Broadcom Network Flow Analysis vs LinkRunner comparison

Broadcom and NetAlly are both solutions in the Network Troubleshooting category. Broadcom is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.0, while NetAlly is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.0. Broadcom holds a 3.4% mindshare in NT, compared to NetAlly’s 16.1% 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

570 Views
148 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

LinkRunner

Read 20 LinkRunner reviews

2,303 Views
2,303 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: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Broadcom Network Flow Analysis vs. LinkRunner

July 2025

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Helped 865,384 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

12th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Management Applications (19th), Network Monitoring Software (62nd)

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 August 2025, in the Network Troubleshooting category, the mindshare of Broadcom Network Flow Analysis is 3.4%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of LinkRunner is 16.1%, down from 23.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

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

"It is an overall stable solution."

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

"It provides a way to test 10Gig connectivity. Previously, we had to hook up a switch. That was our only way. Now, with LinkRunner, we can test on the fly if an SFP is bad or if the switch has the right configuration on it."

"The LLDP decoding is better than on some of the other devices that we've used. Specifically, it goes beyond the minimum of the LLDP data to decode, and it shows the LLDP port descriptions. That makes it vastly simpler to identify which port you're connecting to on a switch that's patched back to some other building, rather than having to figure out an SNMP index or something else."

"In terms of documenting ad hoc additions and other changes to wired ethernet connections, this product is very good. It keeps the information in the cloud and I have the ability to name it. This makes it very nice and easy to see."

"In terms of network validation, and copper and fiber Ethernet configuration, I can't imagine life without LinkRunner devices. The minute I got the 10G, everybody was fighting over it. They had never used such a device before and it was just breathtaking for them to very quickly see the validation you can gain from these devices."

"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."

"AutoTest is very helpful. It's very streamlined and it's very easy to set up and very easy to identify what we want to achieve. It's probably the feature we use the most. It provides us with LLTD, which is very useful."

"It is fast in providing results. It is pretty accurate."

"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."

Cons

"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."

"A feature that I would like to see is the ability to send a tone down the cable. That would be great. I have to use a separate tool for that. If I'm trying to troubleshoot a cable that is not plugged into a network switch, I need the ability to tone."

"It does take a little while to boot up if it's turned off."

"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."

"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."

"It's a little bit tough getting used to at first, but once you get the hang of it, and once you start using it more, like anything, it gets easier. The difficult part, at first, is knowing where to find each test and how to use the tests."

"One area where LinkRunner could be improved is the battery life. Depending on which tests are run, it gets a decent six to eight hours. However, sometimes we need to do back-to-back shifts to meet a deadline, and we need access to an outlet to keep it plugged in and charging. It takes about an hour or two to charge."

"It is very stable. That being said, there is one feature that is not quite as stable as the rest of the product. You can leave it plugged into a location where you're doing some work and connect to it remotely by a program called VNC... sometimes that function breaks down, if you've been running for a couple of days... if you're remotely controlling it, you're probably not right next to it. That can be modestly annoying."

"Unlike using an application like Wireshark, this device gives us no way to see network packets specifically to look at what's going on. It doesn't have the capability."

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."

"Its pricing is all right. Of course, from the business point of view, the cheaper it is, the better it is, but I prefer to spend a bit more money to get a quick response, which is helpful especially when we are onsite or in a very critical situation. We are not only paying for the product. We are paying for the people behind the product in terms of developers and technical support. When you need some help, they will be behind it, and they'll support you. There are no additional costs other than the standard licensing fee."

"I would buy another one if I had a chance but they're too expensive. If they made it a bit cheaper, I think a lot of network engineers and network administrators would immediately jump onto it."

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

"It's an expensive device. Don't expect it to be cheap. But the pricing is good. It certainly seemed in line with anything else I was looking at at the time."

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

"Compared to another company's product, LinkRunner is cheaper, but it's still about $1,000 too expensive, considering that the operating system is a free operating system. The OS has just been tweaked to give you a graphical interface. I don't think it's priced right."

"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."

"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."

Top Industries

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Company Size

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Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Broadcom Network Flow Analysis?

It is an overall stable solution.

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What needs improvement with Broadcom Network Flow Analysis?

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

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What is your primary use case for Broadcom Network Flow Analysis?

I use Broadcom Network Flow Analysis in my company as it helps us deal with the classification of protocol, which will monitor the flow, and once we enable the flow in the network devices, we can s...

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Comparisons

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Compared 33% of the time

DX Spectrum vs Broadcom Network Flow Analysis

Compared 32% of the time

Wireshark vs Broadcom Network Flow Analysis

Compared 18% of the time

Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs Broadcom Network Flow Analysis

Compared 18% of the time

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AirCheck G3 vs LinkRunner

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Network Management Applications

July 2025

Download Broadcom Network Flow Analysis product report

Buyer's Guide

LinkRunner

August 2025

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 AT 3000 & 4000. Next Generation Copper and Fiber Ethernet AutoTester. Fast and comprehensive validation of network links and powerful copper and fiber network connectivity troubleshooting. Tests from 10Mbps to 10Gbps, PoE, VLAN, switch port, path analysis, packet capture, topology mapping and so much more!

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

July 2025

Free Report: Broadcom Network Flow Analysis vs. LinkRunner

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