Nmap vs ThousandEyes comparison

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).

ThousandEyes is a Network Intelligence platform that delivers visibility into every network an organization relies on, whether public or private. ThousandEyes enables users to optimize application delivery, end-user experience and ongoing infrastructure investments.

With cloud, enterprises can innovate much faster, but the growing number of cloud and SaaS applications means that more apps are being delivered over the Internet. This increases dependence on the Internet, a public “best effort” network, and other third-party infrastructures, substantially reducing the ability of IT teams to predict, visualize and control operational behavior. This results in a chaotic and unmanageable IT environment, making issue resolution a time-consuming ordeal, potentially impacting reputation and revenue. ThousandEyes has innovated an approach based on an unmatched distribution of smart agents across the Internet and enterprise, providing visibility all the way to the end user. ThousandEyes gathers and analyzes massive volumes of Network Intelligence data from all of these vantage points, enabling organizations to solve even their most obscure performance problems in minutes. By using ThousandEyes in the planning and testing phases of cloud adoption, customers can also strategically identify and fix underlying problems before production deployment of business-critical applications.

The ThousandEyes solution is ubiquitous across industry sectors, and since launching in mid-2013, customers have come from a diverse set of industry sectors, which include Silicon Valley technology companies, financial services, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, retail, manufacturing and education.