Broadcom Network Flow Analysis vs LinkRunner comparison

Broadcom and NetAlly are both solutions in the Network Troubleshooting category. Broadcom is ranked #13, while NetAlly is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.0. Broadcom holds a 5.4% mindshare in NT, compared to NetAlly’s 8.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Broadcom users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of NetAlly users who would recommend it.

Broadcom Network Flow Analysis

Read 6 Broadcom Network Flow Analysis reviews

1,292 Views
297 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

LinkRunner

Read 20 LinkRunner reviews

1,992 Views
1,992 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Broadcom Network Flow Analysis

LinkRunner

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 11, 2024

LinkRunner and Broadcom Network Flow Analysis are both strong contenders in network analysis solutions. LinkRunner seems to have an upper hand in ease of use and customer support, while Broadcom Network Flow Analysis justifies its higher cost with a comprehensive feature set.

Features: LinkRunner's core networking analysis functions are effective for smaller tasks. It offers simplicity, efficient troubleshooting, and basic network diagnostics. Broadcom Network Flow Analysis features advanced and detailed reporting, extensive traffic analysis, and scalability for complex networks.

Room for Improvement: LinkRunner needs better data visualization, improved alerting functionalities, and more technical capabilities. Broadcom Network Flow Analysis could improve performance speed during heavy data analysis, streamline the user interface, and simplify certain configuration procedures.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: LinkRunner has a straightforward deployment process and responsive customer service. Broadcom Network Flow Analysis has a more complex deployment with longer setup times, and its customer service can occasionally be slower to respond.

Pricing and ROI: LinkRunner is more cost-effective with quicker ROI due to lower setup costs and faster deployment. Broadcom Network Flow Analysis has higher initial costs but offers valuable long-term ROI through its extensive functionalities.

To learn more, read our detailed Broadcom Network Flow Analysis vs. LinkRunner Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Broadcom Network Flow Analysis vs. LinkRunner

March 2026

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Helped 885,286 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Broadcom Network Flow Analysis

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

13th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Management Applications (24th), Network Monitoring Software (82nd)

LinkRunner

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Network Troubleshooting category, the mindshare of Broadcom Network Flow Analysis is 5.4%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of LinkRunner is 8.1%, down from 20.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Troubleshooting Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
LinkRunner	8.1%
Broadcom Network Flow Analysis	5.4%
Other	86.5%

Network Troubleshooting

Featured Reviews

Purneswara Rao

Principal Consultant at KyndleIT Consulting

A stable tool that helps identify the complete flow analysis in a network

The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that the complete flow analysis can be identified through the tool. The classification of each protocol and how the bandwidth utilization is happening with the protocols while managing to get SLAs, IP protocols, and QoS metrics is possible because of the product.

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Jesse_B

Manager of networks and infrastructure at a government with 5,001-10,000 employees

Impressive ease of use, gives comprehensive results in seconds, and saves a lot of time and resources

I've found the VLAN test feature to be most valuable. That's because not many devices do VLAN tests. Normally, I have to send a center technician to check a line and see if it's alive. If it's working, then I have to send a network technician out to log into a switch and see which port it's on and on which VLAN that port is. That's two persons and two separate visits. This device does all of this in a matter of seconds, and that has saved me a lot of time, troubleshooting, and resources. Its ease of use is very impressive. LinkRunner allows me to have my technicians run tests that are normally too complex and require a network specialist. AutoTest works with just one click. AutoTest does a lot of testing that would normally require a network specialist to log in to a switch and check out VLAN based on a port. My technicians don't have to log in to the switch anymore. They can just do AutoTest and information is provided online. So, I no longer have to send a specialist. I can have my technician run these very complex tests. It saves me on resources, time, and site visits. When it comes to troubleshooting, based on my experience, it has given very useful and very helpful information, especially for my field technicians. It has reduced my visits and the amount of presence because it gives a very comprehensive report on your network tests. It tests multiple variables and multiple parameters and gives a very informative report that makes it easy to pinpoint what is the root cause. There are many tools in this one solution. It's basically a bunch of toolkits or tool sets in one device, which makes it very powerful testing equipment.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"For supporting flow-traffic monitoring, this product is the best option."

"The custom report is the most valuable feature."

"This solution has helped our organization by allowing us to have visibility. We deal with cybersecurity, so visibility is very important."

"It is an overall stable solution."

"Anomaly Detector - This detects the anomaly flows in infra environment and makes job easy to analyze issue."

"Despite the low level of support, I would still fully recommend this product, because even when not all the features are used, the advantage of having such a wealth of useful information about the network traffic in real time, together with such flexibility of its presentation, is undeniable."

"Performance testing is the most valuable feature. It gives a brief summary of the information we're looking at, such as latency, jitter, and the available throughput."

"This is an invaluable tool for testing/troubleshooting network cable switch connections and for cable evaluation."

"The solution's ability to simplify network validation and configuration of copper and fiber Ethernet networks is very useful to me. Otherwise, I’m guessing. Having a tool that I can trust doesn't solve all problems, but for the problems it solves, I can trust that it has told me “yes” or “no.” I would rate it highly for that."

"Compared to what I paid for it, it's paid for itself three times over."

"Without such a tool, I have to spend time training engineers, but with LinkRunner 10G we are able to have an SOP for troubleshooting, everything is standardized, all the reports are clear, everyone follows the same steps, and it improves the quality of our jobs and provides a more efficient way of doing them."

"It's a great product and worth every penny if you calculate hours lost with personnel and downtime of equipment."

"The amount of information that you can quickly grab with this device is amazing."

"The auto-test feature is vital and does 90 percent of what I need on its own."

Cons

"Sometimes the custom report jammed in the MYSQL database."

"I would like to see more security features, like a lost protection package."

"Currently, Broadcom Network Flow Analysis does not support high-availability solutions, making it an area that needs improvement."

"Enhanced support should be given with APIs that work to maintain collected information."

"If one is able to find it at all, the documentation is often no help."

"Prefer this product only if the scope of flow analysis is vast and for a limited scope I don’t prefer this product since the product licenses are very costly and it is a waste of money."

"It runs tests quickly, but it takes a while to boot up. It's somewhat disappointing that LinkRunner takes some time to turn on. When I arrive in the space, I usually spend the first two minutes waiting."

"One of the things I'd like to see in future versions of LinkRunner is a wireless dongle embedded into the product so that I don't need to have a separate wireless dongle. It should be built into that."

"It doesn't turn off automatically, but the toning function goes to sleep. It seems to stop toning after five or six minutes if you don't find the cable. It could be up to ten minutes, but if you don't find the cable that you're trying to tone quick enough, you'll have to go back and restart the tone. So, it doesn't turn itself off, but while toning, it turns itself off."

"They should allow firmware updates even if you don't have an AllyCare contract. I'm in a situation right now where they've released firmware for bug fixes, but we cannot access those, which makes the device almost useless. You almost want to just throw it out the window because they're not supporting their product unless you have an AllyCare contract."

"Power over Ethernet (POE) Switch Port Charging Of Batteries is an area of the product with room for improvement."

"A few annoyances stop it from being a great product, but it is definitely extremely handy."

"It is a great tool, but in the long-term, they can make its processor more powerful to do more functions. They can upgrade the hardware to make it run faster and more efficiently from the process point of view. That'll be beneficial because the technology is evolving and the network traffic is going higher and higher. We have to leverage better spec products to handle the traffic load."

"If it weren't for the battery, it would probably get an eight out of 10, but because of the battery, it's infuriating and it's not reliable."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If you make a DX NetOps-based purchase and the complete suite of products that fall under DX NetOps from Broadcom, then you get Network Flow Analysis along with DX NetOps Performance Management and DX Spectrum."

"The cost of this device is very expensive, especially with the NetAlly Care on top of the costs. It is not for personal use and would be very expensive for smaller businesses."

"It was difficult to sell this to my management because the price is really high compared to other testing tools. However, we've seen a pretty good return on investment considering our outcomes and the time we have saved. The first year has been great."

"I didn't have to buy it, but if I was going to have my choice, I wouldn't buy it just because of the price point. It works pretty well to do one thing. For the cost, it is definitely not worth it. There are other products out there that can do the same thing for probably 70% less. I am not aware of any additional costs."

"It's reasonably priced in my market. It provides good value for money. The device is competitively priced as compared to other solutions. It gives you a lot of functionality and saves you a lot of time and resources. I see it as a good buy and good value for money. I stand for it."

"They offer one price. I do like paying for support because I get software updates that way."

"We... decided to go with NetAlly for the price and the bang for the buck."

"The area where the product could be improved is by having a lower cost so that I could have more than one. The price is competitive, but everybody would always like to see the price go down. I'd buy another one if it were cheaper."

"The price was fine. You pay for the unit, and there are no licensing or maintenance fees."

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

Educational Organization

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

15%

University

11%

Government

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	7

Comparisons

Wireshark vs Broadcom Network Flow Analysis

Compared 17% of the time

AirCheck G3 vs Broadcom Network Flow Analysis

Compared 10% of the time

WatchTower Security Management App vs Broadcom Network Flow Analysis

Compared 10% of the time

DX Spectrum vs Broadcom Network Flow Analysis

Compared 8% of the time

Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs Broadcom Network Flow Analysis

Compared 7% of the time

More Broadcom Network Flow Analysis Competitors

NetAlly EtherScope nXG vs LinkRunner

Compared 23% of the time

LinkSprinter vs LinkRunner

Compared 17% of the time

IxChariot vs LinkRunner

Compared 16% of the time

AirMagnet Survey PRO vs LinkRunner

Compared 15% of the time

AirCheck G3 vs LinkRunner

Compared 14% of the time

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Network Management Applications

March 2026

Download Broadcom Network Flow Analysis product report

Buyer's Guide

LinkRunner

March 2026

Download LinkRunner product report

Also Known As

CA NetQoS Reporter Analyzer, CA NFA, CA Network Flow Analysis

No data available

Overview

CA Network Flow Analysis provides 100% visibility into the composition of network traffic across the enterprise, helping Network Administrators deliver optimal application performance and validating the impact of network infrastructure changes, resulting in returns on investment (ROI) of up to 150%.

Broadcom

LinkRunner offers network engineers a fast, comprehensive tool for validating network links and troubleshooting copper and fiber connectivity issues, suitable for today's demanding environments.

Designed for network technicians, LinkRunner combines speed and precision for effective network link validation and diagnostics. The AT 1500 and 3000 models provide frontline engineers with powerful troubleshooting tools for both copper and fiber networks, while the advanced AT 4000 model supports Multigigabit NBASE-T and fiber Ethernet networks with detailed network discovery capabilities.

What key features does LinkRunner offer?

Efficient AutoTest: Offers instant diagnostics and efficient network validation.
LLDP Decoding: Simplifies port identification beyond minimum requirements.
Cloud Integration: Results are auto-saved to the cloud, facilitating easy access.
PoE Testing: Provides thorough Power over Ethernet evaluations.
Latency and Throughput: Performs comprehensive performance testing.

What benefits should be considered?

Ease of Use: A streamlined interface enhances user experience.
Time Efficiency: Reduces IT staff time with quick diagnostics and swift troubleshooting capabilities.
Improved Access: Cloud integration allows convenient access to diagnostic results.
Multi-environment Compatibility: Offers robust performance in both wired and wireless setups.

Network analysts and engineers leverage LinkRunner for tasks like testing fiber optic links, network discovery, and cable installation validation. Industries favor its PoE testing and bandwidth checks, ensuring reliable switch connectivity and thorough performance evaluations, effectively addressing network troubleshooting and performance testing requirements.

NetAlly

Sample Customers

Empowered, BCBST

Philips Healthcare, HCA Healthcare, University of South Dakota, Memorial Hermann, Baltimore County Public Schools, Aaramrak.

Buyer's Guide

Broadcom Network Flow Analysis vs. LinkRunner

March 2026

Free Report: Broadcom Network Flow Analysis vs. LinkRunner

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