What Is WhatsUp Gold?
WhatsUp Gold is a network monitoring software developed by Progress. It provides monitoring solutions for IT infrastructure. This tool helps administrators manage networks, servers, and applications. Its interface offers real-time dashboards, providing insights into network performance. The software is suitable for enterprises of varying sizes.
WhatsUp Gold supports multiple platforms, offering flexibility for diverse IT environments. It provides configurable alerts and workflows, enabling quick response to network issues. The software integrates with third-party applications. Users benefit from its automated network discovery and mapping capabilities, which save time and resources in monitoring complex network systems.
Key Features of WhatsUp Gold Software
Network Monitoring Dashboards
WhatsUp Gold’s network monitoring dashboards allow users to monitor and analyze network performance from a single, customizable interface. These dashboards provide real-time insights into system health, ensuring critical network elements are functioning properly. Administrators can configure pre-built dashboards or create custom views tailored to their specific needs.
The dashboards also include a network operations center (NOC) viewer that automatically cycles through different data screens, giving visibility into network performance and potential issues.
Automated Network Device Discovery
WhatsUp Gold automates the discovery of all devices in a network using Layer 2 and 3 discovery scans and simple network management protocol (SNMP). It identifies and maps each device, providing details like device type, vendor, serial number, and firmware version.
This process helps administrators by generating topology maps that show how different devices are connected. The automated discovery and mapping save time and ensure that all devices, including servers, routers, and switches, are monitored without manual intervention.
Custom Network Mapping Tool
The custom network mapping tool in WhatsUp Gold allows users to visually map out their network, turning complex connections into easy-to-understand diagrams. The interactive maps let users organize network layouts according to their needs, making it easier to monitor device dependencies and potential network bottlenecks.
Overlays can be used to view wireless and virtual infrastructures, giving an understanding of how various network components are interconnected.
Real-Time Alerts
WhatsUp Gold provides real-time alerts through its alert center, allowing administrators to receive instant notifications when there are changes in the network’s status or when performance thresholds are exceeded. Alerts can be customized based on specific conditions to prioritize responses and notify the right personnel automatically.
WhatsUp Gold Add-Ons
The following are optional add-ons available for WhatsUp Gold, some of them offered at an additional price.
Network Traffic Analysis
The network traffic analysis add-on gives administrators insights into how network bandwidth is being used by tracking user activity, applications, and protocols. It helps identify which parts of the network consume the most bandwidth and which applications may be causing congestion. Armed with this information, IT teams can enforce bandwidth utilization policies, ensuring that critical services like video conferencing or cloud applications receive the bandwidth they need.
Configuration Management
This add-on allows IT administrators to securely store an unlimited number of encrypted versions of network configuration files. It enables the comparison of configurations between different devices to ensure consistency, particularly between production and disaster recovery (DR) networks. The tool tracks every configuration change, providing alerts whenever changes occur.
Application Performance Monitoring
The APM add-on is for maintaining the performance of critical business applications. It continuously monitors applications such as Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server, Oracle, and other key services like IIS and Linux-based applications. By using predefined templates, administrators can easily monitor performance without extensive setup. APM provides insights into application health, detecting issues like slow response times or performance bottlenecks.
Virtualization Monitoring
The virtualization monitoring add-on offers visibility into both physical and virtual infrastructures, including VMware and Hyper-V environments. It automatically detects virtual servers and creates a detailed map that shows how virtual machines (VMs) relate to their physical hosts. Administrators can track VM migrations, resource usage, and overall performance to ensure that virtual workloads are distributed efficiently.
VoIP Monitoring
WhatsUp Gold’s VoIP monitoring add-on ensures the quality of voice communications in IP-based telephony systems. It continuously monitors key performance metrics for Cisco IP SLA-enabled devices, such as jitter, latency, and packet loss, which directly affect call quality. In addition, it provides industry-standard metrics like Mean Opinion Score (MOS) and Capacity Planning Impairment Factor (CPIF) to help organizations assess and improve their VoIP service.
Log Management
The log management add-on simplifies the collection, monitoring, and analysis of log data from devices across the network. It centralizes log data from Windows and syslog devices, making it easy for administrators to monitor, filter, and search through logs from a single interface. Log management also provides the ability to set custom alerts based on log events.
Scalability Pollers
Scalability pollers expand WhatsUp Gold’s capacity to monitor large and complex networks. The platform can handle up to 20,000 devices by allowing administrators to deploy additional pollers as needed. These pollers help distribute the monitoring load across the network, ensuring performance even in large-scale environments. Scalability pollers also provide redundancy, ensuring that the network remains monitored even if some pollers fail.
Related content: Read our guide to application migration
WhatsUp Gold Licensing and Pricing
Standard Editions
WhatsUp Gold offers multiple licensing options to cater to different business needs. There are four main editions:
- Free license: Designed for smaller environments, the Free License allows up to 10 devices per instance and includes features like device and server monitoring, automatic discovery, and performance monitoring. However, features like network traffic analysis, application monitoring, and scalability pollers are available only as add-ons in higher tiers.
- Premium (annual subscription): This edition allows up to 5,000 devices and includes all features found in the Free version, along with the ability to add optional tools such as network traffic analysis, application monitoring, and virtualization monitoring. This plan includes device-based support.
- Premium (perpetual license): Offering the same features and device limit as the Annual Subscription, the Perpetual License is a one-time purchase. Add-ons like configuration management and scalability pollers are also available at an additional cost.
- Total Plus (perpetual license): This is the most comprehensive offering and includes all add-ons, such as log management, scalability pollers, and failover, bundled into a single package. It also supports up to 5,000 devices.
WhatsUp Gold uses either device-based or point-based licensing depending on the selected plan, and various support options are included with the subscription, such as Progress community support for the Free edition and more technical support for paid tiers.
Distributed Monitoring Editions
WhatsUp Gold also offers specialized distributed monitoring editions to manage and monitor complex, geographically distributed networks from a centralized network operations center (NOC):
- Distributed edition: This edition includes all the features available in the Premium Edition and is licensed perpetually. It supports add-ons such as network traffic analysis, application monitoring, virtualization monitoring, configuration management, log management, scalability pollers, and failover manager.
- MSP edition: Specifically designed for Managed Service Providers (MSPs), this edition also includes all Premium Edition features, but it uses a subscription-based licensing model. The MSP Edition supports the same add-ons as the Distributed Edition, except for the Failover Manager.
Learn more in our detailed guide to WhatsUp gold pricing
WhatsUp Gold Limitations
While WhatsUp Gold offers a range of network monitoring tools and add-ons, there are several limitations that users have noted on the G2 platform:
- Performance in generating graphs: Users have reported that the process is slow, especially compared to alternative tools like cacti, which can generate more graphs in less time. This is partly due to WhatsUp Gold’s use of Java to fetch data from the database, which creates delays in rendering pages and graphs.
- Lack of API support: Many key features available through the web interface are either not supported or poorly documented in the API, limiting the ability to automate and manage tasks programmatically. For example, users are unable to add individual devices or edit alert policies through the API.
- Scanning limitations: The software’s device scanning functionality is seen as inefficient, especially in large environments. For example, administrators may need to scan each subnet individually rather than performing a single scan across multiple subnets. This is problematic for environments with numerous subnets, as scans cannot run concurrently.
- User interface: The web-based interface is often described as clunky and unintuitive, requiring frequent refreshes to remain responsive. This is compounded by the inability to create anonymous or view-only dashboards for management, forcing administrators to manually configure user rights for each view.
Notable WhatsUp Gold Alternatives and Competitors
1. Faddom
Faddom is an agentless, real-time application dependency mapping tool that offers fast deployment (under 60 minutes) and scalability for both on-premise and cloud environments. Its passive approach minimizes network load, making it ideal for complex infrastructures, while helping IT teams optimize resources, enhance security, and support IT governance.
Key features of Faddom:
- Agentless mapping: Provides detailed insights into infrastructure and application dependencies without the need for agents.
- Scalability: Supports both small businesses and large enterprises by scaling its mapping capabilities as needed.
- Security: Ensures a secure deployment with minimal exposure to vulnerabilities, as it does not rely on agents or active network scanning.
- Hybrid environment support: Maps dependencies across on-premise, hybrid, and cloud infrastructures.
Learn more about Faddom for application mapping or start a free trial to the right!
2. PRTG
PRTG Network Monitor, developed by Paessler, is a monitoring tool that enables IT teams to oversee the IT environment. It tracks devices, systems, applications, and network traffic, offering real-time insights into performance. PRTG integrates with numerous technologies, allowing users to customize the platform to meet their monitoring requirements.
Key features of PRTG Network Monitor:
- Network monitoring: Continuously monitors all devices, systems, and traffic within the IT infrastructure, providing live performance updates.
- Database monitoring: Leverages PRTG sensors and SQL queries to monitor specific data sets, ensuring database health.
- Application monitoring: Tracks running applications, delivering performance statistics to aid in maintaining application health.
- Cloud monitoring: Centralizes the monitoring of cloud services, offering real-time insights into the performance of cloud resources.
- Server monitoring: Monitors the availability and capacity of servers, helping to ensure consistent performance and uptime.
Source: Paessler
3. Site24x7
Site24x7 is a unified observability platform for DevOps and IT operations teams. It monitors IT infrastructure, including cloud services, servers, applications, websites, and networks, ensuring peak performance and system availability. Using AI and machine learning, Site24x7 delivers analytics, automated issue resolution, and proactive monitoring for a variety of environments.
Key features of Site24x7:
- Cloud monitoring: Delivers detailed monitoring of cloud environments, covering AWS, Azure, GCP, and VMware platforms.
- Server monitoring: Monitors server performance across different operating systems like Windows, Linux, and FreeBSD, along with virtualization platforms.
- Application performance monitoring: Keeps track of performance and errors in applications built on platforms like Java, .NET, Ruby, PHP, and Node.js.
- Website monitoring: Monitors the availability of websites, APIs, and internet services from 130+ global locations.
- Real user monitoring: Analyzes actual user interactions and segments performance data by browser, platform, or location.
Source: Site24x7
4. ManageEngine OpManager
ManageEngine OpManager is a network monitoring solution that provides visibility into the performance of network devices and servers. It is used to monitor routers, switches, firewalls, wireless devices, servers, virtual machines, and storage units. Its interface simplifies network management, helping IT professionals detect and resolve issues quickly.
Key features of ManageEngine OpManager:
- Network monitoring: Monitors the health, availability, and performance of any IP-enabled device in real time.
- Server monitoring: Tracks the performance of both physical and virtual servers (VMware, Hyper-V, Citrix, Nutanix) to ensure smooth operation.
- Wireless network monitoring: Monitors wireless access points, routers, and WiFi systems, offering insights into traffic and signal strength.
- WAN monitoring: Uses Cisco IPSLA technology to monitor WAN link availability and diagnose outages.
- Storage monitoring: Monitors storage systems, including fiber channel switches and arrays, tracking usage and capacity trends.
Source: ManageEngine
5. Atera
Atera is an IT management platform powered by Action AI, which optimizes IT operations by managing, patching, and securing endpoints. The platform includes RMM, helpdesk ticketing, patch management, and network discovery. With AI-driven tools like AI Copilot and AI Autopilot, Atera automates troubleshooting and enhances operational efficiency at a fixed-cost.
Key features of Atera:
- Remote monitoring and management (RMM): Enables monitoring and problem-solving for unlimited devices from any location at a fixed price.
- AI Copilot: Uses AI to quickly analyze and address issues, supporting technicians with intelligent problem-solving.
- AI Autopilot: Provides automated support for Tier-1 tasks, allowing IT teams to focus on more critical issues.
- Helpdesk and ticketing: Automates ticket management workflows using AI, improving customer satisfaction and response times.
- Remote access: Enables remote troubleshooting with integrated tools like AnyDesk, Splashtop, TeamViewer, and ScreenConnect.
Source: Atera
Learn more in our detailed guide to WhatsUp gold alternatives (coming soon)
Conclusion
WhatsUp Gold offers a comprehensive suite of tools for network monitoring and management, making it a strong solution for businesses of all sizes. Its ability to automatically discover devices, map network topologies, and provide real-time alerts enhances efficiency and visibility in IT environments. However, limitations such as its user interface and performance in graph generation should be considered when evaluating the platform.
For organizations seeking deeper visibility into both infrastructure and business applications, Faddom offers a valuable alternative. While WhatsUp Gold focuses on network-level monitoring, Faddom extends visibility by mapping entire IT ecosystems into business applications. This approach helps IT teams understand dependencies, optimize resources, and proactively manage risks across hybrid environments. With agentless deployment completed in under 60 minutes, Faddom provides fast results and minimal disruption, making it an ideal choice for businesses seeking to enhance their IT management strategy.
