The tools for network management are extensive and it is impossible to have an exhausted list here. There are many types and categories of tools available for various types of networks and operating systems, which help network management professionals to manage and operate the network and services daily.
In the following table, we listed the some popular and simple network management tools and their main functions and applications.
| Tool Category | Tool Name | Functions/ Applications | Operating Systems |
| Status Monitoring Tool | Ifconfig | Obtains and configures networking interface parameters and status | UNIX |
| Ping | Check the status of nodes/hosts | UNIX/ Windows | |
| Dig | Queries DNS server | UNIX | |
| Host | Displays information on Internet hosts/domains | UNIX | |
| Nslookup | Looks up DNS for name-IP address translation | Unix / Windows | |
| Traffic Monitoring Tool | Bing | Measures point-to-point bandwidth of a link | Unix / Window |
| Etherfind | Inspect Ethernet packets | Unix | |
| Snoop | Captures and inspects network packets | UNIX | |
| Tcpdump | Dumps traffic on a network | UNIX | |
| Getethers | Acquires all host addresses of an Ethernet LAN segment | UNIX | |
| Iptrace | Measures performance of gateways | UNIX | |
| MRTG (Multi Router Traffic Grapher) | Monitors the traffic load on network-links | UNIX / Windows | |
| Windump | Dumps traffic on a network from a Windows based terminal | Windows | |
| Router Monitoring Tool | Netstat | Displays the contents of various network-related data structure | UNIX |
| ARP / RARP | Displays and modifies the IP-to-Ethernet address table | UNIX / Windows | |
| RANCID | Monitors a router's (or other devices) configuration | UNIX | |
| Traceroute/ tracert | Trace route to a destination with routing delays | UNIX / Windows | |
| Trouble- shooting Tool | BERT: Bit Error Rate Tester | Tests bit error and block error in a broadband access network using modem. | Unix |
| Ethereal / Wireshark | Captures traffic, perform protocol analysis | UNIX / Windows | |
| Network Security Tool | Nessus | Vulnerability assessment tool | UNIX |
| snort | open source IDS | UNIX / Windows | |
| Netcat | Reads and writes data across TCP or UDP network connections | UNIX / Windows | |
| GFI LANguard | Scans IP networks to detect what machines are running | Windows |
Some of the above tools are features implemented in the operating systems, while others are standalone software that can be obtained free of charge from the Internet or the vendor.
Related Terms: Troubleshooting tool, traffic monitoring tool, status monitoring tool, network security tool, PING, ARP, RARP, Ethereal