Paessler PRTG – The better alternative to Ethereal
- All-in-one monitoring for your entire network
- Save time, money, and effort in the long run
- More flexible and scalable than Ethereal
Our users give top ratings for monitoring with Paessler PRTG
PRTG as an Ethereal alternative: What you’ll find on this page
PRTG makes network monitoring as easy as it gets
Custom alerts and data visualization let you quickly identify and prevent all kinds of network issues.
PRTG vs. Ethereal: One tool for your entire network
Ethereal primarily serves as packet capture and packet analyzer solution. PRTG, however, offers all-in-one flow monitoring and packet sniffing, as well as:
- SNMP: ready to use and custom options
- WMI and Windows performance counters
- SSH: for Linux/Unix and Mac (macOS) systems
- REST API returning XML or JSON
- HTTP requests, Ping, SQL, and so much more...
With PRTG, you don't need separate modules or add-ons for features like infrastructure monitoring, performance monitoring, router monitoring, bandwidth management, or an integrated port scanner. PRTG comes with more than 250 preconfigured sensors, allowing you to set up and get started with your monitoring in no time.
What network monitoring looks like in PRTG
Diagnose network issues by continuously tracking the health, availability, and performance of your entire IT infrastructure. Show hardware parameters, application performance, network traffic, bandwidth usage, and other key metrics in real time. Visualize data in clear graphs and dashboards to identify problems more easily. Gain the overview you need to troubleshoot all kinds of issues in your network.
Device tree view of the complete monitoring setup
Preconfigured Packet Sniffer sensor in PRTG
Custom PRTG dashboard for keeping an eye on the entire IT infrastructure
Start monitoring your network with PRTG and see how it can make your network more reliable and your job easier.
PRTG is compatible with all major vendors, products, and systems
Save time and nerves with PRTG
Quick, easy installation
PRTG makes installation easy – just follow the steps in the installation assistant, and within a few minutes, PRTG is ready to go. Ethereal requires you to download several source packages and manually build the binaries, costing you precious time and likely a few headaches.
Automated setup
PRTG lets you automatically discover available network devices and services and create sensors. Thanks to a clear graphic user interface, the process of adding, editing, and deleting sensors is very intuitive. Ethereal, on the other hand, requires advanced skills in programming and scripting.
Intuitive monitoring
PRTG offers custom dashboards and network maps, and an intuitive web interface to start monitoring right away. You’ll also get not only a sniffing tool as with Ethereal, but also monitoring of applications, network traffic, hardware, bandwidth, cloud and virtual environments, and more.
Always up to date
With our state-of-the-art network monitoring software PRTG, you always have access to the latest product updates, features, and security enhancements. Since Ethereal was acquired by Wireshark in 2006, the latest downloadable version 0.99 is many years old and requires Windows 2000 or XP.
Free mobile apps
PRTG mobile apps let you monitor your network while on the go. With Ethereal and many other monitoring tools, you can only monitor by way of the web interface. PRTG apps run on smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches with an iOS or Android operating system. Push notifications can be sent directly to your smartphone in the event of warning messages or errors in your network.
Find the root cause of the problem with our PRTG network monitoring solution
Real-time notifications mean faster troubleshooting so that you can act before more serious issues occur.
Your Ethereal alternative PRTG at a glance – even on the go
Set up PRTG in minutes and use it on almost any mobile device.
Need help making a decision?
You are interested to know if PRTG could be an alternative to your Ethereal implementation? Contact us for more information.
“The support we received from Paessler was extremely reassuring. Their reaction time, know-how, and solutions were outstanding in every department.”
Andreas Reimann, Senior Networking Communication Architect at Zürich Airport. Zürich Airport uses more than 4,500 sensors for its monitoring
IT experts agree: Paessler PRTG is a great solution for IT infrastructure monitoring
“All-around winning
network monitor”
“The real beauty of PRTG is the endless possibilities it offers”
“PRTG Network Monitor
is very hard to beat”
Create innovative solutions with Paessler’s partners
Partnering with innovative vendors, Paessler unleashes synergies to create
new and additional benefits for joined customers.
PRTG makes network monitoring as easy as it gets
Custom alerts and data visualization let you quickly identify and prevent all kinds of network issues.
PRTG: The multi-tool for sysadmins
Adapt PRTG individually and dynamically to your needs and rely on a strong API:- HTTP API: Access monitoring data and manipulate monitoring objects via HTTP requests
- Custom sensors: Create your own PRTG sensors for customized monitoring
- Custom notifications: Create your own notifications and send action triggers to external systems
- REST Custom sensor: Monitor almost everything that provides data in XML or JSON format
We asked: would you recommend PRTG?
Over 95% of our customers say yes!
Paessler conducted trials in over 600 IT departments worldwide to tune its network monitoring software closer to the needs of sysadmins.
The result of the survey: over 95% of the participants would recommend PRTG – or already have.
Still not convinced?
More than 500,000
sysadmins love PRTG
Paessler PRTG is used by companies of all sizes. Sysadmins love PRTG because it makes their job a whole lot easier.
Monitor your entire IT infrastructure
Bandwidth, servers, virtual environments, websites, VoIP services – PRTG keeps an eye on your entire network.
Try Paessler PRTG
for free
Everyone has different monitoring needs. That’s why we let you try PRTG for free.
Start monitoring your network with PRTG and see how it can make your network more reliable and your job easier.
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PRTG |
Network Monitoring Software - Version 25.1.102.1373 (January 9th, 2025) |
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Hosting |
Download for Windows and cloud-based version PRTG Hosted Monitor available |
Languages |
English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese |
Pricing |
Up to 100 sensors for free (Price List) |
Unified Monitoring |
Network devices, bandwidth, servers, applications, virtual environments, remote systems, IoT, and more |
Supported Vendors & Applications |
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