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SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) vs. Toad Database Developer Tools

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    SolarWinds NPM

    Score7.8 out of 10
    N/ASolarWinds NPM is a monitoring and performance management platform. It provides performance troubleshooting support, auto network discovery, customizable thresholds, and can be rapidly deployed.

    $1,638

    per year

    Toad Database Developer Tools

    Score9.2 out of 10
    N/AToad by Quest is a database management toolset that database developers, administrators and data analysts use to simplify workflows, create code free from defects, automate frequent or repetitive processes, and minimize risks. Editions include Toad for Oracle, which automates administration tasks and helps proactively manage databases while embracing performance optimization and risk mitigation. Similar editions exist for IBM DB2, SQL Server, SAP, or MySQL and Postgres environments (Toad Edge).

    $229

    per year

    Pricing
    SolarWinds NPMToad Database Developer Tools
    Editions & Modules
    NPM
    $1,638
    per year
    Toad Edge For MySQL
    $229
    per year
    Toad Edge For Postgres
    $229
    per year
    Toad for SQL - Pro Edition
    $437
    per year
    Toad for Oracle - Base Edition
    $550
    per year
    Toad for DB2 z/OS - Base Edition
    $636
    per year
    Toad for SAP - Base Edition
    $636
    per year
    Toad for SQL - Xpert Edition
    $763
    per year
    Toad for Oracle - Professional Edition
    $829
    per year
    Toad for SQL - Dev Edition
    $930
    per year
    Toad for DB2 z/OS - Pro Edition
    $996
    per year
    Toad for Oracle - Professional DB Admin Edition
    $1,370
    per year
    Toad for DB2 z/OS - Xpert Edition
    $1,529
    per year
    Toad for SAP - Xpert Edition
    $1530
    per year
    Toad for Oracle - Xpert Plus Edition
    $1,753
    per year
    Toad for DB2 z/OS - Dev Edition
    $1,861
    per year
    Toad for SAP - Dev Edition
    $1863
    per year
    Toad for SAP - Xpert+ Edition
    $2099
    per year
    Toad for SAP - DBA Edition
    $3661
    per year
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    SolarWinds NPMToad Database Developer Tools
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    SolarWinds NPMToad Database Developer Tools
    Considered Both Products
    SolarWinds
    No answer on this topic
    Quest Software
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    91%
    Would buy again
    32 Answers
    90%
    Would buy again
    9 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    94%
    Delivers good value for the price
    33 Answers
    89%
    Delivers good value for the price
    8 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    97%
    Happy with the feature set
    34 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    10 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    97%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    29 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    7 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    97%
    Implementation went as expected
    30 Answers
    75%
    Implementation went as expected
    6 Answers
    Features
    SolarWinds NPMToad Database Developer Tools
    Network Performance Monitoring
    Comparison of Network Performance Monitoring features of SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) and Toad Database Developer Tools
    Feature
    SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM)
    9.0
    232 Ratings
    13% above category average
    Toad Database Developer Tools
    -
    Ratings
    Automated network device discovery9.0211 Ratings00 Ratings
    Network monitoring10.0232 Ratings00 Ratings
    Baseline threshold calculation9.0202 Ratings00 Ratings
    Alerts9.0229 Ratings00 Ratings
    Network capacity planning7.9188 Ratings00 Ratings
    Packet capture analysis7.2130 Ratings00 Ratings
    Network mapping10.0191 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable reports10.0213 Ratings00 Ratings
    Wireless infrastructure monitoring8.0154 Ratings00 Ratings
    Hardware health monitoring10.0216 Ratings00 Ratings
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    SolarWinds NPMToad Database Developer Tools
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    Auvik
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    Medium-sized Companies
    PingPlotter
    Score9 out of 10
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    Enterprises
    Nmap
    Score8.7 out of 10
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    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    SolarWinds NPMToad Database Developer Tools
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.7
    (238 ratings)
    9.5
    (34 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.4
    (27 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    10.0
    (22 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.0
    (28 ratings)
    8.2
    (7 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (7 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    7.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    SolarWinds NPMToad Database Developer Tools
    Likelihood to Recommend
    SolarWinds
    SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) is excellent on node monitoring, for servers, switches, voice routers, etc. It also provides quick information on the dashboard, so you can take a look an in a few seconds determine is an entire site is down, if portions are down, and what may be causing the issue. We have experienced some difficulty when working with our wireless environment. It is less than natural when attempting to determine if a wireless access point is down itself, or if the switch feeding the access point is down, either port or switch. It does a very good job telling you if a switch is down, but troubleshooting the devices (specifically access points) it struggles.
    Incentivized
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    Quest Software
    Toad for Oracle is very well suited for all Oracle implementations, be it single instance or RAC. It is best suited for use of Oracle DBA, Developer and Database Engineers. I don't recommend Toad for Oracle for Project Managers or Solution Architects. This can be a pricier choice for these people. They can do fine with free options like SQL Developer.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    SolarWinds
    • 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.
    Incentivized
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    Quest Software
    • Toad is a de-facto standard tool for data developers and analysts. Generally speaking it provides almost every function needed to manage data in EDW with great performance and stability.
    • The nature of clinical data is big-sized: one table may have billions of rows. Toad provides critical functions to manage SQLs, e.g. Top SQL that can monitor and manage SQLs using CPU power and network bandwidth, so that EDW administrator can optimize ETL operations in the best efficiency.
    • Many of our data analysts are not computer science backgrounded (having clinical / nursing background). Toad provides great auditing tools such as Tuning Lab or SQL Scanner, so that data analysts can train themselves with guidance of the tool.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    SolarWinds
    • The software upgrade process is a little hairy and has caused me trouble on occasion.
    • The server that it needs to run is a bit of a resource hog along with the SQL server.
    • Some additional features like the network map are a bit clunky compared to some other products that we use.
    Incentivized
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    Quest Software
    • The power and control it gives is at the same time kind of a negative thing. There's too many options available, even when you don't need them. For simple database operations it's sometimes easier to just use SQL Developer since navigation is way more intuitive and easy.
    • Related with the above: there is a steep learning curve. However, since this is the main tool for any Oracle developer, this is not that much of a problem.
    • If I remember well, Toad used to be free, some 20 years ago. Or at least had a free version. It would be nice to have a free version. The dedicated Oracle developers and DBA's won't use the free version, but all the rest of us developers might use it instead of SQL Developer. It would make communications between everybody somewhat easier.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    SolarWinds
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Quest Software
    It is the preferred tool for our organization.
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    SolarWinds
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Quest Software
    I give is an 8 because nothing is a 10 and there is always room for improvement. I believe the user who is not as technologically inclined would be better suited with an easier way to identify the options for setting the layout up for Toad's GUI. To some it is very cumbersome and confusing.
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    SolarWinds
    Always available. Always is important to plan the software available during the machine/application setup.
    Incentivized
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    Quest Software
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    SolarWinds
    Pages load slow, especially the bettors map. Could be that my server is old.
    Incentivized
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    Quest Software
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    SolarWinds
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Quest Software
    I give the overall support for Toad for Oracle a 10/10. This is because whenever there has been an issue with this software, our team has got an immediate response. The same can not be said for similar software. The most recent example of this is when we needed to renew our licenses. Some employees were unable to log in to code with the given license key. Support was able to resolve the issue quickly.
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    Online Training
    SolarWinds
    The training is good but during the implementation, you can get situations not learned during the training. The trainer was very open to hearing the questions about use cases and always sharing his experience. I really recommend having official training to take advantage of all features that the NPM can bring.
    Incentivized
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    Quest Software
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    SolarWinds
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Quest Software
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    SolarWinds
    We use NPM along with PRTG Network Monitor. While NPM is great at monitoring network devices and network links and some aspects of the servers, PRTG provides more in-depth monitoring for Server systems, applications and application ports such as Web Ports etc. PRTG also provides a more comprehensive Root cause analysis.
    Incentivized
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    Quest Software
    Toad is much better than Tableau query writer. Tableau is not intuitive and requires knowledge of proprietary database language to fully implement. Tableau does not perform as quickly and accurately as Toad. Toad is very easy and slim to install. Additional hardware is often required to run Tableau smoothly. Support for Tableau is even more expensive than Toad support.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    SolarWinds
    From the direction and information I have been given it is very flexible and scalelable
    Incentivized
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    Quest Software
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    SolarWinds
    • SolarWinds allows us to proactively address hardware issues before they impact the business. We recently had a server that was experiencing issues sporadically and we were able to use the data from SolarWinds to track down and correct the issue before it tanked the server.
    • SolarWinds gives our IT department some piece of mind knowing that they'll be alerted of any issues real time.
    • We can use SolarWinds data to justify needed to replace or upgrade certain equipment that is key to our core business.
    Incentivized
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    Quest Software
    • Quick and easy query development helps reduce man-hours in a project which converts to real dollars.
    • Query analysis and tuning result in low database overhead and low latency, thus translating into real dollars because a system can thus handle more requests from customers.
    • Ease of use makes it easy to deploy greenhorns in projects with minimal training, thus helping save money. Otherwise menial and simple jobs would have required experienced DBAs.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    SolarWinds NPM Screenshots

    Screenshot of Network monitoring software used to reduce network outages and detect, diagnose, and resolve multi-vendor network performance issues.Screenshot of See relationships for routers, switches, interfaces, volumes, and groups, updated automatically without user intervention to maintain the network, not network maps.Screenshot of Reduce visibility gaps into critical network switches, firewalls, and load balancers with Network Insight for Cisco Nexus, Cisco ASA, and F5 BIG-IP.Screenshot of Reduce the flood of unnecessary network alerts. Create alerts based on simple or complex nested trigger conditions, defined parent/child dependencies, and network topology.Screenshot of Identify dead zones and improve wireless coverage. With its network monitoring tool, users can access out-of-the-box wireless reports, including wireless availability and rogue access points.Screenshot of Configure alerts by calculating dynamic baseline threshold data with network performance monitoring software.