Observer GigaStor vs Wireshark comparison

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98% willing to recommend

Observer GigaStor

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 11, 2024

Wireshark and Observer GigaStor are leading network analysis tools. Wireshark is favored for its pricing and ease of deployment, while Observer GigaStor stands out for its advanced features, making it worth the investment for many users.

Features: Wireshark is praised for its comprehensive packet analysis capabilities, ease of use, and strong community support. Observer GigaStor offers extensive storage, sophisticated network monitoring features, and the ability to handle larger datasets.

Room for Improvement: Users suggest Wireshark could benefit from enhanced packet filtering, improved reporting mechanisms, and better integration with third-party tools. For Observer GigaStor, feedback indicates a need for better integration with third-party tools, a more streamlined configuration process, and enhanced user documentation.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Wireshark is known for its straightforward deployment and community support. Observer GigaStor's deployment is more complex, but users report responsive customer service.

Pricing and ROI: Wireshark is often chosen for its cost-effectiveness, especially in smaller environments. Observer GigaStor is more expensive but justifies the cost with feature-rich offerings and better long-term ROI for larger networks.

To learn more, read our detailed Observer GigaStor vs. Wireshark Report (Updated: June 2025).

Observer GigaStor vs. Wireshark

June 2025

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Helped 856,873 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 Troubleshooting

14th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Monitoring Software (95th), Network Packet Broker (NPB) (9th)

Wireshark

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

4th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Network Troubleshooting category, the mindshare of Observer GigaStor is 1.7%, down from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Wireshark is 14.3%, up from 12.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Troubleshooting

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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Vijay Duggal

Network Specialist at Squarepoint Capital

Provides detailed traffic analysis and helps troubleshoot issues

There is a disadvantage when it comes to sampling intervals. While the solution supports sampling as fine as one millisecond, it requires a copy at that interval. My Python script allows me to achieve a granularity of up to ten microseconds, but I can't go beyond that. When dealing with provisioning on both issues, it would be beneficial if I could go down to the microsecond level, if not the nanosecond. Additionally, I've heard from a colleague that Wireshark might be less effective in the voice domain.

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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's able to capture packets and, after a long time, you can come and use that information; to check, to analyze - everything you would want to do. So it's very good and helpful if you want to protect your data. It is stored in a certain place where you can access it every time you want to analyze it."

"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."

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

"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..."

"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"

"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."

"The transmission and reception issues are valuable."

"The most valuable feature of Wireshark is the ability to choose a destination of flow that has not been working as expected."

"The feature to incorporate Voice over IP (VoIP) incidents into network traffic analysis is valuable. Capturing voice or SIP communication allows for examination of interactions between SIP clients and SIP servers. This helps the team investigate or analyze issues related to call center servers and operators."

"The filter option provided by Wireshark is its most valuable feature...Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"Being able to dissect email data and figure out what is inside email messages was the most valuable feature. Such a feature is pretty helpful for an ongoing forensic investigation or when there is a potential insider threat that you are trying to investigate. It allows you to see the network activity of the users you are investigating. It also gives you more visibility into your network. It was very easy to set up. There is a lot of information out there on Google and YouTube about how to use it. There is also community support. If you have any trouble, it is pretty easy to find an answer online. You will have to do some digging only if you have a very specific use case."

"The session-level filtering features are valuable."

"The drill-down available for packet analysis is great. It gives a network security engineer insight into what is going on at the packet level and enables better troubleshooting."

"The most valuable feature is the traffic gate, which shows which IPs are getting more bandwidth or traffic."

More Wireshark 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."

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

"Maybe the graphical user interface could be simplified to allow people to use it more easily. It's already good, but they can work more on it to make it even easier."

"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."

"Wireshark could make the filtering rules easier to apply and offer a drag-and-drop option as opposed to type and text."

"Wireshark could be improved with a delay option when getting data automatically."

"We would like the product to be developed so that it doesn't rely on internet access for installation. We would like to see all of the components required to be integrated into the installer."

"I have not used Wireshark to an advanced point where I could provide a detailed opinion on improvements needed."

"In the future, it would be nice to see color coding. It is just black and white."

"The system could be improved upon by adding a better and more powerful data processing engine."

"I would like to see Wireshark improve the ease of application of the command. The command is very powerful, but not easy to apply."

"Wireshark is restricted when any sort of encryption is involved, such as XSL encryption or DLX."

More Wireshark 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."

"The tool is free."

"Wireshark is open source and gives great value and functionality to the network investigation."

"I've never personally had to pay for it, making it a highly valuable internet resource that's accessible for use. While they offer some paid versions, our firm has utilized the free version for the past three years."

"Wireshark is free software, so you can download it and use it for free with no licensing fees."

"I am using the free version of this solution."

"We're using the free version of Wireshark."

"The solution is open source so is free."

"It is free."

More Wireshark pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Troubleshooting solutions are best for your needs.

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856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

21%

Financial Services Firm

21%

Manufacturing Company

11%

University

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Observer GigaStor?

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.

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...

What do you like most about Wireshark?

The GUI is easy to use.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Wireshark?

Wireshark is priced at a medium range, not too high, not too low. The pricing could be more flexible, and they might make it more expensive. That said, compared to other products, it is competitive.

What needs improvement with Wireshark?

The speed of the Internet could be improved, especially its performance. Performance can sometimes be a challenge due to numerous factors.

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Product Reports

Download Observer GigaStor product report

Observer GigaStor

May 2025

Download Wireshark product report

May 2025

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

Wireshark is the world's foremost network protocol analyzer.

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

Comversion, ADP, Talbots