Documentation forEngineer's Toolset for the Desktop

Introduction to Engineer's Toolset for the Desktop

The SolarWinds Engineer's Toolset for the Desktop (ETS for the Desktop) provides the tools you need as a network engineer or a network consultant to help you get your job done. ETS for the Desktop includes solutions that provide precise diagnostic, performance, and bandwidth measurements.

Engineer's Toolset for the Desktop is a standalone application that can be installed on a network engineer's workstation.

Many ETS for the Desktop tools monitor some aspect of a device, or group of devices, on your network. These tools collect information by using the SNMP protocol. Make sure that all devices that you want to collect information from have SNMP properly configured.

Key features of ETS for the Desktop

ETS for the Desktop includes more than 60 tools designed to help troubleshoot networking issues. For more information about the tools, see Engineer's Toolset for the Desktop tools. Together, these tools provide the following functionality.

Performance monitoring

Network performance monitoring is a critical component of a complete network management toolset. With ETS for the Desktop, you receive several tools that provide the ability to monitor everything from the traffic on a single port to the response time and availability of every server in your network. Several tools also provide graphical reporting and trending capabilities.

IP address management

Management of IP addresses is a complex task. With the current rate of growth of many companies, it is often difficult to eliminate errors, much less go back and clean up addresses on decommissioned equipment. The IP address management tools from ETS for the Desktop were designed with speed and ease of use in mind.

MIB browsing

Using the MIB browser tools, you can view MIB values a number of different ways: you can browse through different MIB values on a device, display all MIB values, or find just one specific value. With more than 400,000 MIBs in the SolarWinds MIB database, you can view virtually any statistic stored on your network devices.

Diagnostic tools

ETS for the Desktop includes several diagnostic tools to evaluate network problems. You can analyze your DNS settings, graph response times, trace TCP and IP routes, Ping devices from a remote router and more.

Locate, organize, and access the tools

ETS for the Desktop includes two desktop-based applications to help you access the tools:

  • Toolset Launch Pad gives you central access to all of the Engineer's Toolset for the Desktop tools and helps you find the right tool for the job.

  • Workspace Studio helps you gather and organize the tools that you use regularly for easy access.

The difference between Engineer's Toolset for the Desktop and Engineer's Toolset for the Web

In addition to Engineer's Toolset for the Desktop, SolarWinds also offers a second version: Engineer's Toolset for the Web. While Engineer's Toolset for the Desktop is a stand-alone desktop application, Engineer's Toolset for the Web is a SolarWinds Platform product. Like all SolarWinds Platform products, it is accessed through the SolarWinds Platform Web Console. It can be integrated with other SolarWinds Platform products.

The two versions of Engineer's Toolset are fundamentally different, with different requirements and different functionality. They do not depend on each other or interact.

Purchasing Engineer's Toolset gives you full licensed access to both Engineer's Toolset for the Desktop and Engineer's Toolset for the Web. If you're evaluating Engineer's Toolset, you can use both versions without restriction during the 14-day evaluation period.