Observer GigaStor vs Wireshark comparison

Read 63 Wireshark reviews

3,127 Views
1,407 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Observer GigaStor

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 11, 2024

Wireshark and Observer GigaStor are leading network analysis tools. Wireshark is favored for its pricing and ease of deployment, while Observer GigaStor stands out for its advanced features, making it worth the investment for many users.

Features: Wireshark is praised for its comprehensive packet analysis capabilities, ease of use, and strong community support. Observer GigaStor offers extensive storage, sophisticated network monitoring features, and the ability to handle larger datasets.

Room for Improvement: Users suggest Wireshark could benefit from enhanced packet filtering, improved reporting mechanisms, and better integration with third-party tools. For Observer GigaStor, feedback indicates a need for better integration with third-party tools, a more streamlined configuration process, and enhanced user documentation.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Wireshark is known for its straightforward deployment and community support. Observer GigaStor's deployment is more complex, but users report responsive customer service.

Pricing and ROI: Wireshark is often chosen for its cost-effectiveness, especially in smaller environments. Observer GigaStor is more expensive but justifies the cost with feature-rich offerings and better long-term ROI for larger networks.

To learn more, read our detailed Observer GigaStor vs. Wireshark Report (Updated: March 2026).

Observer GigaStor vs. Wireshark

March 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 884,873 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Observer GigaStor

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

14th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Monitoring Software (86th), Network Packet Broker (NPB) (9th)

Wireshark

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

4th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Network Troubleshooting category, the mindshare of Observer GigaStor is 3.1%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Wireshark is 14.3%, up from 12.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Troubleshooting Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Wireshark	14.3%
Observer GigaStor	3.1%
Other	82.6%

Network Troubleshooting

Featured Reviews

Jeroen-Dubbelman

Director at Bitrate

Aids significantly in the threat-hunting process and provides a score-based evaluation of user experience

There are many valuable features, but understanding end-user response times stands out. It provides a score-based evaluation of user experience, helping customers quickly pinpoint whether issues originate from the network, server, client, or application. Additionally, it facilitates in-depth analysis of application dependencies. The retrospective network analysis capability of Observer GigaStor has been beneficial. It's a pivotal feature for network performance solutions. However, I prefer to consider the entire solution suite - GigaStor, along with GigaFlow and Apex - for comprehensive network visibility and monitoring. So, I prefer to integrate all three solutions to provide the best visibility. They complement each other well, with Apex aggregating and correlating data from both GigaStor and GigaFlow to enhance environmental understanding and troubleshooting efficiency.

Read full review

Vijay Duggal

Network Specialist at Squarepoint Capital

Provides detailed traffic analysis and helps troubleshoot issues

There is a disadvantage when it comes to sampling intervals. While the solution supports sampling as fine as one millisecond, it requires a copy at that interval. My Python script allows me to achieve a granularity of up to ten microseconds, but I can't go beyond that. When dealing with provisioning on both issues, it would be beneficial if I could go down to the microsecond level, if not the nanosecond. Additionally, I've heard from a colleague that Wireshark might be less effective in the voice domain.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"It's able to capture packets and, after a long time, you can come and use that information; to check, to analyze - everything you would want to do. So it's very good and helpful if you want to protect your data. It is stored in a certain place where you can access it every time you want to analyze it."

"This solution allows us to see exactly what is going on in the network and we can very quickly solve issues with users."

"Go take a look at it. It's a great product and has great capabilities."

"I also have the ability to see an application's performance, to see what's going on, why a network is slow, why this program for this user is experiencing a delay or some network issue"

"It can help to write your rules, organize firewalls, your block, and also your protocols and IP address to come in or out of your network."

"Industry-leading line rates, packet-capture technology and data-mining capabilities are the most valuable features."

"Enables us to go back in time to capture an issue and analyze it for a solution, and this after the fact analysis is key to overcoming the bump in the night issues."

"There are many valuable features, but understanding end-user response times stands out. It provides a score-based evaluation of user experience, helping customers quickly pinpoint whether issues originate from the network, server, client, or application. Additionally, it facilitates in-depth analysis of application dependencies."

More Observer GigaStor pros

"The best part about Wireshark, in my opinion, is its ability to analyze packet capture files."

"The strongest feature of this solution, is the ability it gives us to carry out deep-packet inspections on our network, particularly when a function isn't performing as it should."

"The options that are required to get the details for the packet drops are good."

"It is free, easy to use, getting better with every release."

"The best thing about Wireshark is the community/ecosystem."

"Wireshark is incredibly powerful, user-friendly, and a free tool, which is capable of live capture and offline analysis of traffic on any size network."

"It gives us the ability to pinpoint problems and to communicate network problems with software and hardware vendors."

"The GUI is easy to use."

More Wireshark pros

Cons

"The interface is pretty complex, so for the average user, it takes a while to get up to speed with it. I would like it to be more user-friendly."

"There are some issues, in our environment that puts processing restraints on the Gigastor when turning on trending data to be sent to APEX."

"Maybe the graphical user interface could be simplified to allow people to use it more easily. It's already good, but they can work more on it to make it even easier."

"GigaStor feeds into Apex. So, the area where there could be improvement would be in artificial intelligence. For example, the incorporation of more advanced machine learning or AI capabilities could enhance its functionality."

"The Observer Console UI is consistent and stable, but could use some updating to be more modern."

"I would like to have more than 4TB of storage available in the portable version of this solution."

"Graphics need improvement. Because a lot of the information there you have to input first in some case to have full potential. It could be more automated."

"You need good network connectivity to download during the setup, otherwise, it might take a while."

"It is easy to get overwhelmed with the amount of data you are looking at."

"This product needs to improve the UI."

"Wireshark is restricted when any sort of encryption is involved, such as XSL encryption or DLX."

"Whenever we select one of the packets, in terms of the number of bytes, for example, there are three planes, and in the detailed plane, I have to count the number of bytes manually."

"The Wireshark search function shows green for a correct search and red for an incorrect search. If there were a way to provide a description about what a search - and the similar ones which are available - can do, while a person is typing it, it would make the product easier to use and simultaneously decrease the learning curve."

"It is not an easy program. You will need to study to use it to its full capabilities (follow a course)."

"Wireshark could be improved with a delay option when getting data automatically."

More Wireshark cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It depends on the requirements you have. There are three types of license. There's the updates license, the work group license, and the workstation license."

"It's quite expensive."

"Wireshark is open source and gives great value and functionality to the network investigation."

"I am using the free version of this solution."

"It is an open-source solution."

"It is free."

"Wireshark is free software, so you don't have to pay any licensing fee. Individual people can use it and then donate to Wireshark."

"It is free to download and install. It runs on multiple platforms, so how can you go wrong?"

"We're using the free version of Wireshark."

"It's free."

More Wireshark pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Troubleshooting solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Wholesaler/Distributor

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

University

11%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Large Enterprise	3

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	31
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	27

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Observer GigaStor?

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Observer GigaStor?

I would rate the pricing a ten out of ten. It's quite expensive.

What needs improvement with Observer GigaStor?

GigaStor feeds into Apex. So, the area where there could be improvement would be in artificial intelligence. For example, the incorporation of more advanced machine learning or AI capabilities coul...

What do you like most about Wireshark?

The GUI is easy to use.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Wireshark?

Wireshark is priced at a medium range, not too high, not too low. The pricing could be more flexible, and they might make it more expensive. That said, compared to other products, it is competitive.

What needs improvement with Wireshark?

The speed of the Internet could be improved, especially its performance. Performance can sometimes be a challenge due to numerous factors.

Gigamon Deep Observability Pipeline vs Observer GigaStor

Comparisons

Compared 9% of the time

Viavi Observer Platform vs Observer GigaStor

Compared 9% of the time

NETSCOUT nGeniusONE vs Observer GigaStor

Compared 7% of the time

IxChariot vs Observer GigaStor

Compared 7% of the time

NetBeez vs Observer GigaStor

Compared 7% of the time

More Observer GigaStor Competitors

Microsoft Network Monitor vs Wireshark

Compared 9% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs Wireshark

Compared 8% of the time

AirMagnet Survey PRO vs Wireshark

Compared 8% of the time

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer vs Wireshark

Compared 7% of the time

Broadcom Network Flow Analysis vs Wireshark

Compared 5% of the time

More Wireshark Competitors

Product Reports

Download Observer GigaStor product report

Observer GigaStor

March 2026

Download Wireshark product report

February 2026

Overview

Observer GigaStor is a network analysis tool that comes in a variety of form factors, including rack mount, portable, and virtual. Capable of storing up to a petabyte of traffic for later analysis, GigaStor helps ensure optimal network and application performance.

Viavi Solutions

Wireshark is the world's foremost network protocol analyzer.

Sample Customers

Cisco Systems, Hawaiian Telecom, Renown Health, State of Nevada, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Allstate Insurance, Jack Henry & Associates, United States Airforce, US Bank, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Chicago Board Options Exchange

Comversion, ADP, Talbots