Observer GigaStor vs Plixer Scrutinizer comparison

Viavi Solutions and Plixer are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Viavi Solutions is ranked #86, while Plixer is ranked #74. Viavi Solutions holds a 0.4% mindshare in NMS, compared to Plixer’s 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Viavi Solutions users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Plixer users who would recommend it.

Observer GigaStor

Read 7 Observer GigaStor reviews

1,238 Views
780 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Plixer Scrutinizer

Read 15 Plixer Scrutinizer reviews

1,916 Views
1,437 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Observer GigaStor

Plixer Scrutinizer

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Observer GigaStor and Plixer Scrutinizer are competing products in the network monitoring realm. Observer GigaStor is prominent for its detailed packet capture and analysis, while Plixer Scrutinizer leads in ease of use with real-time flow data visibility and analytics, enhancing network security and incident response.

Features: Observer GigaStor offers powerful historical data analysis, making it ideal for forensic investigations where packet capture precision is crucial. It provides comprehensive diagnostics for detailed insights. Plixer Scrutinizer features flow-based reporting with intuitive alerting systems for quick anomaly detection and delivers simplified data interpretations to enhance user experience.

Room for Improvement: Observer GigaStor can benefit from a more user-friendly interface and simplified configuration processes. It may also require enhancements in deployment flexibility and better integration with existing network structures. Plixer Scrutinizer could improve in providing deeper packet-level insights and expanding customization options. Additional advanced reporting features and increased scalability could further bolster its capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Plixer Scrutinizer is known for its streamlined deployment and responsive customer service, with clear installation guidance aiding smaller IT teams. Observer GigaStor might require more effort in setup due to its advanced features, but it provides substantial support that assists teams through the deployment process.

Pricing and ROI: Observer GigaStor entails a substantial initial investment justified by its comprehensive packet capture technology, offering value for environments needing in-depth analytics. Plixer Scrutinizer presents a more cost-effective solution with robust flow analysis and visualization, providing faster returns for businesses seeking efficient network monitoring.

To learn more, read our detailed Observer GigaStor vs. Plixer Scrutinizer Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Observer GigaStor vs. Plixer Scrutinizer

March 2026

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Helped 885,376 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

Observer GigaStor

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

86th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Troubleshooting (14th), Network Packet Broker (NPB) (9th)

Plixer Scrutinizer

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

74th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (12th)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Observer GigaStor is 0.4%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Plixer Scrutinizer is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Plixer Scrutinizer	0.5%
Observer GigaStor	0.4%
Other	99.1%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Jeroen-Dubbelman

Director at Bitrate

Aids significantly in the threat-hunting process and provides a score-based evaluation of user experience

There are many valuable features, but understanding end-user response times stands out. It provides a score-based evaluation of user experience, helping customers quickly pinpoint whether issues originate from the network, server, client, or application. Additionally, it facilitates in-depth analysis of application dependencies. The retrospective network analysis capability of Observer GigaStor has been beneficial. It's a pivotal feature for network performance solutions. However, I prefer to consider the entire solution suite - GigaStor, along with GigaFlow and Apex - for comprehensive network visibility and monitoring. So, I prefer to integrate all three solutions to provide the best visibility. They complement each other well, with Apex aggregating and correlating data from both GigaStor and GigaFlow to enhance environmental understanding and troubleshooting efficiency.

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Ira Mulyanti

Sales Director at ARGA SOLUSI

An affordable product with great integration capabilities

Plixer Core Platform is a valuable feature and a good software. Plixer Scrutinizer uses NetFlow analysis to monitor whatever is there in a network. Price-wise, Plixer Scrutinizer is not an expensive product. Basically, Plixer Scrutinizer is an affordable product. Plixer Scrutinizer is a tool that allows for customization, especially in scenarios where customers need new product features. Plixer Scrutinizer is a tool that can integrate with any other brand or product in the market, so it is not an area of concern.

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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

"The ability to capture packets. It is not only for monitoring. That is very important for a company that wants to keep an eye on the packets, the transactions, the flows..."

"Industry-leading line rates, packet-capture technology and data-mining capabilities are the most valuable features."

"It can help to write your rules, organize firewalls, your block, and also your protocols and IP address to come in or out of your network."

"This solution allows us to see exactly what is going on in the network and we can very quickly solve issues with users."

"If you have the opportunity, I would strongly encourage you to get it, because it makes the IT experience easier and more flexible, by providing the ability to see things in your networks like the directory packet label."

"Go take a look at it. It's a great product and has great capabilities."

"I also have the ability to see an application's performance, to see what's going on, why a network is slow, why this program for this user is experiencing a delay or some network issue"

"This solution allows us to see exactly what is going on in the network and we can very quickly solve issues with users."

More Observer GigaStor pros

"My boss and I have been very happy with the product."

"It's agnostic as far as what your network gear is. As long as it supports an sFlow, JFlow, NetFlow, some kind of flow monitoring, Plixer will support it very well."

"Compared to other solutions, the functionality Scrutinizer delivers is better."

"The ability to view the status of the top-10 at a glance is helpful. We immediately know which link is over-utilized or heavily used... and it's all in real-time."

"Visualization of the network traffic is the most valuable feature. It allows you to drill into information quite quickly."

"If you really want to know what's happening on your network, this is one of the best tools that you can use."

"As a network engineer, the ability to identify what traffic on the link is consuming all the bandwidth at any given time, and provide immediate feedback to the business, is the most valuable feature."

"We didn't experience any bugs."

More Plixer Scrutinizer pros

Cons

"Graphics need improvement. Because a lot of the information there you have to input first in some case to have full potential. It could be more automated."

"There are some issues, in our environment that puts processing restraints on the Gigastor when turning on trending data to be sent to APEX."

"I would like to have more than 4TB of storage available in the portable version of this solution."

"GigaStor feeds into Apex. So, the area where there could be improvement would be in artificial intelligence. For example, the incorporation of more advanced machine learning or AI capabilities could enhance its functionality."

"The interface is pretty complex, so for the average user, it takes a while to get up to speed with it. I would like it to be more user-friendly."

"Maybe the graphical user interface could be simplified to allow people to use it more easily."

"The Observer Console UI is consistent and stable, but could use some updating to be more modern."

"As of this moment, the graphics might need some improvement, because a lot of the information there must be input first to have full potential."

More Observer GigaStor cons

"It would be useful if there was a way to back up the configuration information. E.g., if you wanted to deploy a new instance or disaster recovery, you could quite easily deploy and restore the config, as opposed to having to restore all the NetFlow data. If there was just a button that said "backup config information", that would be good."

"There is room for improvement around the data that they have on the website about solutions... they should have more templated solutions on their website. Going out and identifying how to do RTP performance with a Cisco router, or how to do application response times in an Arrista data center deployment was where most of the work was... They should spend some more time documenting solutions and putting together white papers."

"The visual acuity of how it presents data can sometimes be confusing. It takes a bit for people to spin up how to look at the graphs."

"Knowing that they're coming out with a new user interface, that is an area where there is room for improvement. There are so many variables. They should limit the variables in the user interface and create some classes, like "simple," "novice," and "expert" to narrow down the variables within it."

"The reporting structure, the front-end GUI, also needs some work. It needs some getting used to. It works fairly well, but it's a technical tool rather than a user tool. You have to understand the structure of the databases before you can really use it."

"They're working on the security areas, so it can provide more insight. What they have is still pretty much IP-concentric. If they were to make it IP and URL, they'd be a little bit ahead on that."

"Data retention needs improvement. Data retention is a thing where we are looking for a better way to collect flow data for a longer time to do forensic research on security incidents. By default, data retention is quite low. We need detailed data in safe storage for a longer time, e.g., for a couple of months. An improvement would be a way to export data into a secure long-term storage."

"Data retention needs improvement. Data retention is a thing where we are looking for a better way to collect flow data for a longer time to do forensic research on security incidents."

More Plixer Scrutinizer cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's quite expensive."

"It depends on the requirements you have. There are three types of license. There's the updates license, the work group license, and the workstation license."

"I rate Plixer Scrutinizer's price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price or affordable, and ten is high price or expensive."

"There are no extra costs. It's about $8,000 a year. The bang for the buck (cost) is definitely a plus."

"We just renewed. The pricing is 5,000 euro per year. This is the final price. All tax (20 percent) is included."

"There is a recurring maintenance fee after the initial purchase or if we want the license upgrade."

"Our entire solution, amortized over five years, is in the vicinity of $40,000 to $50,000 a year."

"Currently, the license for Plixer Scrutinizer is subscription-based and at a yearly fee. The price would depend on the amount of traffic you pull in. For example, there are several blocks from a 10K flow, a 40K flow, and a 100K flow, and based on the number of devices that you receive the flows from, that's the license, and it is not a per-interface pricing model, so that is a very strong, very competitive pricing feature of Plixer Scrutinizer. Licensing for the product is also not based on the number of storage, compared to some competing products that are priced based on the amount of storage you need, particularly based on the retention and the amount of data. Plixer Scrutinizer licensing is based on the device, and it's more in the direction of $10,000 because, with just $1,000, you don't have anything."

"It's about €10,000 a year for initial license and yearly maintenance costs. In addition, the hardware costs are about €10,000 once every five years."

"The license is per device. We have 50 devices."

More Plixer Scrutinizer pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Construction Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Wholesaler/Distributor

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

Manufacturing Company

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Large Enterprise	3

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	8

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Observer GigaStor?

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Observer GigaStor?

I would rate the pricing a ten out of ten. It's quite expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Observer GigaStor?

GigaStor feeds into Apex. So, the area where there could be improvement would be in artificial intelligence. For example, the incorporation of more advanced machine learning or AI capabilities coul...

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Comparisons

Wireshark vs Observer GigaStor

Compared 14% of the time

Viavi Observer Platform vs Observer GigaStor

Compared 8% of the time

Gigamon Deep Observability Pipeline vs Observer GigaStor

Compared 8% of the time

IxChariot vs Observer GigaStor

Compared 7% of the time

NetBeez vs Observer GigaStor

Compared 6% of the time

More Observer GigaStor Competitors

Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs Plixer Scrutinizer

Compared 10% of the time

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer vs Plixer Scrutinizer

Compared 8% of the time

Flowmon vs Plixer Scrutinizer

Compared 6% of the time

LiveNX vs Plixer Scrutinizer

Compared 6% of the time

PRTG Network Monitor vs Plixer Scrutinizer

Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Observer GigaStor

March 2026

Download Observer GigaStor product report

Buyer's Guide

Plixer Scrutinizer

March 2026

Download Plixer Scrutinizer product report

Overview

Observer GigaStor is a network analysis tool that comes in a variety of form factors, including rack mount, portable, and virtual. Capable of storing up to a petabyte of traffic for later analysis, GigaStor helps ensure optimal network and application performance.

Viavi Solutions

The Scrutinizer incident response system leverages network traffic analytics to provide active monitoring, visualization, and reporting of network and security incidents. The system quickly delivers the rich forensic data needed by IT professionals to support fast and efficient incident response.

Plixer

Sample Customers

Cisco Systems, Hawaiian Telecom, Renown Health, State of Nevada, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Allstate Insurance, Jack Henry & Associates, United States Airforce, US Bank, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Chicago Board Options Exchange

Oxford Networks, Squaw Valley Ski Holdings, UltiSat, Wipro, West Aurora School District 129, SUNY Geneseo College, Bloomington Public Schools, First National Bank of Pennsylvania, Kitsap Credit Union, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County Houston Texas, Carilion Clinic, Banner Health, IDEXX Laboratories, Phibro Animal Health Corporation, Goodwill Industries, Parmalat, Armstrong Coal Company, Flybe, James Walker

Buyer's Guide

Observer GigaStor vs. Plixer Scrutinizer

March 2026

Free Report: Observer GigaStor vs. Plixer Scrutinizer

Find out what your peers are saying about Observer GigaStor vs. Plixer Scrutinizer and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.

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