Network Monitoring Software Newt
Newt is a network monitoring software similar to the previously mentioned network monitoring software Networx or Look@Lan.
The network monitor uses a multi-threaded scanning engine that scans all remote computer systems and domains to retrieve information about them. The information itself is shown in a spreadsheet like table-format that can be exported to various formats including html, text or csv.
The information that is displayed after the network scan are - among many more - computer names, IP addresses, operating systems, uptime, MAC address, domain name and user name.
The collected data can be sorted in numerous ways. The free version of NEWT has a few limitations like only being able to scan and monitor 25 computers, no SNMP device detection or multi-threaded IP Range discovery.
Next to the computer analysis it is possible to send a few commands to remote computers in the network. It is possible to send messages, ping computers or to turn them on or off remotely.
The network monitoring software is compatible with most Microsoft operating systems including Windows XP, Windows Vista and even the soon to be released Windows 7.
Verdict
Newt is a handy program for network administrators and even owners of a small home network. It allows you to get an inventory quickly of all devices, get stats, and run select commands on them remotely on top of all that. The limitation of the free version to 25 devices should not really be much of a problem in a non-commercial environment.
Update: The free version of the network monitoring software Newt has been discontinued by its developers. The project page simply states that NEWT Freeware is no longer available, and that its developers are dedicating all resources to the professional version of the applications.
If you are looking for a network monitoring software you may want to check out the following alternative which we have reviewed in the past:
York - A network monitor for the Windows operating system that automatically filters traffic into groups such as passwords, files or pictures. The program supports logging into files and saving of the raw network traffic into a file for further analysis.
The program is compatible with all 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Microsoft Windows operating system. Just follow the link above to find out more about it.
How does this compare with GroundWork Monitor?
GroundWork Open Source uniquely combines the most mature and successful open source network monitoring software available today into a single package.
You really should compare to wireshark, which is considered by many to be the end-all network monitoring tool. It is open source, too.