Are you looking for the ideal traffic generator for your organization? Apposite’s Netropy traffic generator is easier to use, better integrated, and more cost-effective than Ixia’s IxNetwork.
Experience the difference thousands of former Ixia customers are so excited about. Discover why Apposite’s Netropy traffic generator is a more modern and affordable network testing solution. Download the datasheet to learn more.
Download Datasheet
Get an overview of each of our Netropy Traffic Generation Solutions and compare key features and capabilities.
Traffic Generation Is an Essential Part of Network Testing
Networks are in a state of constant flux and traffic is often unpredictable. If your enterprise can’t maintain a fast, secure, reliable network connection across all devices, employees are often less productive.
Likewise, a slow or otherwise impaired customer-facing network can actively cost you valuable business by the minute. To provide reliable access to your network applications and ensure a consistent stream of data despite any network conditions, you need a robust network testing solution.
Unfortunately, many organizations have little to no visibility into how their network is performing. They only learn about problems related to bandwidth and latency when irate users call the help desk. By that point, you’ve already waited too long to fix the problem.
Apposite’s Netropy network traffic generator provides your organization with a clear understanding of end user experiences under varying traffic conditions. Our traffic generator inserts traffic via packets (imitating real users) into a network to test the performance and capacity of your devices, protocols, applications, security measures, and more.
That clarity enables organizations to manage networks proactively instead of reactively. Before a major network event occurs, you can see which applications and devices are working well under stress and which are underperforming — even before deployment.
But these results aren’t common with just any traffic generator. Free tools are unreliable, and plenty of outdated legacy systems like Ixia are cumbersome, expensive, and too difficult to learn.
Apposite’s Netropy streamlines traffic generation and network testing workflows by cutting through needless complications. With Netropy, even novice and non-technical staff can quickly and easily set up network tests.
A Close Look at Ixia and Apposite Traffic Generators
Deciding between Ixia IxNetwork and Apposite’s Netropy Traffic generator? Here’s a closer look at each:
Netropy Traffic Generator | Ixia Traffic Generator |
|---|---|
Intuitive Interface – Data input is simple. Employees in any department quickly create test cases with a 5-step, point-and-click wizard. | Cumbersome Interface – Ixia’s legacy solution is difficult and time-consuming to operate. Because their system is overly complex, creating test cases is needlessly difficult. |
Much Lower Cost than Ixia – Apposite includes all capabilities in one solution. No extra or hidden charges. | Expensive – Ixia customers pay as they go for each and every new feature. Need application level testing? You’ll have to pay extra for it. |
Specialized Focus – Apposite Technologies is not a jack-of-all-trades/expert-of-none organization. Traffic generation and network emulation are the core of our business. | Dispersed Approach – Ixia is part of a conglomerate that has multiple product lines. Traffic generation isn’t that high of a priority. |
Quick Deployment – Set up and run tests with Netropy within minutes. Reuse elements as needed. | Wasted Time – New test configurations take days or even longer to build. Every test must be designed and built from scratch. |
Enhance Productivity – Netropy’s high-level system shields users from system nuances, so they can run new test cases in minutes. | Special Training Required – Ixia’s system requires not only technical expertise but also specialized training for employees to use. |
A Complete Package – Netropy provides integrated layer 2 to 7 testing on a single platform. | Fragmented Solutions – Ixia’s features were not designed to work together. Customers need to pull the pieces together themselves. |
High Level of Automation – Apposite includes a library of 10K+ cyberthreats and thousands of pre-built application flows to test. | Manual Programming Required – All cyberthreats and application flows must be built from scratch. |
Comprehensive Support – Apposite’s dedicated customer service team has a deep understanding of traffic generation and network emulation — when you call for help you get intelligent advice (not just a help-desk article). | Hit or Miss Customer Support – Your call goes to an Ixia generalist who may be less familiar with traffic generation. Multiple calls are often needed to answer those queries. |
Why Apposite?
Our company designs its products specifically with network engineers in mind. We understand technology but are not beholden to it. We deliver practical solutions and products that anyone can use, not special purpose tools built only for technical experts.
In fact, we have broken down test generation into just five steps. Our wizard setup empowers untrained, unspecialized users, so they can create test cases in minutes. Compare this to Ixia solutions that often require advanced technical training to create application-level tests. Even then, test generation is an onerous, time-consuming process with Ixia.
At Apposite, we created a unified solution that delivers Layer 2 through 7 performance testing. All tests within Netropy are fully integrated and work with a common interface. No more jumping from one platform to another for testing workflows.
Netropy has a long list of differentiating features:
- Quickly analyze events on the network with detailed logs and custom reports.
- Support up to 1 million emulated clients with individual IP or MAC addresses.
- Capture and replay production network traffic whenever needed.
- Test performance at both ends of a connection: the client and the servers.
- Start small and easily move to larger deployments.
In sum, Apposite’s Netropy Traffic Generator provides a comprehensive and thorough way to test your network and applications before deploying them.
Apposite Netropy: The Better Traffic Generator
Ready to enhance your network’s performance? Apposite’s Netropy traffic generator is easy to use and empowers your team to spend more time on business needs and less on getting the solution to work.
Download the datasheet to discover how Apposite’s Netropy traffic generator empowers your organization to benchmark, troubleshoot, and optimize network and application performance.
Uncertainty Comes With Ixia
Customers need stability from their key suppliers — but Ixia can’t make that promise.
In 2017, Keysight acquired Ixia and has since rolled the product into its own extensive portfolio. Since then, the solution has been reduced to a low profile in the conglomerate’s product suite, and traffic generation is barely mentioned now on their product home page.
Keysight also outbid Viavi to purchase Spirent, another network traffic generator supplier, in March 2024. The Viavi offer has officially lapsed, leaving Keysight to acquire both Ixia and Spirent.
With two traffic generators in Keysight’s pocket, what is next for Ixia?
Keysight will likely combine the two lines to gain the economies of scale that come from an acquisition. But how will the two be integrated? How will each customer base be treated? How much longer will Ixia products be supported? These are open questions.
Merging two suppliers’ technical, sales, and support is never easy. Taking that step and then fitting traffic generation into Keysight product portfolio (a mashup of special purpose solutions) represents significant upheaval. The only given is that Ixia customers will have to adjust to the changes. Ixia’s investments will likely center more on making the business case work by retooling the workforce, but research and development efforts may go underfunded.
With the acquisition, it’s also likely that Keysight staff will only have surface-level expertise for Ixia solutions.
Apposite’s Rich Traffic Generation History
Our company has been in the network testing and engineering business since 2005, and traffic generation and network emulation have always been our primary focus. We are not distracted by other lines of business vying for attention and approval.
We invest heavily in research and development and our solutions continue to lead the industry. From inception, we’ve built our products to work together. Our customers can create network tech stacks without getting bogged down connecting different elements or jumping between platforms to perform network testing workflows. With Apposite’s Netropy Traffic Generator, you can focus solely on what happens on your network — not figuring out the tech or training people to use it.
Our team members have worked in network technology for decades. With their years of industry experience, our specialists offer intelligent technical support for any networking problem you face.
SOLUTION: Netropy Traffic Generator
Need a simple way to create network tests? Netropy is the obvious choice.
- Non-technical employees can create tests in minutes.
- Wizard-driven configuration enables you to follow five simple steps and generate comprehensive test cases
- Test at speeds up to 100 Gbps
- Create repeatable results with our ironclad testing process
- Flexibly run simple or complex tests
- Run the software on virtual machines
- Use up to 8 ports
Network Traffic Generator Applications
Benchmark the raw packet level performance of networks and devices with classical performance measurements
Capture, reproduce, and amplify production traffic in a controlled lab environment
Optimize the performance and functionality of application-aware devices and systems
Evaluate the session holding capabilities of stateful network devices and servers
Simplified Traffic Generation for Enterprise Complexities
Who knows what will happen to Ixia as they fully merge with Keysight? Protect your network and choose the company that builds better traffic generators and other network testing tools today — and will be for several decades to come.
The future of network testing is here: Netropy Traffic Generator by Apposite Technologies. More than 3,000 of the world’s leading enterprises, service providers, technology vendors, and government agencies already use Netropy for network testing. Our products support mission-critical networks and applications without the needless complexity of legacy products like Ixia.
Download the datasheet for Apposite’s Netropy Traffic Generator to learn why so many businesses rely on our modern traffic generation solution.
Want to see Netropy traffic generation in action? Request a demo to discover how Netropy can improve your team’s workflows right away.