Mininet vs PingPlotter
Mininet
mininet.org
PingPlotter
pingplotter.comSide by side
| Figure | Mininet | PingPlotter |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $6.99/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 6 |
| Spec score · Network Testing Software | 8.6 (#4) | 8.8 (#2) |
| Integrations | The recommended Mininet VM includes OpenFlow binaries and tools, and Mininet supports Open vSwitch and multiple OpenFlow controllers. | REST-call alerts can post to Slack, Microsoft Teams or Google Chat and create Jira tickets. |
| Intended users | The project describes Mininet as useful for development, teaching, and research. | The maker presents Standard for home network troubleshooting, Professional for small office networks, and Cloud for remote teams. |
| Support | The project directs users to its FAQ, documentation, and mininet-discuss mailing list for support and discussion. | PingPlotter directs users to its support team for help with downloads, licenses, and product questions. |
| What it does | Mininet is a network emulator that creates virtual hosts, switches, controllers, and links on one machine. | PingPlotter traces routes to network targets and continuously graphs latency and packet loss to help locate connection problems. |
Plans
PingPlotter
- FreeFree
- Standard$6.99 a month
- Professional$29 a month
- Professional Edition$29 a month
- PingPlotter Cloud$90 a month
- Standard EditionPrice not published
In their own words
Mininet
Mininet is a free network emulator that creates virtual hosts, switches, controllers and links on one machine. Its hosts run standard Linux network software on the real Linux kernel and network stack, while switches support OpenFlow. The project describes uses including research, development, learning, prototyping, testing and debugging, including experiments with SDN systems using OpenFlow and P4. A topology-aware and OpenFlow-aware command-line interface supports debugging and network-wide tests. Users can select parameterized topologies or create custom ones, and an extensible Python API supports network creation and experimentation. Mininet networks can connect to real networks, and code developed in Mininet can move to real systems with minimal changes. Installation options include a pre-packaged virtual machine, native installation from source and packages for recent Ubuntu or Debian 11 and later; Fedora support is experimental. Mininet depends on the Linux kernel, while its VM can run through VMware or VirtualBox on Mac, Windows and Linux. Its networks are constrained by a single server's CPU and bandwidth, and it cannot currently run non-Linux-compatible OpenFlow switches or applications. Mininet is released under a permissive BSD open source license.
PingPlotter
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.