Network Monitoring Solution Overview
Complete Visibility into Your Networks, Systems, and Cloud
WhatsUp Gold is a network monitoring software solution developed by Progress Software. Designed to provide comprehensive visibility across your IT infrastructure, it covers networks, servers, applications, virtual environments, cloud services, and wireless devices. The platform helps businesses proactively identify and resolve issues, minimising downtime and ensuring optimal performance and uptime.
WhatsUp Gold features an interactive topology map that shows connectivity and dependencies, allowing IT teams to troubleshoot faster and smarter with pinpoint accuracy. It provides at-a-glance monitoring of availability, up/down status, and performance for networks, systems, and applications, both on-premises and in the cloud.
With topology-aware monitoring, you receive intelligent alerts that reduce alert storms by prioritising critical issues. Alerts can be sent via SMS, email, web, or Slack, ensuring your team is informed of problems before end users are impacted. WhatsUp Gold caters to businesses of all sizes, from small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to larger enterprises, helping them maintain reliable IT operations.
Feature Category |
Feature Description |
Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Network Monitoring | Auto-discovery and mapping of network devices and topology | Comprehensive Visibility: Quickly understand your entire network infrastructure. |
| Real-time monitoring of network devices, links, and traffic | Proactive Issue Detection: Identify bottlenecks and potential problems before they impact users. | |
| Performance monitoring (CPU, memory, interface utilisation) | Performance Optimisation: Ensure network resources are utilised efficiently and effectively. | |
| Server Monitoring | Monitor physical and virtual servers (Windows, Linux, VMware, Hyper-V) | Server Health Assurance: Guarantee server uptime and optimal performance. |
| Monitor server resources, services, and applications | Faster Troubleshooting: Quickly pinpoint server-related issues impacting applications and services. | |
| Application Monitoring | Monitor critical applications (web, database, custom apps) | Application Performance Management: Maintain application availability and responsiveness. |
| Transaction monitoring and synthetic transaction support | Improved User Experience: Ensure applications are performing well for end-users, leading to higher satisfaction. | |
| Cloud Monitoring | Monitor cloud infrastructure and services (AWS, Azure) | Hybrid Environment Visibility: Unified view of on-premises and cloud resources. |
| Cloud resource utilisation and cost monitoring | Cloud Optimisation: Manage cloud spending and ensure efficient use of cloud resources. | |
| Alerting & Notifications | Customisable Thresholds: Set thresholds for various metrics (CPU, memory, latency, etc.) | Granular Alerting: Tailor alerts to specific needs and avoid alert fatigue. |
| Hierarchical Alerting: Escalation of alerts based on severity and time | Right Information to the Right People: Ensure critical alerts reach senior staff while routine alerts go to junior staff. | |
| Multiple Notification Methods: Email, SMS, Slack, webhooks | Flexible Alert Delivery: Receive alerts in preferred channels for timely response. | |
| Intelligent Alerting (No Alert Storms): Dependency awareness prevents cascading alerts from a single root cause (parent device failure). | Reduced Noise, Focused Response: Administrators are not overwhelmed with redundant alerts, enabling faster root cause analysis. | |
| Reporting & Dashboards | Customisable dashboards with real-time data visualisations | At-a-Glance Insights: Quickly understand the health and performance of your IT infrastructure. |
| Comprehensive reporting on performance, availability, and trends | Data-Driven Decisions: Gain insights into performance trends, capacity planning, and identify areas for improvement. | |
| Automation & Remediation | Automated actions based on alerts (e.g., restart services) | Faster Issue Resolution: Reduce manual intervention and automate routine tasks to resolve issues quickly. |
| Log Management (Add-on) | Centralised log collection and analysis | Enhanced Security & Troubleshooting: Gain deeper insights into system behaviour and security events through log data. |
| Configuration Management (Add-on) | Track configuration changes, automate configuration tasks | Improved Compliance & Consistency: Maintain consistent configurations and track changes for audit and security purposes. |
Feature Category |
Feature Description |
Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Comprehensive Solution | Wide range of monitoring capabilities (network, server, application, cloud) | Expanded Product Portfolio: Offer a versatile solution to meet diverse customer needs and increase revenue streams. |
| Scalability & Flexibility | Suitable for SMBs to large enterprises | Broader Market Reach: Target a wider range of clients with varying sizes and IT complexity. |
| Modular architecture with add-on modules | Customisable Solutions: Tailor solutions to specific customer requirements and budgets. | |
| Ease of Use & Deployment | User-friendly interface and intuitive workflows | Faster Sales Cycles & Reduced Support Burden: Easier to demonstrate, deploy, and support, leading to quicker sales and less ongoing support. |
| Automated discovery and configuration | Simplified Implementation: Faster onboarding for customers and reduced deployment effort. | |
| Strong Vendor Support | Dedicated partner program and support resources | Reliable Partnership: Access to training, marketing materials, technical support, and sales assistance from Progress. |
| Regular product updates and enhancements | Future-Proof Solution: Offer customers a continuously evolving and improving product. | |
| Recurring Revenue Potential | Subscription-based licensing options | Predictable Income Stream: Generate recurring revenue through subscriptions and renewals. |
| Competitive Advantage | Feature-rich solution with competitive pricing | Win More Deals: Offer a compelling value proposition compared to competing network monitoring solutions. |
| Marketing & Sales Support | Marketing collateral, sales tools, and training provided | Enhanced Sales Effectiveness: Equip sales teams with the resources they need to effectively market and sell WhatsUp Gold. |
| Customer Retention | High customer satisfaction and product stickiness | Long-Term Customer Relationships: Provide a solution that customers rely on and continue to renew, fostering loyalty. |
WhatsUp Gold licensing is primarily based on a point system. Here’s a breakdown of how it generally works:
- Points-Based Licensing: You purchase a specific number of points, and different devices and monitors consume a certain number of points. This allows for flexible monitoring based on your specific needs.
- Device-Based Licensing (Simplified): Often, it’s simplified as device-based licensing. Each device you monitor (server, network device, application, etc.) consumes points. The more devices and monitors, the more points you need.
- Perpetual and Subscription Options: WhatsUp Gold is typically offered with both perpetual licensing (one-time purchase with optional annual maintenance) and subscription-based licensing (recurring annual or monthly fees). Subscription models are becoming increasingly common.
- Add-on Modules: The add-on modules (NetFlow, Virtualisation, Application Performance Monitoring, VoIP, Configuration Management, and WhatsUp Gold 360) are generally licensed separately, either as point-based or subscription-based, on top of the base WhatsUp Gold license.
- Scalability: The licensing model is designed to be scalable. You can easily add more points as your infrastructure grows.
- Editions: WhatsUp Gold often comes in different editions (e.g., Standard, Premium, Total Plus), with each edition including a base set of features and point allocations. Higher editions include more features and points.
To get precise licensing details and pricing, you should always contact Progress Software or an authorised WhatsUp Gold reseller. They can assess your specific needs and provide a tailored quote.
- No Public Pricing: Progress Software typically does not publish exact public pricing for WhatsUp Gold. Pricing is usually provided as a quote based on your specific needs, the number of devices/points required, chosen modules, and licensing type (perpetual or subscription).
- Factors Influencing Price: Pricing will depend on:
- Number of devices and monitors needed (points).
- Chosen edition of WhatsUp Gold (Standard, Premium, Total Plus, etc.).
- Add-on modules selected.
- Licensing type (perpetual or subscription).
- Contract term (for subscriptions).
- Volume discounts may be available.
- General Price Range (Rough Estimate): WhatsUp Gold is generally considered to be in the mid-range pricing category for network monitoring solutions. It’s often positioned as more feature-rich than some entry-level tools but potentially more cost-effective than some high-end enterprise-grade platforms. For SMBs, initial investments could start in the low thousands of dollars and scale up significantly for larger enterprises.
WhatsUp Gold competes with a range of network monitoring solutions. Here’s a comparison against some key competitors:
Product |
Strengths |
Potential Weaknesses |
Pricing Category |
Target Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) | Very comprehensive features, large community, extensive module ecosystem, strong brand recognition. | Very comprehensive features, large community, extensive module ecosystem, strong brand recognition. | High-Mid to Enterprise | Mid-size to Large Enterprises |
| PRTG Network Monitor | All-in-one monitoring, sensor-based licensing (flexible), relatively easy to use, free version available. | Can become expensive for very large environments due to sensor count, interface can feel dated to some. | Mid-Range to Enterprise | SMB to Large Enterprises |
| ManageEngine OpManager | Affordable, good feature set for the price, easy to deploy, integrated IT management suite. | Interface can be less modern than some competitors, some features might be less advanced. | Low-Mid Range | SMB to Mid-size Businesses |
| Datadog | Cloud-native monitoring, excellent for cloud environments, strong APM capabilities, SaaS model. | Primarily focused on cloud and SaaS, can be more expensive for large-scale monitoring, complexity for non-cloud scenarios. | Mid-High Range | Cloud-First Companies, Enterprises |
| Dynatrace | AI-powered monitoring, automatic problem detection, strong APM and digital experience monitoring. | AI-powered monitoring, automatic problem detection, strong APM and digital experience monitoring. | High Range | Large Enterprises, APM Focus |
WhatsUp Gold’s Strengths in Comparison:
- Balance of Features and Ease of Use: WhatsUp Gold often strikes a good balance between comprehensive features and user-friendliness, making it accessible to a wider range of IT teams.
- Modular Approach: The add-on modules provide flexibility, allowing customers to tailor the solution to their specific needs and budget.
- Competitive Pricing: Generally positioned as competitively priced within the mid-range, offering good value for the features provided.
- Hybrid Environment Visibility: Strong capabilities for monitoring both on-premises and cloud infrastructure.
WhatsUp Gold’s Potential Weaknesses in Comparison:
- Not as Feature-Rich as SolarWinds NPM (in some specific areas): While feature-rich, some very niche or highly advanced features might be more developed in SolarWinds NPM.
- Not as Cloud-Native as Datadog: While it monitors the cloud, it’s not inherently built as a cloud-first SaaS platform like Datadog.
- Interface Perception: While improved, some users might find the interface less modern-looking than some newer cloud-based monitoring tools.
Key Takeaways for Comparison:
- Choose WhatsUp Gold if: You need a comprehensive, user-friendly, and competitively priced network monitoring solution for hybrid environments, with a good balance of features and ease of use.
- Consider SolarWinds NPM if: You need the most extensive feature set, are comfortable with complexity, and have a larger budget.
- Consider PRTG if: You prefer an all-in-one, sensor-based licensing model and want a relatively easy-to-use solution with a free version.
- Consider ManageEngine OpManager if: Budget is a primary concern, and you need a good feature set at a lower price point.
- Consider Datadog if: Your primary focus is cloud monitoring, APM, and you prefer a SaaS-based solution.
- Consider Dynatrace if: You need advanced AI-powered monitoring, automatic problem detection, and have a focus on APM and digital experience, with a higher budget.
Let’s confirm how WhatsUp Gold handles the specific features you asked about:
- Ability to set custom thresholds for alerting and email/SMS to junior IT, through to senior management, based on the severity of the alerts. Yes, WhatsUp Gold excels in this.
- Customisable Thresholds: You can define custom thresholds for virtually any monitored metric (CPU utilisation, memory usage, latency, packet loss, application response time, etc.). You can set different thresholds for warning, critical, and other severity levels.
- Hierarchical Alerting (Escalation Policies): WhatsUp Gold allows you to create escalation policies. You can configure alerts to be sent to junior IT staff for less severe issues and escalate to senior management or specialised teams for critical alerts that persist or require higher-level intervention.
- Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): You can use RBAC to control who receives which alerts based on their roles and responsibilities within the IT team.
- Notification Methods: Email, SMS, Slack, webhooks, and other notification methods can be configured and directed to different teams or individuals based on alert severity and escalation policies.
- Does not alert storm the administrator that if a parent device fails that all other devices connected report connection issues. Yes, WhatsUp Gold has intelligent alerting to prevent alert storms.
- Dependency Mapping: WhatsUp Gold’s auto-discovery and mapping features create dependency maps of your network. It understands the relationships between devices (e.g., a server behind a router).
- Root Cause Analysis & Alert Suppression: If a parent device (like a router) fails, WhatsUp Gold recognises this as the root cause. It will alert on the router failure but suppress alerts for devices that are downstream and become unreachable because of the router failure. This prevents alert storms and helps administrators focus on the core issue.
- Intelligent Alerting Logic: WhatsUp Gold employs logic to understand device relationships and avoid redundant alerts caused by a single point of failure.
- Addon modules for s/n/j netflow / virtual environments/application health / VoIP SLA / Configuration Management and new module WhatsUp Gold 360 to have full visibility on both on-prem and all cloud based architecture and applications. Yes, WhatsUp Gold offers these add-on modules:
- NetFlow/sFlow/J-Flow Traffic Analysis Module: For network traffic analysis, bandwidth monitoring, and security insights based on flow data from routers and switches.
- Virtualisation Monitoring Module: For deep visibility into VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V environments, monitoring VMs, hosts, datastores, and virtual networks.
- Application Performance Monitoring (APM) Module: For in-depth monitoring of application performance, transaction tracing, and synthetic transaction monitoring.
- VoIP Monitoring Module: For monitoring VoIP call quality, SLA metrics (jitter, latency, packet loss), and VoIP infrastructure health.
- Configuration Management Module: For tracking device configuration changes, automating configuration tasks, and ensuring configuration compliance.
- WhatsUp Gold 360: This is a key offering designed to provide unified visibility across on-premises and cloud infrastructure and applications. It typically includes expanded cloud monitoring capabilities, potentially enhanced APM for cloud-native applications, and centralised management across hybrid environments. WhatsUp Gold 360 is precisely designed to address the need for full visibility in modern hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
WhatsUp Gold is a robust network monitoring solution that offers a comprehensive feature set, flexible licensing, and a competitive position in the market. It is well-suited for organisations seeking a balance between power, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness. It addresses your specific requirements for customisable alerting, alert storm prevention, and offers the necessary add-on modules to extend its capabilities to virtual environments, applications, VoIP, configuration management, and hybrid cloud visibility with WhatsUp Gold 360.
For accurate pricing and to discuss your specific monitoring needs, it’s recommended to contact Progress Software or an authorised WhatsUp Gold reseller. They can provide a tailored quote and demo based on your infrastructure and requirements.