Likelihood to Recommend [Micro Focus Network Node Manager i (formerly HP Network Node Manager)] is like you implement it, setup monitoring and alerting and forget it forever until any major activity is there and that is possible because of the product's stability. Another reason for product stability is less features as compared to other vendor tools and its own inbuilt database.
Read full review Riverbed Modeler is well suited for wireless, wired, ZigBee, and Cisco networks. All these scenarios are efficiently designed and simulated using Riverbed Modeler, as all the devices are available in its object pallet, so we just need to drag and drop for the best scenario design in the given dimensions. The simulation results are around 95% accurate. However, it is not suited for data security, as data encryption algorithms are not available in Riverbed Modeler.
Read full review Pros Network Fault and Performance Monitoring Fault Tolerant Distributed Architecture Stability in operations Read full review Allows the USE of C++ In Routing protocol of individual switch nodes Easy to use, Easy to setup a working network model, allows to even have computers and all sorts of peripherals like IP Printers etc You can stress test your network simulation, absolutely fantastic tool, bridges Monte Carlo with visual representations of the network in question Great Customer Support Good training articles available online, used as a staple in university setting. Read full review Cons Read full review Riverbed Modeler needs to improve the scenarios of LAN MAN WAN, as the available scenarios under all of these follow a simple area structure that's not connected to the ISP when it comes to simulation. This generates dummy traffic. Riverbed Modeler also needs to work on the selection of result sets so that, as with most designed networks, we can select any result parameter to show. All the parameters are displayed, whether they are relevant or not. It needs to display only relevant result parameters to select. The back-end TCP/IP model needs more clarity to expose the structure to some changes. Read full review Support Rating Support is long and arduous and often are unable to help resolve the issue. We often have to do escalations or duty manager to get things moved. Even with a technical account manager, we do not see much improvement from a support point of view. This is an area where Micro Focus has a lot of improvement to do.
Read full review Alternatives Considered Even though there are many products in the market such as from Solarwinds,
CA Spectrum (no DX Spectrum),
PRTG that offers similar or even with more flexibility the fault and performance monitoring still Micro Focus is a very nice tool when it comes to Scalability and Stability with all necessary monitoring coverage. There is no external database required and hence less issues with integration.
Read full review The only thing comparable to OPNET is Packet Tracer, which is basic and very limited. Packet Tracer in terms of tool comparison between the two is like OPNET's stone-age relative.
Read full review Return on Investment HP NNM is very good at producing root cause analysis. MTTR is reduced with NNM. Read full review It comes with a costly paid license, but simulating the network before actual deployment saves a lot of costs, in case after deployment we feel performance is not good and we need to change. This would waste a lot of money, but Riverbed saves this money. Its OPNET GURU academic edition is available free of cost, but with limited functionality, which is good for students in maximum case. This will degrade our sale of Riverbed Modeler. A one-time investment in Modeler saves a lot of cost regarding networks, topology, designing, and provides a lifetime license with updates. Read full review ScreenShots