Top 8 Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)

DarktraceAuvikVectra AICisco Secure Network AnalyticsExtraHop Reveal(x)SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic AnalyzerArista NDRPlixer Scrutinizer
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    I am impressed with the product's ability to give insights into network traffic.It has helped the organization to detect any malware affecting the machines...The network monitoring and the email monitoring features are very valuable for us.
  2. leader badge
    Shadow IT monitoring is huge for us since so many of our customers are highly regulated.The network monitoring and backups of specific devices are really impressive. We've seen very good responses from our staff regarding the backup functionality. You can add a product, such as a switch and, once the product is added, it backs it up for you.
  3. Buyer's Guide
    Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)
    May 2023
    Find out what your peers are saying about Darktrace, Auvik, Vectra AI and others in Network Traffic Analysis (NTA). Updated: May 2023.
    709,643 professionals have used our research since 2012.
  4. We particularly like the user experience around the dashboard, which we find to be much more straightforward than the dashboard of some of the competitive products... Vectra is a really easy system to understand and use to prioritize where we need to focus our security resources.
  5. The product enables us to respond to threats quickly.It works efficiently for encrypted traffic analysis.
  6. The solution's initial setup process is easy. Has great real-time visibility and network analysis.
  7. It helps us know when a branch is down because it has a graphic presentation of all the locations a node represents.For stability, I would give SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer a rating of ten out of ten.
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  9. When I create a workbench query in Awake to do threat hunting, it's much easier to query. You get a dictionary popup immediately when you try to type a new query. It says, "You want to search for a device?" Then you type in "D-E," and it gives you a list of commands, like device, data set behavior, etc. That gives you the ability to build your own query.
  10. One of the most valuable features of Plixer Scrutinizer is the reporting, particularly how easy it is to drill down into the reports. Another valuable feature of the solution is its overall visibility. It's great. I also liked Plixer Scrutinizer in terms of deployment time and that it's very simple to set up. Once you get the appliance set up and connected, the customer starts to see results immediately, versus other solutions where that could take a while.

Advice From The Community

Read answers to top Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) questions. 709,643 professionals have gotten help from our community of experts.
Rony_Sklar - PeerSpot reviewer
Rony_Sklar
Community Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

AI has been introduced into many cybersecurity tools. How has this improved the efficacy of these tools? Are there any drawbacks?

reviewer1259193 - PeerSpot reviewer
reviewer1259193Efficiency has definitely improved, tool sets that I’m familiar with are… more »
2 Answers
VinodYadav - PeerSpot reviewer
VinodYadav
Senior Manager at Cyfuture India Pvt Ltd
Hello peers,  I'm a Senior Manager at a large Tech Services company. I want to perform analysis of my network.  Do you have any suggestions of NTA tools to look at?
Read More »
Lucas Delmarcel - PeerSpot reviewer
Lucas DelmarcelYou will definitely need a continuous monitoring system for your SIEM… more »
6 Answers
Shibu Babuchandran - PeerSpot reviewer
Shibu Babuchandran
Regional Manager/ Service Delivery Manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

Hi community,

I work as the Regional Manager at a Tech Services company.

Currently, I'm exploring open-source Network Analyzer and Network Configuration managers. 

Which one would you recommend and why?

Faycal Noushi - PeerSpot reviewer
Faycal NoushiHello,  For Network Analyzer, you can use Elastiflow. It's pretty complete… more »
5 Answers

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) Articles

Davina Becker - PeerSpot reviewer
Davina Becker
Content Editor
PeerSpot
Enterprises are increasingly facing multiple network monitoring challenges, like tracking, monitoring, and improving network performance. Addressing these challenges with a Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) solution helps an organization avoid various network monitoring challenges with proactive s...
Read More »
Davina Becker - PeerSpot reviewer
Davina Becker
Content Editor
PeerSpot
Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) monitors network availability and activity. It can identify anomalies, including security and operational issues. It uses network communications to detect and investigate security threats as well as malicious or anomalous behaviors within the network. It uses a co...
Read More »

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) Topics

NTA vs. NDR

Noticeably absent from the term “Network Traffic Analysis” is the word “response.” Network-based solutions should be able to not only investigate and detect threats, but also respond rapidly and effectively. There has been a recent shift in terminology to refer to NDR, or “network detection & response,” which uses NTA but then goes one step beyond, with automated threat response and threat-hunting, using intelligent integration with firewalls, NAC, SOAR, or EDR platforms.

Benefits of Network Traffic Analysis

Benefits of NTA include:

  1. Broad Visibility: NTA tools can monitor and analyze a broad range of communication types, including traditional TCP/IP-style packets, traffic from (or within) cloud workloads, serverless computing instances, and API calls to SaaS apps.
  2. Encrypted Traffic Analysis: Most (more than 70% of) web traffic is encrypted. NTA products offer an accessible method for decrypting network traffic that won’t disrupt data privacy implications. They are able to do this by analyzing the data without actually looking at it.
  3. Comprehensive Baseline: Modern IT environments are constantly changing. NTA tools track behaviors that are unique to a particular entity or to a small number of entities in comparison to the rest of the entities in the environment. As behaviors change, their machine learning baselines are able to evolve in real time. Baselines are even more comprehensive now, due to entity-tracking capabilities, which allow them to understand not only traffic patterns but source and destination entities as well. (For example, normal workstation activity would not be normal activity for a camera.)
  4. Entity Tracking: NTA solutions allow you to track and profile every entity on a network - from devices to users to applications and destinations. Behaviors and relationships are then attributed to each of these entities, which is much more valuable than just a list of IP addresses.
  5. Detection and Response: Because behaviors are attributed to specific entities, there is plenty of context for detection and response workflows. This means security professionals no longer need Instead of having to sift through multiple data sources, security professionals can quickly detect anomalies, track them down, and react accordingly.
What to Look for in an NTA Solution

There are two basic kinds of NTA tools: flow-based tools and DPI (deep packet inspection) tools. Within these, there will be options for historical data storage, software agents, and intrusion detection systems.

Consider the following things when deciding what NTA solution is right for you:

1. Availability of flow-enabled devices. Not all devices are capable of generating the kind of flows required by NTA tools. In contrast, DPI tools accept raw traffic that is vendor independent and found on every network through any managed switch. Network routers and switches don’t require any kinds of special modules or support.

2. The data source: Packet data and flow data come from different sources. Not all NTA tools can collect both. So decide on your priorities before deciding. And then be strategic in choosing what to monitor. Don’t take on too many sources too quickly.

3. Historical data vs. real-time. While historical data can be critical to analyzing past events, not all NTA tools retain this data over time. Have a clear idea of which kind of data is most important to you.

4. Is the software agent-based or agent-free?

5. Full packet capture, complexity, and cost. When looking at DPI tools, consider the cost and expertise required for those that capture and retain all packets versus one that extracts only the critical details and metadata.

Buyer's Guide
Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)
May 2023
Find out what your peers are saying about Darktrace, Auvik, Vectra AI and others in Network Traffic Analysis (NTA). Updated: May 2023.
709,643 professionals have used our research since 2012.