The Dude is a professional network monitoring software, available as a stable version and a beta version for the Windows operating system.

Both versions are completely free of charge, offering loads of features.

The configuration of the program usually begins with the addition of at least one network device. Supported are plain and secure connections, on all ports and with authentication if necessary.

network monitoring

The application supports automatic network discovery and layout generation. The computer network is shown on a map after a successful connection. Individual devices are displayed with their IP addresses, names, icons, as well as cpu and disk utilization. Connections are shown with their current bandwidth usage and maximum capacities.

It is possible to add additional networks or devices to the program at any time and link them to the existing map manually or automatically.

A click on a device or link opens detailed information. This includes the MAC addresses, DNS names, types, services, outages information, Snmp, polling or history details and tools.

This section alone is very extensive, and likely very confusing for users who have little to no experience monitoring or managing computer networks.

The left sidebar menu lists available tools and options to manage and monitor the computer network.

computer network

Available are for example services running on the devices in the computer network, access to various log files, files view, Mib Nodes and access to networking tools.

network device view

Feature List

• The Dude is free of charge!
• Auto network discovery and layout
• Discovers any type or brand of device
• Device, Link monitoring, and notifications
• Includes SVG icons for devices, and supports custom icons and backgrounds
• Easy installation and usage
• Allows you to draw your own maps and add custom devices
• Supports SNMP, ICMP, DNS and TCP monitoring for devices that support it
• Individual Link usage monitoring and graphs
• Direct access to remote control tools for device management
• Supports remote Dude server and local client
• Runs in Linux Wine environment, MacOS Darwine, and Windows

The developers have created an online help and pdf version which explains the majority of available features. Users who are still stick can use the well frequented user forum for additional help and support.

The Dude is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as Linux Wine and MacOS Darwine. Downloads are provided on the developer’s homepage.

Deployment could not be easier. The network administrator needs to install KontrolPack on all computer systems that should be managed or used to manage the network. The client systems then need to be started in client mode while the administrative systems need to be started in administrative mode.

Network administrators can then, among other things use functionality like:

• Handle remote shell command execution.
• Share files between remote computers.
• Manage your network: LAN (Local Area Network).
• Get an overview of the workstations on your LAN.
• Lightweight XML based message exchange between client and server.
• Handle each client with a personalized tab panel.
• Send commands simultaneously to all computers on your LAN.

You can manage your computers and execute the same shell commands on them regardless of the operating system. On top of this, it provides an easy interface that can be used to view your LAN activity and manage your network without difficulties.

Users who are using this software on any supported operating system will be able to perform administrative tasks remotely on multiple computers that run on different operating systems without any technical issues.

For example, from a machine running a GNU/Linux distribution you can send an order to a hundred computers running MS Windows telling them to restart or to defrag their root partition. You can also retrieve IP addresses and routing tables from a variety of computers in order to help manage a network. Sometimes single commands are not enough, and it is possible to execute batch files and scripts simultaneously throughout the network

All different platform releases of the network management software KontrolPack are available from the developer’s website.