Custom alerts and data visualization let you quickly identify and prevent network traffic issues.
Network traffic monitoring is your window into the data flowing across your infrastructure. It provides clear visibility into bandwidth usage, traffic patterns, and network activity – helping you identify potential issues before they impact performance.
Without proper traffic visibility, network admins face a perfect storm of challenges: unexpected bottlenecks grinding applications to a halt, security threats lurking undetected, troubleshooting sessions that drag on without context, and decisions based on guesswork rather than facts. PRTG addresses these pain points with real-time analysis, historical data, and smart alerting that keeps you firmly in control.
Successful monitoring hinges on tracking the metrics that matter: bandwidth usage across your network, traffic patterns that reveal what's normal and what's not, protocol distribution showing application demands, packet loss signaling connectivity issues, and response times exposing latency problems. PRTG collects these vital signs automatically and transforms them into intuitive dashboards and reports that make complex data immediately useful.
Different monitoring methods serve different needs: SNMP for efficient bandwidth tracking, NetFlow for detailed traffic analysis, packet sniffing for deep inspection, and WMI for Windows-specific metrics. Instead of forcing you to juggle multiple tools, PRTG integrates all these technologies in one solution, giving you comprehensive visibility without the complexity.
Diagnose network issues by continuously tracking the flow of data across your entire infrastructure. Show bandwidth usage, traffic patterns, protocol distribution and other key metrics in real time. Visualize monitoring data in clear graphs and dashboards to identify problems more easily. Gain the overview you need to troubleshoot network traffic issues before they impact your business.
Device tree view of the complete monitoring setup
Custom PRTG dashboard for keeping an eye on the entire IT infrastructure
Live traffic data graph in PRTG
“All-around winning
network monitor”
“The real beauty of PRTG is the endless possibilities it offers”
“PRTG Network Monitor
is very hard to beat”
PRTG transforms traffic data into actionable insights that drive performance improvements across your network. This allows you to identify and resolve bottlenecks before users even notice and issue. You can effectively balance traffic loads across your infrastructure, and ensure critical applications get priority during peak periods. With PRTG's performance monitoring capabilities, your network will consistently deliver the reliable experience your organization demands.
Network traffic monitoring with PRTG can strengthen your security posture without replacing your existing tools. It can detect unusual activity between network components and unusual behavior from devices or users. PRTG also allows you to monitor VPN and remote access traffic patterns and can send notifications when traffic anomalies occur. It also provides comprehensive traffic logs and visualizations that can help identify potential security issues. PRTG complements your security setup by providing traffic visibility that might help catch issues your other tools might miss.
When network issues inevitably occur, PRTG dramatically accelerates the resolution time. It can help pinpoint the root cause through detailed traffic analysis, providing historical context to identify exactly when problems began, and correlates traffic patterns with performance issues. You'll receive timely notifications when anomalies occur and can visualize traffic flows to quickly isolate problem areas. These powerful capabilities help minimize costly downtime and resolve network issues before they impact your critical business operations.
PRTG delivers a truly comprehensive view of network traffic across your entire infrastructure. From on-premises equipment to cloud-based resources, WAN connections to remote sites, IoT devices to traditional endpoints, and network equipment from various vendors to virtual environments – nothing escapes its monitoring reach. This unified approach eliminates dangerous blind spots and provides complete visibility into your network traffic, regardless of where it flows or how complex your environment has become.
PRTG comes with more than 250 native sensor types for monitoring your entire on-premises, cloud, and hybrid cloud environment out of the box. Check out some examples below!
The DNS v2 sensor monitors a Domain Name System (DNS) server, resolves domain name records, and compares them to a filter. It can show the following:
The Windows Pagefile sensor monitors the Windows pagefile usage via Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) or Windows performance counters. It can show the following:
The SNMP Memory sensor monitors the memory usage of a system. It can show the following:
The NetFlow v9 sensor receives traffic data from a NetFlow v9-compatible device and shows the traffic by type. This sensor has several filter options to divide traffic into different channels. It can show the following and more:
See the PRTG Manual for a list of all available sensor types.
Custom alerts and data visualization let you quickly identify and prevent network traffic issues.
PRTG is set up in a matter of minutes and can be used on a wide variety of mobile devices.
“Excellent tool for detailed monitoring. Alarms and notifications work greatly. Equipment addition is straight forward and server initial setup is very easy. ...feel safe to purchase it if you intend to monitor a large networking landscape.”
Partnering with innovative IT vendors, Paessler unleashes synergies to create
new and additional benefits for joined customers.
baramundi and PRTG create a secure, reliable and powerful IT infrastructure where you have everything under control - from the traffic in your firewall to the configuration of your clients.
Integrating monitoring results from PRTG into NetBrain maps makes the foundation for network automation.
Osirium’s experienced management team has an outstanding track record in cybersecurity and automation, establishing its headquarters near Reading, UK.
Real-time notifications mean faster troubleshooting so that you can act before more serious issues occur.
Network Monitoring Software – Version 25.2.106.1114 (May 05th, 2025)
Download for Windows and cloud-based version PRTG Hosted Monitor available
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Network traffic monitoring is the process of observing, analyzing, and managing the data flowing across your network infrastructure. It provides visibility into bandwidth usage, traffic patterns, and network activity to help identify performance issues, security threats, and optimization opportunities. Effective monitoring combines real-time analysis with historical trending to provide both immediate awareness and long-term planning insights.
Network traffic monitoring is essential for several reasons.
Without proper network traffic monitoring, organizations often experience more downtime, slower issue resolution, and increased vulnerability to security threats.
PRTG Network Monitor employs multiple technologies to provide comprehensive network traffic monitoring.
This multi-technology approach ensures PRTG can monitor network traffic across diverse environments, from traditional on-premises infrastructure to cloud-based resources and IoT devices.
PRTG transforms raw network traffic data into actionable insights.
These capabilities help network administrators quickly identify and resolve issues, optimize performance, and enhance security through comprehensive network traffic analysis.
In PRTG, “sensors” are the basic monitoring elements. One sensor usually monitors one measured value in your network, for example the traffic of a switch port, the CPU load of a server, or the free space on a disk drive. On average, you need about 5-10 sensors per device or one sensor per switch port.
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.
Paessler PRTG is used by companies of all sizes. Sysadmins love PRTG because it makes their job a whole lot easier.
Bandwidth, servers, virtual environments, websites, VoIP services – PRTG keeps an eye on your entire network.
Everyone has different monitoring needs. That’s why we let you try PRTG for free.
