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Microsoft Windows vs. SolarWinds Engineer's Toolset

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Microsoft Windows

    Score8.2 out of 10
    N/AWindows is an operating system with editions to support business workstations.N/A

    SolarWinds Engineer's Toolset

    Score7.6 out of 10
    N/ASolarWinds® Engineer’s Toolset (ETS) helps users monitor and troubleshoot a network with over 60 tools for network management. ETS allows users to monitor and receive alerts in real time on network availability and health, and perform network diagnostics for faster troubleshooting and resolution of complex network issues. With ETS users can deploy an array of network discovery tools including Port Scanner, Switch Port Mapper or advanced Subnet Calculator, manage Cisco® devices with specialized…

    $1,585

    Per Instance

    Pricing
    Microsoft WindowsSolarWinds Engineer's Toolset
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    One Time Price
    $1,585
    Per Instance
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Microsoft WindowsSolarWinds Engineer's Toolset
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Microsoft WindowsSolarWinds Engineer's Toolset
    Considered Both Products
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    SolarWinds
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    90%
    Would buy again
    9 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    11 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    80%
    Delivers good value for the price
    8 Answers
    90%
    Delivers good value for the price
    9 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    90%
    Happy with the feature set
    9 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    11 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    80%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    4 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    10 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    9 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    10 Answers
    Best Alternatives
    Microsoft WindowsSolarWinds Engineer's Toolset
    Small Businesses
    CentOS Linux
    Score8.9 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    IBM AIX
    Score9.4 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Enterprises
    Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    Score9.1 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Microsoft WindowsSolarWinds Engineer's Toolset
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.2
    (10 ratings)
    8.6
    (11 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.4
    (7 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Microsoft WindowsSolarWinds Engineer's Toolset
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Microsoft
    I think for every business in the world Microsoft Windows is a good use as standard OS system. It’s easy to use and a lot of other company's use it which make it very appealing for user to learn more about Microsoft Windows. The Office 365 suite is really good as a free feature and used a lot by every user of Microsoft Windows. If you got a designer business I would recommend other brands that are specialized in that kind of work. I feel Windows will come short on that end.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SolarWinds
    I have found the toolset especially useful for scanning subnets to discover devices, and for setting up temporary real-time monitors when we are troubleshooting or setting up new connections. The most useful aspect has been the ability to apply the tools to help troubleshoot and pinpoint intermittent issues. More general tools like Orion often do not have the granularity to detect issues like intermittent packet loss which are especially impactful to applications like Voice. The toolset gives us another level of capability to dig into issues.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Microsoft
    • It is very easy to use, can be picked up by a novice in minutes.
    • It is aesthetically pleasing, and appears clean and modern.
    • Most programs that people use in their day to day run on windows natively.
    Incentivized
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    SolarWinds
    • Various monitoring
    • Stores history
    • Suggests indices
    • Helps to find the SQL query text
    • Helps to see what machines/users the bad queries are coming from
    • Shows current blocking session
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Microsoft
    • Forced updates occasionally have bad timing when ignored for too long
    • Microsoft Edge Web Browser is a bit clunky
    • The 3D desktop still needs some improvement
    Read full review
    SolarWinds
    • The unifying component that is intended to be the initial interface to the tools seems clunky. I prefer to start the tools individually rather than using it.
    • The port scanner could use some improvements to make it easier to use.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Microsoft
    It's easy to use, very straightforward, and user-friendly. It has improved over the years, but you still need to be careful not to shut it down improperly because that may lead to corruption and Windows being unable to boot. There is plenty of software available that covers most needs.
    Incentivized
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    SolarWinds
    Very easy to use and intuitive. Just be careful with the WAN Killer...it does what it says.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Microsoft
    support remains spotty, researching online articles are a pain
    Incentivized
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    SolarWinds
    Our organization uses it regularly. It is reliable, and we keep finding new uses for it
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    Microsoft
    MDT helped deploy OS to users machines via PXE boot.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SolarWinds
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Microsoft
    Microsoft Windows and macOS are both useful operating systems. There are businesses who much prefer macOS and some that prefer Windows. Businesses that revolve around industries such as game design, art design, graphic design may opt to use macOS due to its optimization with programs that revolve around these topics. Other businesses that are more focused towards Data or text processing may opt to use Windows due to its familiarity across the world and ease of access.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SolarWinds
    I haven't compared any tools similar to SolarWinds Engineer's Toolset. This might be because I'm pretty biased when it comes to monitoring, and reporting solutions. I've found that SolarWinds provides the biggest bang for the buck in my opinion. I'm sure there are other solutions on the market that compete, but I haven't tried any of them because I've been very satisfied with SolarWinds.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Microsoft
    • Positively effects our easy of use of other programs
    • Take it for granted because it is so transparent in use
    • Definitely worth the price.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SolarWinds
    • Spend less time downloading free buggy tools
    • All the tools in one spot, so you don't have to look around for tools
    • Get to the solution sooner
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    SolarWinds Engineer's Toolset Screenshots

    Screenshot of Perform network stress tests with Engineer's Toolset WAN Killer. You don’t need to use real traffic for studying network activities, like testing traffic and load balancing. Instead, deploy Engineer's Toolset WAN Killer to help interactively test connections and adjust the IP traffic generated to achieve the desired network load based on your requirements.Screenshot of Quickly troubleshoot your network with enhanced ping capabilities and packet route tracing, among other network bandwidth usage and monitoring tools included in ETS.Screenshot of Using ETS, you can run scans to gain insight into how routers, hubs switches, and other devices are configured by analyzing SNMP queries and viewing MIB attributes. ETS is designed to help you more easily understand whether your network and ports are using appropriate settings.Screenshot of Config Compare, a part of ETS, is built to compare the running configuration of a Cisco router with the startup configuration. With the Cisco configuration compare tool, you can easily detect the changes made to the network, switch, and router configurations that are not committed to non-volatile memory (NVRAM).Screenshot of Manage your IP network from discovery to address tracking. Discover subnets on a seed router and scan the subnet or a range of IP addresses, generate a list of subnets along with their mask, size, range, and broadcast address and actively monitor subnets to identify and track which IP addresses are in use on your network.