Given the limitations seen by basic Log Checking and standard single snapshot Network Monitoring Software, a new class of Network Monitoring Software started to emerge.

We call this Real Time Network Monitoring Software or Point in Time Network Monitoring Software.

Essentially it address the remaining 2 primary concerns from Log Checking and the old 1 time Monitoring Software.

Point in Time Network Monitoring Software takes consistent snapshots of which devices are on a network, and it does this with a consistent frequency, such as every 5 minutes, every 10 minutes, every 30 minutes, or longer.   Programs like this then store this information either into a log file, a database, or some other permanent storage medium.

Who’s On My WiFi is based on this type of system.

Who’s On My WiFi and competitors take these network snapshots every few minutes, and then do something intelligent with the information.

There are several different applications for using Point in Time Network Monitoring Software, and we’ll discuss a few of these later.

The important thing to remember about Real Time Network Monitoring Software is how it addresses the 3 original issues with monitoring a network based on logs

#1.  Consistency – Because these types of programs are software based, they are vendor agnostic and work to monitor all networks in an organization without needing to know hardware vendor specific interfaces.

#2.  Frequency – These types of programs are built to run every few minutes, instead of being run in a 1 time, ad-hoc manner.

#3.  Retention of Information – Because these types of programs are usually built with storage or a database in mind, the information about which devices were on a network at what time is available to the end user in some manner.