Batfish vs PingPlotter

Batfish is an open-source tool for analyzing network device configurations and validating network behavior. It works from configuration files, so core analysis does not require direct access to network devices. Teams can inspect deployed configurations and check planned changes before deployment. Checks cover undefined references, MTU and AAA settings, template compliance, sensitive-service reachability and expected traffic paths. Batfish can test whether end-to-end reachability survives any single-link or single-device failure, compare current and planned reachability, assess ACL or firewall changes and evaluate functional equivalence across vendors. Pybatfish provides a Python 3 SDK, and example Jupyter notebooks are available. An all-in-one Docker container bundles Batfish and notebooks. It runs on operating systems supporting Docker. Documented support includes Arista, AWS, Azure, Cisco, Juniper, Palo Alto Networks and SONiC, while Aruba, Dell Force10 and Foundry have limited support.

PingPlotter monitors network performance and maps network paths to help locate connection problems. It tracks latency, jitter and packet loss, with desktop editions monitoring connections from one Windows or macOS computer. PingPlotter Cloud adds an online dashboard for remote connections, while Insights analyzes network data for incidents, possible causes and fixes. Cloud alert actions can make REST calls to services including Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Chat and JIRA. Webhooks can report agent status or connection-quality changes and link to compatible apps through services such as Zapier and Power Automate. Desktop editions have a 14-day trial; afterward, the free version allows one connection, no remote collection and 10 minutes of monitoring history. Cloud trials last seven days. The free plan is free. Standard Edition starts at $6.99/mo.; Professional Edition is $29 a month, and PingPlotter Cloud is $90 a month. Platforms listed include Windows, macOS, Linux, web and iOS.