NetAlly EtherScope nXG vs OptiView XG [EOL] comparison

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between NetAlly EtherScope nXG and OptiView XG [EOL] based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about NetAlly, Wireshark, Auvik and others in Network Troubleshooting.
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765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"Among those features that are important are the AutoTest to create a profile and then see that the network connection is in line with that profile. Also, the LANBERT test to have an idea about the quality of the cable. It is often the case that you have no reports on the cable infrastructure, so this test is also very valuable for us.""My impression of the ease of use is that it definitely is easy to use both the handheld device and the app walking around.""The wireless aspect of it has been super valuable. The AirMagnet Survey feature is very useful for site surveys. For a long time, it used to be done on laptops, and now, we can do this simply on a handheld with one technician. The data automatically gets uploaded to the cloud so that our more experienced technicians can review the data and pull it into AirMagnet. This feature has saved tons of time. It's not easy to approximate the time saved, but for each survey, I'm taking a junior technician and getting him to do a role that a senior technician used to do. So, there is a cost-saving of at least 50%.""I like EtherScope's WiFi scanning, heat map, and load testing. It's an excellent tool that sets you straight, so you don't need to beat around the bush or wait for other people. It's easy to share the reports with other people.""The most valuable part is absolutely being able to assess existing WiFi networks quickly. You get very powerful details of networks, details that you couldn't see unless you had multiple pieces of software and hardware. This does it all in one thing.""One of the key measurements that we use out of the device is the channel utilization measurement, how much traffic is on the air in a given channel. That's the most valuable feature for us. The ability to make a very fast measurement of how much traffic is on the air is a key value. Otherwise we'd have to do a packet capture and do some analysis. It speeds up our testing.""Another good thing I really liked was that it would not only tell me the IP address, but it would tell me more info. It would grab the CDP off of the CDP profile and read all the info it could get, so I knew what I was looking at.""In terms of the solution's full line rate 10-gigabit capability, my other 10 Gb test equipment is much bigger, bulkier, and heavier. One of my ways of assessing the nXG was to compare it with what I knew to be tried and true on 10-gig to make sure that they matched, and they did. It very quickly got my trust. The fact that it can do 10 Gb, without dropping a packet from what I've seen so far — and we used it a lot in that first three months — tells a pretty good story."

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"It is a very valuable tool. It goes out and does a discovery, which is a great process of it. You could have something like a rogue DHCP server, and it will identify it, and then you can see to which switch port it is connected. It is quite an impressive tool. I really liked it because you didn't have to install an agent on anything. It would just go out and do its discovery. For me, that's great.""Gives us the ability to see our network."

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Cons
"When it works, I love the AirMapper Site Survey app. Currently, my device has a hardware bug that the manufacturer and I are working on actively, to get it fixed or replaced. The 5 gigahertz radio on my device is flaky at best... It doesn't seem to have anything to do with the product itself, as much as it is some kind of unique hardware problem.""The reporting could be better, with more accurate measurements of loss over cables, impedance, etc. The mapping also needs to be improved. You should be able to do free formatting of the topology.""The one thing that it doesn't do well, when it's doing airtime utilization measurements, is that it will classify things as non-802.11, and that isn't correct. What it could do better is make sure that it classifies all traffic that's in the air correctly.""The battery life should be improved.""There is room for improvement in the battery life and price.""We have had to use a battery pack unit, bringing it with us, when we are doing long testing or a lot of testing. It is like a mini computer, so it does use a lot of battery life.""For my usage, I thought the training would be maybe an hour, but I ended up having to spend an additional four to eight hours just to make sure I could adequately translate the data. So, using the tool was not that difficult, but translating the data is where there is a breakdown in what you are demonstrated and what you can actually do.""There are some inconsistencies in how it uploads the test results to the cloud, but it might just need a minor improvement on the software side. When you don't have an internet connection on the EtherScope when you do the testing, it saves the results into memory. When it has an internet connection, it uploads those results, but it doesn't work all the time. Sometimes, you need to manually push it."

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"Its price can be improved. Their support can also be improved a little bit. In terms of features, it did everything I wanted it to do. With more features, I would have to start installing network agents or something else, and I don't want to have to install anything. This was the value for me about this device.""I would like a built-in tap feature which doesn't interfere with the network, and it allows you to see what is happening there."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "I don't consider the pricing to be a problem. It's not a cheap device, but it's a very capable device for the money. It's a good value."
  • "If you're in the networking world, this product makes great sense very quickly, if you're going to use it more than a few times a week... If you are just looking at a handheld device unit for specific, wireless or wired testing and not much else, the cost may be a little more prohibitive than what you have in your budget."
  • "The stuff is expensive. I really do wish the price would come down. I don't really call support. I haven't had a problem. But it's really expensive and every year I have to pay them a ton of money. I don't want to make up reasons to justify that cost, but I'm not using the support."
  • "The cost is not cheap but it totally pays for itself because it can do so much."
  • "For the average network shop, the cost is a bit high. In a lot of organizations, people don't share test devices between teams. Generally, you need a device for the network team and a device for the system team, the security team, etc. While the cost is a little on the high side, that is offset by the regular updates and continued improvements that NetAlly adds to the device. Those improvements continue to increase the perceived value of the device."
  • "It's a pricey device, but I see value in it from a business perspective."
  • "We paid for the additional maintenance on it (for an extra year) to get that extra coverage. This was the first time that we had this solution in-house, and it was pretty pricey. So, we wanted to make sure that anything went wrong, then we could get it repaired."
  • "It's very expensive. I wish I could buy a few more and give them to all the people who could use it, or perhaps send it to a client, given that some of its features are easy to use. But sending something worth $8,000 or $9,000 is nerve-racking. It would be nice that if it were a lot less expensive."
  • More NetAlly EtherScope nXG Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Its price was a bit excessive. The device that I had died. It is under warranty, and they want $20,000 for another one. I just don't want to spend that kind of money, so I'm trying to find an alternate solution. They have annual maintenance on it, which probably was 10% a year, so it all starts to add up."
  • More OptiView XG [EOL] Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Being able to do a Wi-Fi walk-around survey with a handheld tool is one of the most valuable features of NetAlly EtherScope nXG.
    Top Answer:NetAlly EtherScope nXG is priced too much and needs to come down by about 15 percent of its current price.
    Top Answer:NetAlly EtherScope nXG's reporting and table qualification could be improved. The disadvantages of NetAlly EtherScope nXG are its password life and end reporting.
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    Ranking
    2nd
    Views
    4,772
    Comparisons
    668
    Reviews
    8
    Average Words per Review
    1,563
    Rating
    8.9
    Unranked
    In Network Troubleshooting
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    EtherScope nXG, EtherScope, netAlly EtherScope, OptiView XG
    Learn More
    NETSCOUT
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    Overview

    Multi-technology, all-in-one handheld network tester that enables engineers and technicians to get more done faster, from deployment to maintenance and documentation of their ever-changing Wi-Fi and Ethernet access networks.

    The Etherscope nXG is the the industry’s first handheld analyzer for Wi-Fi 6/6E surveying (with AirMapper™ Site Survey), troubleshooting, and analysis.

    OptiView XG is the first network analysis tablet designed specifically for the network engineer. It combines critical functions necessary to automate root-cause analysis of both wired and wireless network performance issues – whether network or application related to reduce time for problem identification. OptiView XG supports repeatable, effective troubleshooting – whether pre- or post-deployment.

    Offer
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    Multi-technology, all-in-one handheld network analyzer that enables engineers and technicians to get more done faster, from deployment to maintenance and documentation of their ever-changing Wi-Fi, Bluetooth/BLE, and Ethernet access networks.

    Learn more about OptiView XG [EOL]
    Sample Customers
    Information Not Available
    XG is used in all industries. Example customers include: Republic National Distributing Company, Titelive, CitiGroup, Los Angeles Unified School District, Saudi German Hospital, DeKalb County Schools, Valdosta State University, The Everett Clinic, Bio-Reference, Miami-Dade Library, Mitel, Borsa Istanbul, Cimarex, Air National Guard Lowndes County, High Point City, Carrollton City Schools, Kern County, Pruitt Communications and Bosch Group.
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider23%
    Manufacturing Company15%
    Computer Software Company8%
    Government8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company17%
    Comms Service Provider12%
    Government10%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    REVIEWERS
    University9%
    Manufacturing Company9%
    Healthcare Company9%
    Transportation Company9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Government26%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Financial Services Firm10%
    Comms Service Provider8%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business45%
    Midsize Enterprise5%
    Large Enterprise50%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business38%
    Midsize Enterprise11%
    Large Enterprise51%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business15%
    Midsize Enterprise20%
    Large Enterprise65%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business24%
    Midsize Enterprise8%
    Large Enterprise68%
    Buyer's Guide
    Network Troubleshooting
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about NetAlly, Wireshark, Auvik and others in Network Troubleshooting. Updated: March 2024.
    765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    NetAlly EtherScope nXG is ranked 2nd in Network Troubleshooting with 22 reviews while OptiView XG [EOL] doesn't meet the minimum requirements to be ranked in Network Troubleshooting. NetAlly EtherScope nXG is rated 8.8, while OptiView XG [EOL] is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of NetAlly EtherScope nXG writes "Handheld form factor, intuitive interface that is easy to use, helps us quickly troubleshoot network problems". On the other hand, the top reviewer of OptiView XG [EOL] writes "A valuable, impressive, and portable product that saves time and has great scalability and stability". NetAlly EtherScope nXG is most compared with LinkRunner, AirCheck G3, LinkSprinter and AirMagnet Survey, whereas OptiView XG [EOL] is most compared with .

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