We all rely on tools to get our jobs done and so do network engineers. Network engineers need software and network resources to help them do their jobs well, whether the assignment is to create, test, track, or troubleshoot. However, there is a bewildering range of resources and services available for networks today, just like your local hardware store.
10 Best Network Tools for IT Professionals
This article talks about the top 10 best network tools every IT Pro should be well-versed with. Without further ado, let's dive right in.
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1. TeemIP
For three significant reasons, Combo do’s Teem IP is a better strategy; its scale offers reliable and detailed documentation of your IP resources on the network and is free. TeemIP is a database framework for change management that incorporates IP address management with a trouble-ticketing system to handle IP addresses and network devices in the sense of locations, organizations, users, and positions and to monitor user issues and requests for changes.
The integrated trouble and change ticketing system is a function that makes TeemIP very effective. Administrators, configuration managers, document writers, helpdesk agents, host masters, portal power users. It comes in two versions: standalone or as an extension to the top of Comodo, an IT Services Management solution that in turn has a community edition of FOSS as well as three additional features of premium editions. TeemIP is a strong and advanced IP Address Management solution and Comodo, a developer, is very much on top of support requests. As a core component of your network management plan, TeemIP is certainly worth considering.
2. Node-RED
It is a flow-based programming framework built by IBM, is one of the favorites in this country. It runs on all compatible Node.js operating systems, including Windows, Linux, macOS, SunOS, and AIX. With full support for all the on-board input-output equipment. You can also run it on single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi, and the Beagle bone.
3. SolarWinds TFTP Server
For several years, TFTP has been the simple go-to for this mission and while alternative protocols are out there, you will always run into the case where TFTP is simply simpler.
For advanced protection, you can allow unique IPs or ranges to restrict sending and receiving directly to the server. And if you do this periodically or from a central service, run it for 24/7 availability as a service.
4. WireShark and Microsoft Message Analyzer
It is a well-known traffic management platform for networks. It operates with the vast majority of known protocols and it is cross-platform, running on Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, macOS X, and Windows. The smallest specifics of network traffic and network protocols are revealed by Wireshark.
Microsoft Message Analyzer can be used in several situations:
- Capture network traffic for security review
- Troubleshooting application issues
- Troubleshooting network and firewall configuration.
5. Clonezilla
Clonezilla is a free, open-source platform designed to clone discs and individual hard disk partitions. It is an application for backup and cloning that is very fast, you only press ENTER a few times after Live CD boots up and it begins backing up partitions. The following file systems are provided by Clonezilla: FAT, NTFS, ext2, ext3, ext4, reiserf, reiserf4, XFS, JFS, VMFS, and HFS+. For a one-time booking activity, Clonezilla is awesome.
6. Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT)
Allows IT administrators to control roles and functionality remotely from their Windows 10 Technical or Business workstations on windows servers and manage active directory remotely. The RSAT kit includes:
- Server Manager, The Microsoft Management Console snap-in, Hyper-V, Windows PowerShell cmdlets, command-line tools.
- RSAT provides all of the Windows Server management software, so we don’t need to RDP your servers at all. It makes the management of servers more stable.
7. System Monitor (Sysmon)
A system monitor is a system service that can be mounted on any machine running a system running windows. Sysmon improves Windows OS logging functionality. It uses the following IDs to write events into a log:
Event ID 1: Creation of a new process
Event ID 2: Creation of a new file
Event ID 3: New network connection detected
Event ID 4: Process ended
Event ID 5: Driver loaded
Event ID 6: Image loaded
Event ID 7: Remote thread creation detected
8. AccessChk
You may use the AccessChk tool to decide which permissions are allocated to users and groups for the following resources:
- Files, Directories, Registry keys, Global objects, Windows services
- AccessChk is also useful for testing if the files and directories' security settings are set correctly. When trusted insiders gained access to files on file shares where permissions were not set correctly, several famous violations occurred.
9. Notepad ++
One of the best text editors ever is notepad++. It’s perfect for coding to work with. It features a minimum dependent interface, custom code syntax highlighting, collapsible blocks, and search support for regular expressions. But the best thing is that when opening big files has an outstanding response time. Therefore, it is really useful when sysadmins need to investigate large log files.
GUI is completely customizable, so all unnecessary items can be deleted from the computer. The keyboard shortcuts and menus can also be adjusted. Notepad++ supports tabbed editing, which helps you to operate in a single window with separate open files. Other characteristics that enhance the editing experience include:
- Find and replace strings of text with regular expressions
- Macros
- Autosave
- Multi-editing
- Split-screen editing
- Line operations include sorting-, upper- and lower-case conversion, and redundant whitespace removal.
10. Process Hacker
Here are some process hacker characteristics that could make it a better alternative to process explorer.
- Notifications about the start, stop, and installation of facilities and drivers are one fantastic thing in PH. When a piece of software is installed you are informed of the services it begins, the drivers it downloads, and the process it is running; you do not have to go to the services or system manager and press Refresh.
- The device information window is somewhat similar to Process Explorer, but although splits information into tabs, by clicking on the diagrams on the main window, PH allows you to open tabs. A little more data is also shown by PH (processor name, total physical memory, etc.)
- For dealing with services and drivers, PH is an extremely convenient method. You can display the list of processes and drivers. Moreover, their status on the services tab of the main window and also stop, start, or delete them and adjust their properties.
- To scan for certain types of operations, PH supports keywords.
- The main uses of PH use coloring to show what sort of process is operating at the moment.
- The main PH window contains the two most useful tabs, “Network” and “Disk”, which display the process's overall network and disc operation.
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