While this blog post was sponsored by one of our community partners, SolarWinds, the opinions are 100% editorially-controlled. Comments are welcome.

For years (according to him), Matt has been recommending one of the best network monitoring tools he’s ever reviewed: IPMonitor. Today, he’s helped me by sharing his personal top reasons as to why he recommends it over other options.

“Is the network up?”

This is something on the minds of most IT managers throughout the day (and night). Assuming they’re using a product like IPMonitor, then odds are in the IT manager’s favor that they would be “in the know” instantly… should network availability change for some reason.

So, really – why IPMonitor?

1. Dead simple single installation. Rather than needing to install a bundle of applications just to keep the network in check, install IPMonitor and be done with it. Keep it simple.
2. Easy device discovery. Rather than needing manually add every single device in your network and then hoping the provided list is up to date, just let IPMonitor do the heavy lifting for you.
3. Install it once and then forget it. No need to install IPMonitor on every single computer. It’s running on the server of your choice – that’s all that is needed. One install does it all.
4. Smart monitors. One of the best features is being able to set up Smart Monitor to keep an eye on specific aspects of your network – such as DNS, FTP, Web, SQL Server, etc.. More often than not, the monitors can even take corrective action to ensure that the entire network doesn’t melt down.
5. NOC Dashboard. Without a doubt, it is the NOC Dashboard that makes IPMonitor one of the greatest options for me. Being able to stay in tune with what is going on at a glance is simply fantastic.

As anyone in IT knows: talk is cheap, and backing it up with a demonstration is needed. SolarWinds, once again, offers a 21-day free trial to get your feet wet with what IPMonitor has to offer you and your organization.

Thanks again to Matt for helping craft this post – and to SolarWinds for continuing to support our community endeavors.