Engineer's Toolset
Solarwinds® knows what you face everyday: new network issues that emerge from nowhere, never enough time to troubleshoot, and a highly complex network composed of thousands of devices that seems to have a mind of its own.
For over ten years, their goal has been to make sure that you have the right tools to easily and effectively manage and troubleshoot your network – in one complete and affordable package.
Once you’ve experienced Engineer’s Toolset, you’ll never troubleshoot your network the same way again. It includes a collection of powerful network management tools, all of which can be easily accessed through an innovative Workspace Studio to quickly resolve issues right from your desktop.
With the Workspace Studio, you can organize your tools to tackle troubleshooting challenges and then recall that workspace with a click when you need it – saving valuable set-up time. And shared credential management saves even more time as you switch easily between the tools you need without re-entering credentials.
Fire up Engineer’s Toolset on your workstation and get out of the wiring closet. Take control of your day and your network with powerful, timesaving features, including:
- Cut troubleshooting time in half using the Workspace Studio, which puts the tools you need for common situations at your fingertips.
Learn More »
- Monitor and alert in real time on network availability and health with tools including Real-Time Interface Monitor, SNMP Real-Time Graph, and Advanced CPU Load.
View Monitoring Tools »
- Perform robust network diagnostics for troubleshooting and quickly resolving complex network issues with tools such as Ping Sweep, DNS Analyzer, and Trace Route.
View Diagnostic Tools »
- Deploy an array of network discovery tools including Port Scanner, Switch Port Mapper, and Advanced Subnet Calculator.
View Discovery Tools »
- Manage Cisco® devices with specialized tools including Real-time NetFlow Analyzer, Config Downloader, and Config Compare.
View Cisco Tools »
Troubleshooting a Whole New Way
Be Ready for Anything
Introduced in Version 10, the Workspace Studio delivers a new, innovative way to troubleshoot network issues by providing an environment where you can deploy, group, and connect the network management tools you need.
Troubleshooting the Internet connection for the third time this week? Investigating the switches on your LAN to head off user complaints again? Don’t waste time digging for the right tools. Build and save custom workspaces for those and other tasks, so you have the tools you need at your fingertips – enabling you to cut troubleshooting time in half and get back to honing your World of Warcraft® skills.
Get a step-by-step overview of setting up workspaces with the new Workspace Studio!
Drag-and-Drop Customization
Drag, drop, and arrange tools on the Workspace Studio tabs to fit the way you work. (Yes, really… a network management product that bends to your will. How refreshing!) You can use the default tabs included in Engineer’s Toolset or create your own. That lets you get right to fixing the problem instead of wasting time digging for the right tool. It’s easy to create tabs that fit your network, your challenges, and your style.
Share Tabs
Once you’ve become the fastest troubleshooter on the team, help your buddies out. Export tabs from the Workspace Studio that that they can use in their own Engineer’s Toolset, whether to solve their own problems or to help you triangulate on a troublesome issue from different perspectives.
What's New in Engineer's Toolset
10.7
- Improved Toolset/Orion integration and security: communication
between Orion and Toolset is now secure via SSL and Toolset now
handles SNMPv3 credential transfers.
- Improved exporting: now you can export chart data, and table and
chart data export allows re-ordering and sorting. Additionally, MIB
Walk now exports to Net-SNMP format.
- Netflow Realtime tool now supports JFlow, SFlow, Netflow 9, and
AppFlow
- Many bug fixes and functionality tweaks
10.6
- Database Import to Workspace Studio – import
devices directly from Toolset NPM, Orion NPM, Network Sonar, Classic
Credential Manager, Access or Sequel databases.
- Firefox browser integration
10.5
New or Updated Gadgets for Workspace Studio:
- MIB Browser
- Routing Table Viewer
- SNMP Tester
New Features:
- New how-to videos allowing you to get the most out of Toolset
10.4
New or Updated Gadgets for Workspace Studio:
- Cisco® ACL Editor
- Cisco Config Compare
- Password Generator [Experimental]
- WMI Browser [Experimental]
New Features:
- SCP / SFTP Server
- Access to Workspace Studio gadgets from Solarwinds® Orion
products
- Advanced grouping and filtering in the device manager
- Device details panel now allows quick changes to one or more
devices without having to open another dialog
10.3
New Features:
- Ability to setup Workspace Studio tabs for troubleshooting
specific issues / devices
- Ability to drag devices onto Workspace Studio gadgets to
automatically launch gadgets
- Centralized credential management
- Full-screen mode added for Workspace Studio gadgets
- TFTP Server now allows subnet binding to one, all, or selected
subnets
- WAN Killer Gadget updated; this tool enables you to generate
simulated network traffic over your WAN and allows you to adjust the
packet size, circuit bandwidth, and the percentage of bandwidth
10.2
New or Updated Gadgets for Workspace Studio:
- MAC Finder Gadget – this gadget searches a list
of switches and discovers the IP address associated with a
particular MAC address
- Ping Sweep Gadget – this gadget now allows you
to add new devices by dragging them to the device tree
New Features:
- Workspace Studio now discovers interfaces for SNMPv1 devices
when the devices are set to not use SNMPv2
10.1
New or Updated Gadgets for Workspace Studio:
- CDP/LLDP Neighbor Map Gadget – this new gadget
helps you understand how your devices and their interfaces are
connected. Discover devices on your network using CDP and LLDP,
generate a topology map of network devices connected to a specific
target device or group of devices, and display each device and the
associated interfaces used to connect to neighboring devices.
Take a tour of the new version of Engineer’s Toolset with Solarwinds® Head Geek, Josh Stephens! He’ll show you some cool new features, including the new Workspace Studio, which allows you to cut network troubleshooting time in half.
Get a step-by-step overview of setting up custom workspaces with the new Workspace Studio!
Learn how to quickly isolate Internet connectivity issues using the new Workspace Studio!
Watch Solarwinds® Head Geek set up a workspace for troubleshooting LAN issues in minutes!
See why the Head Geek hearts classics like Watch It, IP Network Browser, & Switch Port Mapper!
System Requirements for Engineer's Toolset:
| CPU |
500MHz |
| Memory |
128MB |
| Hard Drive |
At least 640MB |
| Other |
Network card or modem required; sound card recommended, but not required. |
| Operating System (32-bit or 64-bit) |
Microsoft Windows 7, Vista, XP SP2, Server 2008 R2, Server 2003 SP1 and R2, and Server 2000 SP4. .Net Framework Version 2.0 or later. |
| Web Browser |
Internet Explorer 5.0 or later |
Engineer’s Toolset FAQ
Can Toolset monitor NetFlow?
Yes, the NetFlow Real-time tool captures and analyzes Cisco NetFlow data in real time to show you what kind of traffic is traveling through the network, where it's coming from, and where it's going. With the NetFlow Real-time tool, you can display inbound and outbound traffic separately for granular analysis and troubleshooting. You can even view the last 5 to 60 minutes of flow data broken out by applications, conversation, domains, endpoints, and protocols. That way you know exactly how your bandwidth is being used and by whom.
How does Toolset collect data?
Solarwinds® Toolset network management software applications use several methods to collect data about the health and performance of your network, including ICMP, SNMPv3, DNS and Syslog. Toolset does NOT require deployment of proprietary agents, appliances, or garden gnomes on the network.
How does Toolset store data?
As network engineers use Toolset network troubleshooting tools to gather diagnostic data from the network (e.g., in troubleshooting performance issues), this information is automatically stored in an embedded Access database for further analysis and reporting.
How do I work with tabs in the Workspace Studio?
To start a new tab, go to ‘tabs’ on the menu bar and choose ‘new tab.’ Right-click on a tab to bring up options (Import, Export, Rename, Save, Close). You can add tools to tabs from the Gadgets box in the lower left or directly from the gadgets menu. A good way to approach it is to collect all the tools you need for a given task (troubleshooting Internet connectivity, for example) on one tab. Next time you face that situation simply open that tab.
What is the difference between Toolset NPM and Orion?
While Engineer's Toolset provides detailed statistics collection for analysis, troubleshooting, and diagnostics, the embedded database is not intended for long-term monitoring of networks with more than 500 network elements and has a 2GB limit on stored data.
If you have a larger network and/or require data retention longer than 30 days, we highly recommend upgrading to Orion Network Performance Monitor (Orion NPM). Orion NPM is the perfect complement to Toolset's realtime network analysis and diagnostic capabilities. Orion NPM provides support for thousands of interfaces, virtually unlimited storage using a Microsoft SQL database backend, and includes a web-based interface to allow you and your entire team access to network availability and both realtime and historical statistics.
What is the difference between Toolset Cisco Config Tools and Orion Network Configuration Manager (NCM)?
Toolset Cisco Config Tools are focused on real-time configuration and troubleshooting of Cisco devices. Orion NCM extends Toolset’s real-time configuration management capabilities with multi-vendor device support, fully automated backup, real-time change detection with rollback, and policy management capabilities.
What is the difference between Toolset NetFlow Realtime and Orion NTA?
NetFlow Realtime is intended for granular, real-time troubleshooting and analysis of NetFlow statistics on single interface and is limited to a 1 hour capture. Orion NTA complements NetFlow Realtime with long-term historical analysis of NetFlow data (e.g., go back to a point in time when network issues occurred and perform analysis). Orion NTA also can monitor multiple routers simultaneously to give you a comprehensive view of traffic flow and bandwidth usage across your environment. For example, you might use Orion NTA to diagnose a network congestion issue on your network and then use NetFlow Realtime to perform detailed analysis and troubleshooting on a specific router interface.
Documentation
Datasheets & Guides