Riverbed NetProfiler
Network monitoring software
Monitoring software
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- Ease of management
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What is Riverbed NetProfiler
Riverbed NetProfiler is a network performance monitoring and traffic analysis product that uses flow data (for example, NetFlow, sFlow, and IPFIX) to provide visibility into bandwidth usage, application traffic patterns, and network conversations. It is used by network operations teams to troubleshoot performance issues, investigate anomalous traffic, and support capacity planning across WAN, data center, and campus networks. The product focuses on flow-based analytics and reporting rather than host-based instrumentation, and it is commonly deployed alongside flow exporters and packet capture tools.
Flow-based traffic visibility
NetProfiler analyzes network flow records to summarize who is talking to whom, over which applications and ports, and how much bandwidth is consumed. This approach scales well for broad network visibility without requiring agents on servers or endpoints. It supports common flow standards, which helps integrate with a wide range of routers, switches, and flow-capable appliances.
Strong for capacity planning
The product provides historical reporting and trending on utilization and top talkers, which supports capacity planning and link sizing decisions. Flow-derived baselines help teams compare current behavior to prior periods and identify growth patterns. This is particularly useful in WAN and inter-site environments where bandwidth is a constrained resource.
Network-centric troubleshooting workflows
NetProfiler is designed around network operations use cases such as identifying congested links, isolating high-bandwidth applications, and investigating unexpected traffic sources. It can reduce time to isolate whether an issue is network-traffic-related versus an application/server issue by providing conversation-level context. For organizations that already export flows broadly, it can centralize analysis and reporting.
Limited deep application insight
Because it relies primarily on flow telemetry, NetProfiler typically cannot provide the same depth of application code-level diagnostics as agent-based observability platforms. Flow records may not capture end-to-end transaction timing, database call details, or application exceptions. Teams often need complementary tools for full-stack root cause analysis.
Depends on flow data quality
Accuracy and completeness depend on correct configuration of flow exporters and the sampling rates used on network devices. Sampling, NAT, asymmetric routing, or incomplete exporter coverage can reduce fidelity for certain investigations. Organizations may need additional engineering effort to standardize flow export across the network.
Operational overhead and licensing
Deploying and maintaining a dedicated flow-analytics platform can add infrastructure and administrative overhead compared with consolidated monitoring suites. Costs can increase with higher flow volumes, longer retention requirements, or additional modules. Some organizations may find overlapping functionality with existing monitoring and log analytics tools.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan / Model | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| NetProfiler-F1 | Contact Riverbed Sales | Physical appliance; up to 200,000 flows per minute (fpm); 2U base unit; field-upgradeable. |
| NetProfiler-F2 | Contact Riverbed Sales | Physical appliance; up to 400,000 fpm. |
| NetProfiler-F3 | Contact Riverbed Sales | Physical appliance; up to 600,000 fpm. |
| NetProfiler-F4 | Contact Riverbed Sales | Physical appliance; up to 800,000 fpm. |
| NetProfiler-F5 | Contact Riverbed Sales | Physical appliance; up to 1,000,000 fpm. |
| NetProfiler-v-F1 to NetProfiler-v-F10 (virtual) | Contact Riverbed Sales | Virtual/VM options: F1 15,000 fpm up to F10 2,000,000 fpm (various capacity tiers). |
| Enterprise NetProfiler (cluster + Expansion modules) | Contact Riverbed Sales | Minimum 1,000,000 fpm; scalable with Expansion modules (each adds ~1,000,000 fpm) up to ~10,000,000 fpm; supports ~20,000 hosts per module (vendor guidance). |
| Option licenses / add-ons | Contact Riverbed Sales | Optional licenses for SAN support, software-defined network analysis, and other feature options; capacity licenses apply for flow rates. |
Notes: All pricing and purchase information on the vendor site indicates contacting Riverbed sales or requesting a demo; no public dollar amounts or time-based subscription prices were found on Riverbed's official product or support pages.
Seller details
Riverbed Technology, LLC
San Francisco, CA, USA
2002
Private
https://www.riverbed.com/
https://x.com/riverbed
https://www.linkedin.com/company/riverbed-technology/
