What are Network Management Tools?

Network management tools enable network administrators to monitor and control the entire network (on-premises or cloud) to address service needs and business objectives. A network is created when two or more devices communicate with each other through the transfer of data. Devices come in many forms but the important network devices are clients, servers, switches, routers, firewalls, and access points. These network devices above allow common devices such as computers, phones, smart watches, IoT, and others to connect to each other. Devices can be connected physically, virtually, and wirelessly via LAN, WAN, VPN, and different types of networks. All of these connections and devices are complex to manage manually. With network management software, IT managers can track what devices are connected and how they connect. Network management tools use network topology to visually lay out device connections. With this map, users can provision the network system by changing device configuration, resource allocation, and security settings to meet their IT objectives. Different network management solutions may have other network management protocols but most use simple network management protocol (SNMP). Good network management software also allows IT teams to automate manual network management tasks, such as inventory assessments, device discovery and mapping, system backups, remote access, etc. The goal is to let the network management software automate these traditionally time-consuming tasks so users can focus on other things, like winning new customers and working on new business objectives. What Types of Network Management Tools Exist? Free or open-source software Free network management tools perform simple internet protocols and provide basic network performance data. Since many of them require manually loading the device, free tools are perfect for small networks with fewer devices. A good rule of thumb is that if the user can map all of their devices’ topologies on a whiteboard, they should try these free tools before the paid software. Small companies or individual users are the perfect fit for this type of software. Specialized network management software Specialized network management software is good at doing one job—network management. This software can manage a range of functional areas: auto-discovery, inventory, performance, reliability, and security. It provides technical reports and graphs of the network system. Some more advanced tools can offer root cause analysis and machine learning to solve specific problems. These tools are excellent for organizations with other existing monitoring and management tools for their website, database, hardware, etc. One-for-all software Top vendors provide comprehensive network management solutions for enterprises. These tools not only do everything that a specialized network management software ca do, alsothey have additional capabilities that manage cloud infrastructure, web network traffic, and IT assets. Some even cover container management, Kubernetes control, and application monitoring. Since they are designed for enterprise-size networks, there is no limit to the scalability of the number of devices. An experienced user can automate a significant amount of manual tasks with this type of software on numerous devices. This type of software is a great fit for large organizations that have their IT infrastructure in multiple locations.

What are the Common Features of Network Management Tools?

The following are some core features within network management tools that can help users manage their network: Device discovery: Network management tools need to automatically discover new and existing devices and update this information in the device inventory. If there is no auto featuusers mustd to manually enter this information into the system. Network topology: Another name for this feature is network mapping. Network management tools should map all devices in a graph to show how they are connected. This saves users time from constantly mapping their network manually on a whiteboard. They can see the entire network from network maps. Configuration management: Users can set up their network configurations such as IP address and firewalls on Microsoft Windows, Linux, or website (SaaS) using API. Network monitoring: Network performance should be monitored to show the status of the network such as bandwidth usage. Essential metrics must be covered in the following: bandwidth (maximum data transmission rate), throughput (data transmission rate), latency (delay between device request and delivery), packet loss (number of data packets dropped during transmissions), availability (uptime of the network), and connectivity (the types of connection between devices). IT alerting: If there is a performance problem, tools that have alerting capability will notify the help desk so IT staff can start troubleshooting the network configuration. IT alerting should be integrated with the network monitoring system. For example, if remote wireless networks fail to operate, IT pros won't know there is a problem unless the network monitoring solution notifies them. Root cause analysis: Just having the status of the network is not enough for modern-day network management practice. When there are hundreds of devices, users waste time trying to search which device is causing a network performance issue. The software should alert the user which device is causing the problem so the user can fix the issue fast. This feature is core to performance management. Reporting dashboard: If every device is being tracked automatically, their performance information should be reported in real time in a central dashboard. It is unrealistic to expect network managers to check the performance of every device one by one. Also, different users have different technical knowledge of the network system. Therefore, reporting tools should be customizable according to the level of technical details. Automation: Network management tools should automatically track network inventory, run scheduled reports, device software updates, load balance based on need, alert users of issues and where to find them, and so on. The more IT teams can automate these processes, the more time they save from doing these tasks manually. With the rise of machine learning and AIOps, these new technologies assist users in accurately determining the device at fault so users waste less time trying to find the problem.

What are the Benefits of Network Management Tools?

Increase network performance: Since network management solutions monitor, evaluate, and report performance metrics such as traffic volume and availability. Users can use performance information to forecast resource requirements and load balance based on need. For example, if an internal network device is causing the bottleneck, then the user can upgrade their device. If the internal network infrastructure is operational but the external cloud server is limiting network performance, then users can upgrade their cloud resource capacity. Network management software provides this information so users can accurately pinpoint the performance issue and act accordingly. Easily manage numerous devices: Users can manage their network and device configuration in a configuration management dashboard. This includes initializing multiple devices and maintaining settings in one workflow. The software also allows configuration backup so in the event of failure or human error, IT administrators bring the network back online without manually setting everything up again. Increase network security: Security management prevents unauthorized access and cyber attack. Users can set up user authentication, data encryption, access distribution, firewall, and other security parameters to provide real-time protection.

Page 3 | Best Network Management Tools: User Reviews from October 2026

Total Network Inventory

Total Network Inventory is an on-premises software inventory and PC audit management solution designed for businesses of all sizes. It allows users to scan devices present on a network and provides a report detailing active operating systems, running processes, hardware, software and hotfixes. Total Network Inventory helps users manage inventory, software assets, and logs. The solution groups network assets and allows users to attach comments or other information to them. The reports generated by the system can be copied, printed or exported for further use. It also offers search functionality that displays results in real time as the user types. Users can manage and view the inventory log to see information about application installation, hardware connection and disk space usage. It allows users to select the exact time and date for the scheduled scans of different asset types. Users can specify different credentials for different asset types in order to increase security.

Average Rating: 4.8/5.0

Total Reviews: 22

Who Is the Company Behind Total Network Inventory?

Seller: Softinventive Lab
Company Website:
Year Founded: 2006
HQ Location: Pittsburgh, US
Twitter: @Softinventive
149 Twitter followers
LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
5 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

Company Size: 78% Small, 13% Medium

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of Total Network Inventory?

"Streamlined Asset Visibility, Powerful Reports—With Tier Gaps"

Rating: 5.0/5.0 stars

— Myles O.

Best Network Management Tools - Page 3

How Many Network Management Tools Products Does G2 Track?

Category Stats (Oct 2026)

How Does G2 Rank Network Management Tools Products?

G2 Grid® for Network Management Tools

Who Is the Company Behind Total Network Inventory?

Who Uses This Product?

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of Total Network Inventory?

How Do G2 Users Rate Tanaza Cloud?

Who Is the Company Behind Tanaza Cloud?

Who Uses This Product?

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of Tanaza Cloud?

How Do G2 Users Rate BhaiFi Networks?

Who Is the Company Behind BhaiFi Networks?

Who Uses This Product?

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of BhaiFi Networks?

AI can help you find the answers. G2 helps you trust them.

How Do G2 Users Rate ACL Manager?

Who Is the Company Behind ACL Manager?

Who Uses This Product?

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About ACL Manager?

Pros

Cons

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of ACL Manager?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About ACL Manager?

How Do G2 Users Rate Check Point Multi-Domain Security Management?

Who Is the Company Behind Check Point Multi-Domain Security Management?

Who Uses This Product?

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About Check Point Multi-Domain Security Management?

Pros

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of Check Point Multi-Domain Security Management?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About Check Point Multi-Domain Security Management?

How Do G2 Users Rate Lumen SD-WAN?

Who Is the Company Behind Lumen SD-WAN?

Who Uses This Product?

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of Lumen SD-WAN?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About Lumen SD-WAN?

How Do G2 Users Rate NetAct?

Who Is the Company Behind NetAct?

Who Uses This Product?

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of NetAct?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About NetAct?

How Do G2 Users Rate AppViewX Automation+?

Who Is the Company Behind AppViewX Automation+?

Who Uses This Product?

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of AppViewX Automation+?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About AppViewX Automation+?

How Do G2 Users Rate DCImanager?

Who Is the Company Behind DCImanager?

Who Uses This Product?

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of DCImanager?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About DCImanager?

How Do G2 Users Rate F5 Distributed Cloud Network Connect?

Who Is the Company Behind F5 Distributed Cloud Network Connect?

Who Uses This Product?

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of F5 Distributed Cloud Network Connect?

How Do G2 Users Rate Check Point WatchTower Security Management App?

Who Is the Company Behind Check Point WatchTower Security Management App?

Who Uses This Product?

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of Check Point WatchTower Security Management App?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About Check Point WatchTower Security Management App?

Who Is the Company Behind FNT Command Platform?

Who Uses This Product?

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About FNT Command Platform?

Pros

Cons

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of FNT Command Platform?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About FNT Command Platform?

How Do G2 Users Rate Restorepoint?

Who Is the Company Behind Restorepoint?

Who Uses This Product?

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of Restorepoint?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About Restorepoint?

How Do G2 Users Rate Tivoli Network Manager?

Who Is the Company Behind Tivoli Network Manager?

Who Uses This Product?

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of Tivoli Network Manager?

How Do G2 Users Rate Advanced IP Scanner?

Who Is the Company Behind Advanced IP Scanner?

Who Uses This Product?