Want an all-encompassing freeware application that includes a plethora of necessary network admin tools? Who am I kidding? The real answer to that question is who doesn’t want something like that? A lot of times, especially when it comes to free software, you only have one or two admin tools at your disposal. It’s rare to see everything you need compiled in a single application, even more so if the related software is free. NetToolset is an incredibly powerful network admin suite for Windows that includes tools like Ping, Traceroute, DNS lookup, IP WhoIs and more.

What is it and what does it do

Main Functionality

If NetToolset offers everything as promised, then you won’t have to jump between several different software toolsets in order to monitor various network stats anymore. Most of the related network admin tools are only available in one place or another. NetToolset includes a pretty convenient list of tools like Ping, Traceroute, DNS lookup, reverse DNS lookup, IP WhoIs, Domain WhoIs, and a port scanner.

Pros

• Simple, efficient and very easy to use
• Includes a comprehensive list of network admin tools
  • Ping tool
  • Traceroute
  • DNS lookup
  • Reverse DNS
  • IP and domain WhoIs
  • Port scan tool (IP or domain)
• Eliminates the need for the command prompt in most cases
• Relatively light on resources

Cons

• The application saves form data, but it would be nice if you could save result logs

Discussion

With any comprehensive application like this the driving factor is the overall usability. If the UI is shoddy or the various tools aren’t easily accessible then it will cause a lot of issues. Luckily, NetToolset is really easy to use. The different tools each have their own separate tab, all of which are clearly labeled. The application is great for both casual and power users. Some of the tools even eliminate the need for the command prompt, which is certainly welcome.

The ping tool for example, can check for packet loss and network response times via a graphical UI. Normally, you would need to open a command prompt and enter the appropriate network commands manually.

Casual users would benefit greatly from the NetToolset software, because it helps simplify all the related commands and functions as you can see from my explanation of the ping tool.

I’m not going to cover what each tool does individually, the tab labels pretty much say it all. Hopefully, and especially if you plan on using NetToolset, you at least know some of the basic network queries and what they are used for.

The WhoIs lookups will essentially let you identify the WhoIs information for a particular domain. The port scan tool will analyze a user specified domain and offer up a list of open and closed ports (you can also query an IP address instead of a domain).

That’s pretty much it, there are no advanced options to configure and no settings to play with. As soon as you open the application you have instant access to the entire toolset. For that matter, there are no advertisements or bloatware packages to content with, either during the install process or while using the app.

For reference, NetToolset uses about 13,000KB of RAM while running.

Conclusion and download link

Whether you’re a casual user or a power user it doesn’t matter, both types will get equal use out of NetToolset. It pretty much eliminates the need for the command prompt, at least when it comes to network stat queries. Needless to say, it’s pretty convenient especially if you’re constantly using the various network admin tools. If you’re looking for a simple yet comprehensive network admin toolset, I certainly recommend giving this one a try.

Price: Free

Version reviewed: 1.1.3

Supported OS: Windows (XP, Vista, Seven, Eight)

Download size: 13.5MB

VirusTotal malware scan results: 0/46

Is it portable? No

NetToolset homepage