What users are saying about
Top Rated
153 Ratings
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Based on 153 reviews and ratings
SolarWinds NPM
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Top Rated
561 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 8.7 out of 100
Based on 561 reviews and ratings
Feature Set Ratings
Network Performance Monitoring
Cisco DNA Center
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A

8.2
SolarWinds NPM
82%
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) ranks higher in 10/10 features
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) ranks higher in 10/10 features
Automated network device discovery
N/A
0 Ratings

8.2
82%
207 Ratings
Network monitoring
N/A
0 Ratings

9.0
90%
229 Ratings
Baseline threshold calculation
N/A
0 Ratings

7.8
78%
199 Ratings
Alerts
N/A
0 Ratings

8.9
89%
226 Ratings
Network capacity planning
N/A
0 Ratings

7.8
78%
186 Ratings
Packet capture analysis
N/A
0 Ratings

7.2
72%
129 Ratings
Network mapping
N/A
0 Ratings

7.9
79%
188 Ratings
Customizable reports
N/A
0 Ratings

8.5
85%
210 Ratings
Wireless infrastructure monitoring
N/A
0 Ratings

7.4
74%
150 Ratings
Hardware health monitoring
N/A
0 Ratings

8.8
88%
213 Ratings
Attribute Ratings
- SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) is rated higher in 3 areas: Likelihood to Recommend, Usability, Support Rating
Likelihood to Recommend
8.6
Cisco DNA Center
86%
56 Ratings

9.0
SolarWinds NPM
90%
233 Ratings
Likelihood to Renew
Cisco DNA Center
N/A
0 Ratings

8.9
SolarWinds NPM
89%
23 Ratings
Usability
8.3
Cisco DNA Center
83%
7 Ratings

9.8
SolarWinds NPM
98%
17 Ratings
Availability
Cisco DNA Center
N/A
0 Ratings

8.2
SolarWinds NPM
82%
2 Ratings
Performance
Cisco DNA Center
N/A
0 Ratings

5.5
SolarWinds NPM
55%
2 Ratings
Support Rating
8.8
Cisco DNA Center
88%
41 Ratings

9.5
SolarWinds NPM
95%
40 Ratings
Online Training
Cisco DNA Center
N/A
0 Ratings

6.4
SolarWinds NPM
64%
1 Rating
Implementation Rating
Cisco DNA Center
N/A
0 Ratings

7.3
SolarWinds NPM
73%
16 Ratings
Product Scalability
Cisco DNA Center
N/A
0 Ratings

7.3
SolarWinds NPM
73%
1 Rating
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco DNA Center
When you have relaxed calendar for migrating to [Cisco] DNA Center, it perfectly do the automation job. As setting it up very time consuming, it requires flexibility on operations. In a tight calendar, [Cisco] DNA Center migration is a stressful process.While it is the perfect tool as a network automation product with various vendor support, you may also need to consider is it fully compatible with your current devices on your network. As we were setting up a new infrastructure, we purchased all equipment compatible with Cisco's solution.

Verified User
Analyst in Research & Development
Research Company, 10,001+ employeesSolarWinds NPM
NPM is well suited for small to medium-sized organizations. It does the basic functions of a network monitoring suite very well however some of the more advanced features aren't as straightforward. Basic up/down email alerts work well but there are obviously many solutions that do this as well. I wouldn't recommend NPM for very large organizations because the server needed to support that many devices.
Network Engineer
Widener UniversityHigher Education, 201-500 employees
Pros
Cisco DNA Center
- Ease of automation and configuration templates make the future you very glad you did it!
- The PnP for switches that allow to boot up and contact the network with a pre-configuration is so amazing. Makes life easy!
- Integrates well with our ISE platform, they have really made it well worth the cost to have everything with the name CISCO on your equipment. All of their devices work so well with this software.

Verified User
Professional in Information Technology
Oil & Energy Company, 1001-5000 employeesSolarWinds NPM
- Out of the Monitoring of almost all Network Devices.
- Build custom pollers to monitor which is not supported out of the box.
- Further you can alert on these custom metrics and Out of the box metrics.
- It provides you great dashboards, Reports features.
- You can integrate it with any MoM layer tools either using its API or sending out traps.
- Out of the box Integration with Service Now ITSM Tool.

Verified User
Analyst in Professional Services
Information Technology & Services Company, 10,001+ employeesCons
Cisco DNA Center
- En el data Center, integrando los equipos que se encuentra en el corazon de la red y previniendo que esten actualizados // For Data Centers, integrating equipment that is the core of a network, and preventing them from being updated
- En las diferentes areas del campus para poder monitorizar el funcionamiento de los dispositivos // Improving remote monitoring of devices
- En la identificacion de problemas de seguridad de los dispositivos de red // Improving identification of network security issues

Verified User
Consultant in Information Technology
Education Management Company, 201-500 employeesSolarWinds NPM
- Configuring thresholds for your alerts can be a little cumbersome.
- Getting additional details onto the alerts is not as easy as it could be.
- You need to have two servers to run SolarWinds NPM, one for the service and a separate one for the database.
Development Manager
Carenet Health CareHealth, Wellness and Fitness, 1001-5000 employees
Pricing Details
Cisco DNA Center
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—Cisco DNA Center Editions & Modules
—
Additional Pricing Details
—SolarWinds NPM
General
Free Trial
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
Optional
Starting Price
$0 Starting Price
SolarWinds NPM Editions & Modules
Edition
NPM | $1,5831 |
---|
- Starting Price
Additional Pricing Details
—Likelihood to Renew
Cisco DNA Center
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
SolarWinds NPM
SolarWinds NPM 8.9
Based on 23 answers
The entire IT staff relies on NPM in its daily operations. It would be impossible for us to maintain our level of service without it. If SolarWinds gets to proud of their product and begins to over charge for it, we would be forced to reconsider and use a different product. But as it stands it is worth the price to renew it.
Systems and Security Administrator
Flathead CountyGovernment Administration, 501-1000 employees
Usability
Cisco DNA Center
Cisco DNA Center 8.3
Based on 7 answers
Yes, it did make tasks simplified in many ways. We can check all the network requirements and even check statistics in a single place, which makes the overall process fast and efficient. Also, it helps in minimizing configuration errors; the processes which used to take days can be done in hours.
Business Development Associate
BYJU'SE-Learning, 5001-10,000 employees
SolarWinds NPM
SolarWinds NPM 9.8
Based on 17 answers
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) is quite an extensive product, covering all our bases and requirements. There are a lot of customizable options and features which you can work with for their alerting which is really useful. I haven't found anything yet which I thought SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) could do, but it actually couldn't so overall it works nicely and does the job.

Verified User
Employee in Information Technology
Insurance Company, 51-200 employeesReliability and Availability
Cisco DNA Center
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
SolarWinds NPM
SolarWinds NPM 8.2
Based on 2 answers
Has never failed me

Verified User
Technician in Information Technology
Government Administration Company, 1001-5000 employeesPerformance
Cisco DNA Center
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
SolarWinds NPM
SolarWinds NPM 5.5
Based on 2 answers
Pages load slow, especially the bettors map. Could be that my server is old.

Verified User
Technician in Information Technology
Government Administration Company, 1001-5000 employeesSupport Rating
Cisco DNA Center
Cisco DNA Center 8.8
Based on 41 answers
Overall support for Cisco DNA Software is fairly good. Whenever we have a question that needs an answer and we are unable to figure out, we reach out to the support team. They are able to figure out our needs and provide the proper support. They are always available via email or phone call.

Verified User
Manager in Sales
Hospitality Company, 1001-5000 employeesSolarWinds NPM
SolarWinds NPM 9.5
Based on 40 answers
In all of the times that we called support, someone at SolarWinds had the answer for us in a timely manner. Through thwack and other internet searching, we have been able to resolve all of our issues that arose to our satisfaction. The support staff have always been knowledgeable of their products or had a fellow support staff member to rely on to get the needed answers.
IT Technician / Application Specialist
Casino FandangoEntertainment, 201-500 employees
Online Training
Cisco DNA Center
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
SolarWinds NPM
SolarWinds NPM 6.4
Based on 1 answer
Would like an in person course

Verified User
Technician in Information Technology
Government Administration Company, 1001-5000 employeesImplementation Rating
Cisco DNA Center
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
SolarWinds NPM
SolarWinds NPM 7.3
Based on 16 answers
Make sure your inventory is accurate. Stand up some virtual machines for testing prior to installation. Make sure your database and its credentials are setup. Think about things you want to monitor that may not be obvious - UPS units, Door hardware, PBX systems, Fabric Channel switches, firewalls, routers, switches. Try to setup SNMP on these devices and have an IP that you will assign to the new server. If you do that it will go well.
Systems and Security Administrator
Flathead CountyGovernment Administration, 501-1000 employees
Alternatives Considered
Cisco DNA Center
Meraki does what should be expected at it's price point, but it is geared to SMB. When it comes to enterprise networks, DNA Center is the clear path forward. It allows for more devices than just the ones it configures, it provides more customization and on boarding options, and the control stays within the organization. The DNA Center telemetry provides a more robust reporting than the Meraki dashboard, and again, the data stays on site. I see both being important in their own ways, but Meraki falls short in larger enterprises, and that is where DNA Center shines the most.

Verified User
Team Lead in Professional Services
Information Technology and Services Company, 201-500 employeesSolarWinds NPM
We selected SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor because of the capabilities of the product versus the price. The tools also work well with their other products and support is fairly good. We have never had a problem when we needed to make a call.

Verified User
Executive in Information Technology
Government Administration Company, 501-1000 employeesScalability
Cisco DNA Center
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
SolarWinds NPM
SolarWinds NPM 7.3
Based on 1 answer
From the direction and information I have been given it is very flexible and scalelable

Verified User
Technician in Information Technology
Government Administration Company, 1001-5000 employeesReturn on Investment
Cisco DNA Center
- Efficient time spent elsewhere. I can spend my time troubleshooting other portions of the network instead of housekeeping current gear.
- Assistance with inventory; it keeps an inventory of all the devices you add to it, so it can serve as an inventory of equipment if that's what you'd like from it.
- Visibility; we can see more of the status of our gear, if it's unreachable, or if things are misbehaving the dashboard shows that there are irregularities.

Verified User
Analyst in Information Technology
Hospital & Health Care Company, 1001-5000 employeesSolarWinds NPM
- The impact is largely on the positive side as ROI figures are on the rise.
- The licensing model is appropriately designed to meet every need. We have an XLS license and with the addition of an APE license, we can easily extend our scope.
- SolarWinds has helped in the creation of business use cases for network equipment or bandwidth investments. With capacity planning, we can accurately size our Infra.

Verified User
Consultant in Information Technology
Information Technology & Services Company, 10,001+ employees