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Easy Installation and Configuration: Many users have found the installation, configuration, and use of Solarwinds Network Configuration …
Overview
What is SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM)?
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is network diagnostics and troubleshooting technology, from Austin-based SolarWinds.
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Product Details
- About
- Integrations
- Competitors
- Tech Details
- Downloadables
- FAQs
What is SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM)?
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) can help save time and improve network
reliability and security by managing configurations, changes, and compliance for routers,
switches, and other network devices.
Network Configuration Manager enables IT Pros with:
Network Configuration Manager enables IT Pros with:
- Out-of-the-box support for major network device vendors, including Cisco®, Juniper®, HP®, Huawei®, F5®, Avaya®, Ruckus®, and more.
- Automated bulk deployment of standardized device configs.
- Automatic backups of device configurations, and rollback to the last-known good configurations, if necessary.
- Identifying IOS® devices with potential vulnerabilities, utilizing the NIST CVE repository service, and even provides the tools to manage the investigation, remediation, or waiver of each vulnerability.
- Auditing device configs for NIST FISMA, DISA STIG, and DSS PCI compliance.
- Built on the Orion® Platform, NCM provides the ability to purchase and fully integrate with additional network monitoring modules (network performance monitoring, NetFlow traffic analysis, WAN management, VoIP, device tracking, and IP address management), as well as systems, storage, and virtualization management, all in a single web console.
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) Features
- Supported: Configuration Change Automation
- Supported: Configuration Backup and Restore
- Supported: Change Monitoring
- Supported: Change Management - Roles & Approval
- Supported: Baselines and Configuration Drift Monitoring
- Supported: IOS Vulnerability Scanning
- Supported: Compliance Assessment and Enforcement
- Supported: Network Insight for Cisco Nexus
- Supported: Network Insight for Cisco ASA
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) Screenshots
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) Video
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager Overview
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) Integrations
- SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor
- SolarWinds Database Performance Analyzer
- SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM)
- SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)
- SolarWinds Web Performance Monitor (WPM)
- SolarWinds IP Address Manager (IPAM)
- SolarWinds VoIP & Network Quality Manager (VNQM)
- SolarWinds Virtualization Manager (VMAN)
- SolarWinds Storage Resource Monitor (SRM)
- SolarWinds User Device Tracker
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) Competitors
- ManageEngine OpManager
- Cisco Prime LAN Management (discontinued)
- DX Spectrum (formerly CA Spectrum)
- RANCID
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) Technical Details
| Deployment Types | On-premise |
|---|---|
| Operating Systems | Windows, Windows Server |
| Mobile Application | No |
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) Downloadables
Frequently Asked Questions
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is network diagnostics and troubleshooting technology, from Austin-based SolarWinds.
ManageEngine OpManager and Cisco Prime LAN Management (discontinued) are common alternatives for SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM).
Reviewers rate Solarwinds Premier Support Rating highest, with a score of 9.5.
The most common users of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) are from Enterprises (1,001+ employees).
Comparisons
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Reviews and Ratings
(263)
Community Insights
TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!
- Pros
- Cons
- Recommendations
Easy Installation and Configuration: Many users have found the installation, configuration, and use of Solarwinds Network Configuration Manager to be easy. They have mentioned that the product has a simple and intuitive setup process, allowing them to quickly get started with it.
User-Friendly Reporting: Users appreciate the simplicity and ease of reporting provided by Solarwinds Network Configuration Manager. They find generating reports to be a straightforward process, thanks to the product's user-friendly interface. This allows users to easily access and analyze the necessary data.
Seamless Integration with Other SolarWinds Products: Users highlight the compatibility of Solarwinds Network Configuration Manager with other products from the same company. It seamlessly integrates with other SolarWinds tools and can run on the same server instance. This unified experience provides users with a cohesive workflow and enhances their overall efficiency.
Confusing User Interface: Some users have expressed frustration with the user interface of the software, finding it confusing and difficult to navigate. This sentiment is shared by multiple reviewers who feel that the interface hinders their ability to quickly find information and perform tasks efficiently.
Slowness of Orion Platform: Several users have complained about the slowness of the Orion platform, particularly when additional modules and nodes are added. This issue has been raised by a significant number of reviewers, highlighting the need for improved performance optimization to enhance user experience.
Limited Vendor Support: Users have expressed a need for better support for multiple vendors in the software. They feel that currently, there is a lack of vendor-specific equipment profiles and features for non-Cisco devices. Multiple reviewers have suggested expanding the range of supported devices to make the software more versatile and suitable for diverse network environments.
Users of Solarwinds configuration manager have made several recommendations based on their experiences with the product. The three most common recommendations are as follows:
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Make it easier to access saved config comparisons - Users have suggested improving the accessibility of saved configuration comparisons. This would enable them to quickly refer to previous configurations and compare them with current ones, aiding in troubleshooting and auditing processes.
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Explore Thwack for inspiration from other users' experiences - Users recommend exploring Thwack, Solarwinds' online community platform, to learn from other users' experiences and gain insights into best practices for using the software. This can help users make the most of the features and functionality available in Solarwinds configuration manager.
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Add more support for different vendors - Users have noted that while Solarwinds configuration manager is a useful tool, they would appreciate additional support for a wider range of vendor devices. Expanding compatibility and incorporating more device types would enhance the software's usefulness for a broader user base.
These recommendations highlight areas where users find room for improvement or suggest ways to enhance their experience with Solarwinds configuration manager.
Attribute Ratings
Reviews
(1-25 of 100)Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
LogicMonitor is very basic when it comes to config management, with support for a limited number of devices (though sufficient for us) and minimal frills/features. While we could have used it for the BC/DR portion of our solution, we wanted the better config diffs, compliance features, unsaved config reports, and the ability to grow further into it, so we kept [SolarWinds] N[etwork] C[onfiguration] M[anager].
November 16, 2022
NCM - makes our lives easy.
We evaluated PRTG Network Monitor which was similar to SolarWinds but was very resource-intensive and the server kept crashing when we got close to 100 devices
whereas on SolarWinds we were able to add several thousand devices. We
also evaluated Nagios Core as a free alternative but being free it could not
be trusted to be secure and it was very difficult to add and manage
devices.
November 14, 2022
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager review
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Solarwinds Network Configuration Manager is extremely powerful in allowing our organization to automate specific tasks. It is extremely simple to use and offers a Graphical User Interface for performing tasks. I am a very curious person, which has led me to use Ansible simply to understand *how* SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager performs specific tasks. In terms of power and usability, SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is the better tool.
September 24, 2022
Tool which is easy to implement and very well integrated with other SolarWinds products
SolarWinds NCM solution is more flexible and GUI is from my point of view more intuitive, from the other hand Manage Engine solution is [a] cheaper solution which has almost [the] same functionality but suffers of luck of deeper integration with other Manage Engine modules.
All of the SolarWinds solutions stack up against their competition. The customer support is excellent, KB articles are details, and the community (Thwack) is the best when it comes to working through complex configurations/monitors. These are the things that make them the right solution to monitoring/management/troubleshooting needs.
April 15, 2022
Solarwinds NCM - filling the gap of automation
At the time SolarWinds was the biggest player in the space and their whole portfolio was very comprehensive. As time progressed and newer technologies came about (i.e. SDWAN) their products couldn't keep up with the consumer demands and changing market. Security became such a big focus that once Solarwinds got hacked we had to remove all their products from our environment.
NCM is superior to ManageEngine or Spiceworks in its ability to automate the primary tasks of a configuration management tool. Of course, it integrates well with other applications in the SolarWinds Orion suite of applications. The list of vendors supported by NCM is larger as well. NCM also has a helpful list of ancillary tools or features that assist users who may not be seasoned network admins.
March 08, 2022
NCM easy management of network configuration files
- HCL BigFix (formerly from IBM) and Cisco 3504 WLAN Controller
The product is easy to use, has great support, and is more cost-effective than the other products on the market. I would recommend this to anyone who asked for my opinion.
January 28, 2022
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) Review
I have not evaluated other products similar in scope to SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM).
January 26, 2022
SolarWinds NCM perfect tool to manage your whole Network devices
Deployment is much easier than others like Cisco DNA, also because is a multivendor platform
January 25, 2022
Centrally manage all network devices using Solarwinds NCM
Solarwinds is more user friendly and easier to use.
January 24, 2022
SolarWinds's Well Rounded Network Configuration Manager
- ManageEngine Network Configuration Management (NCM)
The templates and master configuration features together with the compare feature make SolarWinds NCM a no-brainer.
January 24, 2022
A great time saver!
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is a great tool and matches much of the functionality of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager. Nothing about Ansible will likely be overwhelming to an engineer with a little time to spare, but that spare time combined with SolarWinds already being our monitoring tool made the decision easy. Time is at a premium in small teams and SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is very easy to use right out of the box without all the tweaking required by powerful command line driven tools like Ansible.
January 20, 2022
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager review
- ManageEngine Network Configuration Management (NCM)
I actually prefer the ManageEngine Network Configuration Management engine product but switched to SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager to standardize to our Orion deployment.
January 20, 2022
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager: A Good Software
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is more efficient when it comes to setting up recurring tasks and different reports.
January 20, 2022
Network Configuration Management Made Easy with Solarwinds NCM
We had previously used cattools and rancid for configuration management. Cattools is another Solarwinds product but one that we outgrew and doesn't integrate with the Orion platform like SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) does. Rancid it seems a lot of engineers are familiar with and is suitable for some use cases but its feature set is lacking when compared with NCM. Oxidized can be used standalone or with LibreNMS and works well for supported devices. Unfortunately, we came across a fair number of devices that it didn't support at the time so we moved on from Oxidized. Its also not as user-friendly to set up and maintain as NCM and also doesn't number of features as NCM. When paired with Librenms Oxidized I would rank this as our second-place pick. Depending on the environment and the organization this might be the first pick for some people. Ultimately for us, the Orion platform was the top pick because of its usability and available features.
January 20, 2022
Making Networks Better
- Nagios Core and ManageEngine Network Configuration Management (NCM)
Easy to use and does the job.
January 20, 2022
Best NCM Tool
- SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (npm)
If it has been used and it has been functional since it reduces the work time by more than half, making the process faster, safer, and more precise, carrying out not so complex and functional processes referring to configurations of multiple devices at the same time in an agile way. It is a fairly good range of products, I have been using the different products for about 1 years and they have all worked excellent for me, it seems to me that it is a fairly complete suite that facilitates my tasks and monitoring processes, being today a useful tool for my work nowadays.
The SolarWinds NCM product stacks up well compared to just about any other product on the market. The NCM tool is super easy to use and will complement every Cisco or Aruba product that you may have.
January 19, 2022
Powerful Network Configuration Management
- Splunk Enterprise, Broadcom Unified Infrastructure Management and formerly from CA
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) automates our Network Configuration task and provides reliable Configuration backup option. Integrates with the SolarWinds Network Performance platform for alerting and reporting. Provides meaningful dashboards to manage network configurations.
January 19, 2022
Useful if you are familiar with creating compliance reports
Needs several updates and better documentation on how to create deployment templates
January 19, 2022
Solarwinds the rest is a toy
I have not had the opportunity to evaluate any of them, NCM has been the only software that has been used in recent years, and due to its good design, I have not had the need to look for additional software it meets my expectations and those of the manager.
June 30, 2021
Realize the Single-Pane-Of-Glass
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
- ManageEngine OpManager, Progress WhatsUp Gold (formerly Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold) and Nagios Network Analyzer
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) was by far the easiest to implement and it just started working right out of the box. Within a few hours were we populating our config backup repository and soon after that, we were writing scripts to audit our configurations. With other vendors, we found the implementation a bit confusing and they took longer to run the POC.
April 16, 2021
I like SolarWinds NCM
We are looking at puppet just to keep our options open. This is more my area because I don't have to rely on windows. Sure there's some learning you need to do, but it runs on a solid system. Not much else we are looking at for comparison. Now if NCM moves to another OS, well maybe that would put an end my searching.
April 14, 2021
SolarWinds NCM can save your job!
We did not evaluate any other similar products. When the need for a config manager arose, we already had a heavy investment in SolarWinds, so using another SolarWinds module made the most sense for us.