Brian Chee’s Top 10 Network Monitoring Tools for 2026
Brian is determined to keep up with current trends. And that means that even after stepping away, he’s got a strong take-or-two on network monitoring in 2026. In 2026, the network has become a moving target. As he thinks of it, we aren't just dealing with simple boxes anymore; we are dealing with virtualized paths and edge compute nodes that can disappear as fast as they appear. So if you want to keep your sanity, you need tools that focus on path-oriented visibility and automated root-cause analysis. Here are the solutions on his mind this year, from an engineer’s perspective.
SolarWinds: The "Admin-Eating" Elephant SolarWinds is the industry giant everyone knows, but honestly, it has become a cautionary tale for the "more is better" philosophy. It is a massive, sprawling ecosystem that often ends up being more work to manage than the network it is supposed to be watching. The Ground Truth: It is incredibly resource-heavy. You need a dedicated server, a massive SQL database, and practically a full-time staff member just to keep it tuned and patched. Between the high licensing costs and the constant "upsell" of new modules for basic features, it can be a massive drain on both your budget and your time. Unless you have an army of admins, it often turns into a "shelfware" project because nobody has the time to actually fix the alerts it generates.
Wireshark: The Final Arbiter When all else fails and the vendors are pointing fingers at each other, you pull out Wireshark. It is the only way to see the "soul" of the packet. The Ground Truth: The 4.6 release has been tuned for modern high-speed streams, including better dissection for HTTP3 and SOME/IP. If a packet is on the wire, Wireshark will find it. It remains the absolute source of truth for deep forensic analysis.
ScienceLogic EM7 (SL1): Carrier-Grade Tenacity If you are managing a distributed environment across multiple firewalls and WAN links, ScienceLogic is the "big iron" you want. I’ve used it at Interop to give different teams (VoIP, Wireless, Routing) their own custom views without them stepping on each other's toes. The Ground Truth: It is built for multi-tenancy from the ground up. It excels at correlating events across completely different platforms, and its ability to handle equipment that lacks standard MIBs through custom scripting is a lifesaver for research labs with "weird" hardware.
Forward Networks: The Digital Twin This is one is pretty cool. Instead of just monitoring what’s happening, Forward Networks creates a mathematically accurate "digital twin" of your entire infrastructure. The Ground Truth: Their new Agentic AI system allows you to ask "What if?" questions. You can verify if a proposed change will violate a security policy before you ever touch a command line. It’s like having a crystal ball for your routing table.
pathSolutions TotalView: The "Every-Port" OneTouch I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: TotalView is like having a handheld Fluke OneTouch on every single port in your network simultaneously. Most tools poll a few basic MIBs and call it a day. TotalView is more like taking a core sample of arctic ice. The Ground Truth: It continuously harvests 19 different error counters from every interface. It doesn't just tell you a link is down; it tells you that a dirty fiber optic cable is causing bit errors on a specific 10G module. It turns complex SNMP data into plain-English diagnostics so you can skip the guesswork and get straight to the fix.
Auvik: The Topology King If you’ve ever inherited a network that hasn't been mapped since the Clinton administration, you need Auvik. It is the gold standard for automated discovery and Layer 2 mapping. The Ground Truth: It builds a live map of your environment in real-time. For managed service providers or organizations with lots of small, remote sites, it provides that "omnipresence" that is usually impossible to maintain manually.
LogicMonitor: The Hybrid-Cloud Bridge LogicMonitor is my go-to for environments that are half-in and half-out of the cloud. It’s SaaS-based, so you don't have to manage the monitoring server yourself. The Ground Truth: It does a fantastic job of monitoring the "internet gaps"—the performance between your data center and your cloud providers—which is usually a blind spot for traditional on-prem tools.
Opengear: The Out-of-Band Lifeboat This isn't a dashboard tool, but in my world, it’s just as important. When the primary network goes dark, you need a way to get in. The Ground Truth: Their latest units handle cellular failover and secure OOB access with a hardened Linux core. If you are managing a mountain-top repeater or an underwater observatory, this is the box that saves you a 4-hour drive.
Paessler PRTG: The Sensor Specialist PRTG is perfect for when you need a "set it and forget it" visual. It’s incredibly intuitive and uses a sensor-based model that makes sense to everyone from the junior tech to the CFO. The Ground Truth: It is an all-in-one solution. You don't have to buy extra modules for NetFlow or WMI. Their 100-sensor free tier is still the best way for a small lab to get professional-grade monitoring for zero dollars.
Corelight: The Security Observer Built on the open-source Zeek (formerly Bro) framework, Corelight turns network traffic into high-fidelity data logs that are essential for modern security operations. The Ground Truth: It monitors for "hanky-panky" like unexpected PowerShell usage or odd DNS requests. It’s not just about "is it up," but "is it behaving correctly."
The Bottom Line Don't get distracted by the bells and whistles. Look for a tool that reduces your Mean Time To Resolution (MTTR). In my book, that means a tool like PathSolutions TotalView that tells you exactly what to fix instead of just giving you a bigger pile of data to sift through. Avoid the "Admin-Eating" platforms that require more maintenance than the equipment they are supposed to be watching.
| Solution | The Engineer's Ground Truth (2026) |
|---|---|
| pathSolutions TotalView | The OneTouchStraightforward diagnostics, total oversight over your network. The best for teams looking for convenient control. |
| Forward Networks | The Digital TwinAgentic AI uses a mathematical model to verify policy compliance before changes are pushed. |
| Wireshark | The Final Arbiter4.6 release features advanced HTTP3 and SOME/IP dissection for high-speed forensics. |
| ScienceLogic (SL1) | Carrier-GradeExcels at multi-tenancy and custom event correlation across non-standard hardware. |
| Auvik | The Topology KingAutomated real-time Layer 2 mapping. Essential for MSPs and unmapped legacy networks. |
| LogicMonitor | The Hybrid BridgeSaaS-based visibility that monitors the "internet gaps" between data centers and cloud providers. |
| Opengear | The LifeboatSecure out-of-band access and cellular failover for remote or underwater observatory sites. |
| Paessler PRTG | The Sensor SpecialistIntuitive, sensor-based visual status. Best 100-sensor free tier for small labs. |
| Corelight | The ObserverZeek-based traffic analysis. Monitors for PowerShell misuse and anomalous DNS requests. |
| SolarWinds | The ElephantMassive and powerful, but extremely resource-heavy. Requires a dedicated admin to manage. |