two to three weeks, including the onboarding of all devices.

I followed the PRTG Network Monitor installation guide. I ensured all prerequisites by PRTG were ready, including the recommended OS or server, such as Windows OS, and other software prerequisites. I then installed the tool, and it had a GUI-based, intuitive installation, so it was instant.

What took time was onboarding the devices, though I gradually updated and onboarded the devices. I didn’t do a bulk update, and onboarding devices into PRTG Network Monitor wasn’t that difficult. You can even show how it’s done to anybody, even a person with a limited skillset because installing the tool doesn’t require much.

What about the implementation team?

I implemented PRTG Network Monitor because, in my previous organization, I also implemented the tool, so I was aware of the process.

What was our ROI?

PRTG Network Monitor is very easy to use and doesn’t require a lot of manpower for deployment and management, so based on this, the features of the product, and the cost, the ROI for PRTG Network Monitor is good.

You can get ROI from the tool quickly within a year. You won’t have to wait three or four years to get ROI because PRTG Network Monitor is cheaper than other solutions.

I’d rate ROI from the tool as ten, so it’s a hundred percent.

What’s my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Pricing for PRTG Network Monitor is a nine out of ten. It meets my company’s budget and monitoring requirements. My company is on a perpetual license, particularly a basic license that doesn’t require purchasing an additional license.

Regarding PRTG Network Monitor support, my company pays for it annually compared to other vendors, and the support cost is lower. You need to renew support annually for the tool. My company has an annual maintenance contract with PRTG.

What other advice do I have?

My company is currently using PRTG Network Monitor.

I’m not using the latest version of the solution, but my company plans to upgrade to the latest one.

One person from the IT department handles the day-to-day maintenance of the PRTG Network Monitor.

Between five to six people from the IT team use the tool. Only a few members log into PRTG Network Monitor to generate a report or do additional monitoring. Usually, a person doesn’t use the tool. That person receives an email alert based on his respective device and doesn’t need to open the PRTG Network Monitor console because my team enabled email-based alerts. Different groups would receive the alerts, such as the application team, the security team, the frontend team, etc.

My company has plans to extend the license and apply the solution to another environment, an OT environment.

I’d tell anyone looking into implementing PRTG Network Monitor to go for it, especially if you’re in a medium-sized organization that doesn’t have a massive infrastructure, but it still depends on the customer. It varies from customer to customer. A large organization could still evaluate other solutions in the market, but PRTG Network Monitor is a good tool for small to medium-sized organizations.

My rating for the tool is eight out of ten because it has some areas for improvement, particularly the reporting, which could be more user-friendly, and the support, which is only email-based, with no remote support available. If I see improvement in the two areas I mentioned, I could easily give PRTG Network Monitor a nine or ten, but right now, it’s an eight for me.

My company is a customer, not a partner, of PRTG Network Monitor.