1. Home
  2. Network Diagnostics Tools
  3. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) Reviews
  4. User Review of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM)
A good, easy to use and understand Network Configuration Manager!
October 02, 2020

A good, easy to use and understand Network Configuration Manager!

Wyant Niswonger | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM)

Network Configuration Manager is used by the IT department to manage all network devices in the organization. It was put in to address inconsistent patching levels and to give a better view into the network as a whole. Since the department is small, it is a valuable tool.
  • NCM Maintains a DB of the devices and their current configuration.
  • Automated backups of configs.
  • Notification of changes to configs outside of maintenance windows.
  • I would like to see the initial seeding of the DB more tightly integrated with NPM.
  • Better integration with vendors for patch management.
  • It has saved time, which saves money.
SolarWinds NCM is vendor agnostic so it is a more versatile tool than the competition. Prime does well in a purely native environment, but not many organizations have the luxury of a single vendor approach. I have used both products and I prefer NCM for most engagements. The dashboards alone make it a simple to understand product.

Do you think SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM)'s feature set?

Yes

Did SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) again?

Yes

To be fair, I have not had to involve Support in a number of years, but when I did, I was greeted with enthusiastic engineers who wanted to understand and solve the issue. It was a fairly complex scenario and I have discovered in my most recent implementation that engineering included that option as a standard now.
I have used other products and I keep coming back to SolarWinds. It is a simple, easy to understand interface that has a repeatable installation. It is also as complete and complex as the end user wants it to be. If you are tasked with configuration management and are not a network engineer by trade, this tool can help to keep you PCI/HIPAA/SOX compliant on your network infrastructure.
To date, I have not found a situation where NCM is not appropriate. It is easier to use than similar products from the vendors and since it is vendor agnostic, it works well with just about anything. The only scenario where I think it would be less useful would be in some Software Defined Networking situations that are fluid in their configurations.