Cacti vs SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager

Cacti is a free, self-hosted network graphing and operational monitoring framework built around RRDtool. It collects data through SNMP object identifiers or scripts, which can retrieve database information or run other code. Availability checks cover SNMP, ICMP, TCP, and UDP. Discovery and automation can create graphs and data sources, while Remote Data Collectors distribute collection and cache data during network interruptions. Graph items support line, area, stacked, horizontal-rule, vertical-rule, print, and comment types. Device templates connect devices with graph templates and data queries, and plugins can extend collection to other protocols, with WMI listed as an example. Role-based management covers users, groups, and domains. Cacti supports SNMP versions 1, 2, and 3, with a documented limitation for advanced SNMPv3 settings such as SHA224+ or AES192+ when PHP SNMP is used. It is available for Linux/Unix and Windows. Installation requires MySQL, PHP, RRDtool, Net-SNMP, and a PHP-capable web server such as Apache or IIS.

SoftPerfect Bandwidth Manager monitors network traffic and applies bandwidth limits and quality-of-service rules. Administrators can target IP or MAC addresses, ports, protocols, and network interfaces, then set prioritized bidirectional rate and usage limits. Configuration can be centralized at one network location, and end users usually do not need client software. Quotas, scheduling, email notifications, reports, and a live usage monitor help track traffic. Enterprise adds deep packet inspection for detecting IM, P2P file sharing, gaming, and media streaming. Remote management uses a Windows GUI console connecting over TCP port 8701; the vendor says there is no web-based management interface. The product's stated purpose is Windows network management, and version 3.3.0 added Windows ARM64 support while setting Windows 10 as the minimum. The free Lite plan allows five rules or streams. Paid perpetual licences range from $49, paid once to $4,500, paid once and include one year of free updates. The vendor describes compatibility with Microsoft ISA Server and Internet Connection Sharing.