OptiView XG [EOL] vs Wireshark comparison

NETSCOUT and Wireshark are both solutions in the Network Troubleshooting category. Additionally, 89% of NETSCOUT users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Wireshark users who would recommend it.

OptiView XG [EOL]

Read 38 OptiView XG [EOL] reviews

89% willing to recommend

Wireshark

Read 63 Wireshark reviews

5,261 Views
3,051 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

OptiView XG [EOL]

Wireshark

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between OptiView XG [EOL] and Wireshark based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Auvik, Wireshark, NetAlly and others in Network Troubleshooting.

To learn more, read our detailed Network Troubleshooting Report (Updated: May 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Network Troubleshooting

May 2026

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Helped 893,221 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

OptiView XG [EOL]

Average Rating

8.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Wireshark

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Troubleshooting (2nd)

Featured Reviews

Mark_Walker

President at Bitwise Micro

A valuable, impressive, and portable product that saves time and has great scalability and stability

It just saves time. We have run into situations where contractors come in, and they plug in a WiFi device that is handing out DHCP addresses, which affects the rest of the network. To be able to quickly identify from where the problem is originating, you need a network tool that can identify the device that is doing this. It just brings into clear focus the exact issue when there is a problem or outage. When there is a crisis and you've several people wanting to know an estimate of when things are going to be back up and running again, you need to have answers. I have been at places that didn't have a tool like that. I know one place that had an outage for almost a week, and it was craziness. It turned out to be just a bad cable. That's all it was. They were having trouble with their email server, which was an on-premise email server, but emails were taking six hours to appear. The whole problem was because of a bad network cable. When I plugged in the Fluke analyzer, it analyzed and told me immediately that there were transmission errors on this one port from one switch. It told me this within 10 minutes. It is an incredible product.

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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

"The packet capture feature is valuable when there's a troubleshooting issue, and since this is a data center, there are thousands of servers and users."

"The most valuable feature of this product is the sniffer, where we can troubleshoot user connections by identifying the source and destination, to try to get to the root cause."

"It's the one product that we go to when we have a problem or need to get information, because it can do so much."

"In this way, I think OptiView XG is the best all in one solution."

"I think it cuts down the time to resolution drastically for an environment that would not have the ability to do these packet captures."

"It allows us to be able to troubleshoot, predominantly in the field, with the tools that we would normally have in the lab."

"It's worth a shot. Give it a try. Definitely a product worth considering."

"It is a very valuable tool. It goes out and does a discovery, which is a great process of it. You could have something like a rogue DHCP server, and it will identify it, and then you can see to which switch port it is connected. It is quite an impressive tool. I really liked it because you didn't have to install an agent on anything. It would just go out and do its discovery. For me, that's great."

More OptiView XG [EOL] pros

"Wireshark has a lot of features. It's a powerful tool if you're familiar with it. You can see everything on the network with it."

"Wireshark has a tool called tshark that can parse the files without opening them so that you can take large captures, say 2-10GB, and return only relevant information."

"I find Wireshark a very useful tool. Its best feature is that it allows me to deeply understand what's going on at the packet level, as well as any adverse signatures that I can analyze."

"I use this free, open-source solution daily for packet analysis, and the packet details pane is particularly valuable."

"Wireshark's best feature is that it's adaptive, which means it's the go-to tool for network-related developers."

"Wireshark is a dynamic software that has developed and adapted to the latest technology advancements and network challenges."

"It has a good syntax to put the commands in and get information out of."

"Being able to dissect email data and figure out what is inside email messages was the most valuable feature."

More Wireshark pros

Cons

"I think that the maintenance is ridiculous on some of the products, including OptiView."

"I had some problems generating reports."

"Ease of updating, automated updating. Basically, based on the unit right now, maybe get it to be a little bit smaller, lighter."

"I would like a built-in tap feature which doesn't interfere with the network, and it allows you to see what is happening there."

"I think that the discovery of a network can be improved if the OptiView would recognize more kinds of devices independent of the manufacturer."

"The price could come down quite a bit."

"Maybe the licensing could come down; the price could come down a little bit, that would be kind of nice. I think it's a little bit expensive, but as far as functionality goes, I'm not too sure about any room for improvement; I'm not the one that uses it every day."

"With the cost it's hard to justify having more than one in our school."

More OptiView XG [EOL] cons

"It needs the ability to follow multiple interfaces for specific traffic from different network zones/virtual networks. It would help to understand how any packet is going through the network."

"We'd like to be able to extract the output into an Excel table."

"The speed of the Internet could be improved, especially its performance."

"Built-in help system is not robust."

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

"The average person would probably find Wireshark hard to use. When I first installed it, I was overwhelmed by all the data it was shooting out. It doesn't make sense until you start doing some research and figure out what everything means. It isn't the most user-friendly tool. It just provides so much information."

"The solution has a steep learning curve. There are so many filters and features that are frequently being updated, it takes research, experience and familiarity to be able to use them. It could be a lot more user-friendly."

"I have not used Wireshark to an advanced point where I could provide a detailed opinion on improvements needed."

More Wireshark cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its price was a bit excessive. The device that I had died. It is under warranty, and they want $20,000 for another one. I just don't want to spend that kind of money, so I'm trying to find an alternate solution. They have annual maintenance on it, which probably was 10% a year, so it all starts to add up."

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

"Wireshark is open-source and free of charge."

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

"We are using a freeware version of this solution, so there are no licence costs involved."

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

"It is an open-source solution."

"It's a stand-alone tool. If there is a commercial license for it I am unaware of it."

"Wireshark is free software, so you can download it and use it for free with no licensing fees."

More Wireshark pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

11%

Non Profit

10%

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

University

11%

Financial Services Firm

Healthcare Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	26

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

Questions from the Community

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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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Wireshark?

We are using Wireshark for inspecting the vertical line to know the data flow in and out of the cables. This is to determine if there is real traffic flow through the physical connections or not. A...

See all answers

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Compared 7% of the time

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Compared 7% of the time

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Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

OptiView XG [EOL]

April 2026

Download OptiView XG [EOL] product report

Buyer's Guide

Wireshark

April 2026

Download Wireshark product report

Overview

OptiView XG is the first network analysis tablet designed specifically for the network engineer. It combines critical functions necessary to automate root-cause analysis of both wired and wireless network performance issues – whether network or application related to reduce time for problem identification. OptiView XG supports repeatable, effective troubleshooting – whether pre- or post-deployment.

NETSCOUT

Wireshark offers robust packet analysis through comprehensive filtering and color-coding features, adaptable across platforms due to its open-source nature. It supports real-time and offline packet captures, multiple protocols, and easy installation, making it a favored tool for network experts.

Renowned for its traffic decryption capabilities and detailed traffic insights, Wireshark provides deep packet inspection and a simple GUI. Ideal for network troubleshooting, it allows users to view VoIP traffic and perform advanced customizations. While Wireshark's interface can be complex and challenging for newcomers, its powerful features make it invaluable in identifying network issues, inspecting protocols, and understanding data flow across wired and wireless environments. Users seek more intuitive filters, better Windows and non-laptop support, as well as features like real-time evolution and graphical analysis tools to enhance usability. Wireshark's wide application includes security research, protocol analysis, and application performance baselining, supporting both on-premises and cloud-based operations.

What are Wireshark's standout features?

Filtering and Color-Coding: Enables detailed packet analysis.
Real-Time and Offline Captures: Supports both capture modes for comprehensive network monitoring.
Traffic Decryption: Provides detailed insights into encrypted traffic.
Deep Packet Inspection: Delivers granular network data examination.
GUI Simplicity: Ensures ease of use despite complex capabilities.

What benefits and ROI should users evaluate?

Network Troubleshooting: Streamlines identification and resolution of network issues.
Protocol Inspection: Facilitates in-depth examination of network communication protocols.
Traffic Monitoring: Ensures effective monitoring of network traffic in real time.
Security Research: Assists in uncovering malicious traffic and vulnerabilities.
Application Performance: Aids in baselining and optimizing app performance.

Wireshark is implemented across industries to manage and troubleshoot networks, analyze traffic flow, and ensure secure, efficient communication. It supports research and security operations, providing insights into protocol usage and application performance across physical and virtual environments. Its deployment spans education, telecommunications, finance, and healthcare, underpinning connectivity and data integrity.

Wireshark

Sample Customers

XG is used in all industries. Example customers include: Republic National Distributing Company, Titelive, CitiGroup, Los Angeles Unified School District, Saudi German Hospital, DeKalb County Schools, Valdosta State University, The Everett Clinic, Bio-Reference, Miami-Dade Library, Mitel, Borsa Istanbul, Cimarex, Air National Guard Lowndes County, High Point City, Carrollton City Schools, Kern County, Pruitt Communications and Bosch Group.

Comversion, ADP, Talbots

Buyer's Guide

Network Troubleshooting

May 2026

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Find out what your peers are saying about Auvik, Wireshark, NetAlly and others in Network Troubleshooting. Updated: May 2026.

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