Nmap and Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance compete in the network management category. Nmap has the upper hand in terms of pricing and essential features, while Cisco stands out with comprehensive network performance monitoring, justifying its higher cost.
Features: Nmap provides robust network scanning capabilities crucial for detecting and auditing hosts and services. It also offers flexibility and support across a broad range of operating systems. Additionally, it includes essential security audit tools. Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance excels in verifying network reliability and troubleshooting connectivity issues with advanced analytics. It provides detailed network performance insights and comprehensive health monitoring, making it a choice for network assurance.
Room for Improvement: Nmap could improve by enhancing its advanced analytics capabilities, expanding its network performance monitoring, and providing more comprehensive assurance features. Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance could benefit from simplifying its setup process, offering more cost-effective solutions for smaller businesses, and expanding its compatibility with a wider range of platforms.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Nmap offers a straightforward deployment process compatible with diverse platforms without expensive infrastructure. Cisco, though involving a complex setup due to its comprehensive functionalities, provides strong support services and extensive resources.
Pricing and ROI: Nmap's low setup costs and efficiency make it suitable for organizations prioritizing network discovery on a budget. Cisco requires a higher investment but offers a robust ROI through its detailed network performance insights, beneficial for enterprises needing extensive network assurance.
Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance offers real-time application and network performance monitoring, VPN management, and network diagnostics across multiple sites.
Organizations use Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance for active and passive monitoring, stress testing, and troubleshooting performance issues. Deployed both on-premise and in the cloud, it supports IT infrastructure, security, and analytics with end-to-end performance measurement across cloud data centers. The modern, intuitive interface features TWAMP for real-time traffic accuracy and standardized reports, along with insightful dashboards for circuit performance, latency, jitter, and throughput monitoring.
What are the most important features?In industries like finance and healthcare, Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance ensures robust performance monitoring and quick diagnostics for VPNs and internet lines. It aids in maintaining the integrity and security of data transference, facilitating active and passive monitoring, stress testing, and performance troubleshooting across geographically dispersed locations, ensuring seamless operation and compliance with industry standards.
Nmap ("Network Mapper") is a free and open source (license) utility for network discovery and security auditing. Many systems and network administrators also find it useful for tasks such as network inventory, managing service upgrade schedules, and monitoring host or service uptime. Nmap uses raw IP packets in novel ways to determine what hosts are available on the network, what services (application name and version) those hosts are offering, what operating systems (and OS versions) they are running, what type of packet filters/firewalls are in use, and dozens of other characteristics. It was designed to rapidly scan large networks, but works fine against single hosts. Nmap runs on all major computer operating systems, and official binary packages are available for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X. In addition to the classic command-line Nmap executable, the Nmap suite includes an advanced GUI and results viewer (Zenmap), a flexible data transfer, redirection, and debugging tool (Ncat), a utility for comparing scan results (Ndiff), and a packet generation and response analysis tool (Nping).
We monitor all Network Monitoring Software reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.
