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SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM)

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM)

Overview

What is SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM)?

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is network diagnostics and troubleshooting technology, from Austin-based SolarWinds.

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

Easy Installation and Configuration: Many users have found the installation, configuration, and use of Solarwinds Network Configuration …
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

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Product Details

What is SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM)?

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) can help save time and improve network reliability and security by managing configurations, changes, and compliance for routers, switches, and other network devices.

Network Configuration Manager enables IT Pros with:
  • Out-of-the-box support for major network device vendors, including Cisco®, Juniper®, HP®, Huawei®, F5®, Avaya®, Ruckus®, and more.
  • Automated bulk deployment of standardized device configs.
  • Automatic backups of device configurations, and rollback to the last-known good configurations, if necessary.
  • Identifying IOS® devices with potential vulnerabilities, utilizing the NIST CVE repository service, and even provides the tools to manage the investigation, remediation, or waiver of each vulnerability.
  • Auditing device configs for NIST FISMA, DISA STIG, and DSS PCI compliance.
  • Built on the Orion® Platform, NCM provides the ability to purchase and fully integrate with additional network monitoring modules (network performance monitoring, NetFlow traffic analysis, WAN management, VoIP, device tracking, and IP address management), as well as systems, storage, and virtualization management, all in a single web console.

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) Features

  • Supported: Configuration Change Automation
  • Supported: Configuration Backup and Restore
  • Supported: Change Monitoring
  • Supported: Change Management - Roles & Approval
  • Supported: Baselines and Configuration Drift Monitoring
  • Supported: IOS Vulnerability Scanning
  • Supported: Compliance Assessment and Enforcement
  • Supported: Network Insight for Cisco Nexus
  • Supported: Network Insight for Cisco ASA

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) Screenshots

Screenshot of Network Automation - manage rapid change across complex and multi-vendor networks, reduce time needed to complete repetitive tasks, and maintain standards and service levels for uninterrupted ITScreenshot of Config Backup - rest easy knowing you can locate the most current configuration and quickly apply it to a replacement spare, or to roll back a blown configuration.Screenshot of Vulnerability Scanning - Take the hassle out of vulnerability scanning using NCM's integration with the National Vulnerability Database and access to the most current CVE’s to identify vulnerabilities in your Cisco devices.Screenshot of Inventory Management - Be able to know what devices are connected to your network, their hardware and software configurations, and when they approach end-of-service and end-of-life, with NCM device configuration management tool.Screenshot of User Management - Use NCM's integrated console to lock down devices from unauthorized access, delegate who can view device details and make configuration changes, and determine when network changes can occur.Screenshot of Baselines and Diffs - IT professionals can get a more comprehensive view by leveraging baselines across multiple nodes. Diff view in NCM’s network configuration management tool is designed to highlight only those lines that changed.Screenshot of Reports - Use NCM's 53 included reports to keep stakeholders informed with the current state of your network inventory, configuration changes, policy compliance, security, and planning requirements.

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) Video

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager Overview

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) Integrations

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) Competitors

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise
Operating SystemsWindows, Windows Server
Mobile ApplicationNo

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) Downloadables

Frequently Asked Questions

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is network diagnostics and troubleshooting technology, from Austin-based SolarWinds.

ManageEngine OpManager and Cisco Prime LAN Management (discontinued) are common alternatives for SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM).

Reviewers rate Solarwinds Premier Support Rating highest, with a score of 9.5.

The most common users of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) are from Enterprises (1,001+ employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(263)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

Easy Installation and Configuration: Many users have found the installation, configuration, and use of Solarwinds Network Configuration Manager to be easy. They have mentioned that the product has a simple and intuitive setup process, allowing them to quickly get started with it.

User-Friendly Reporting: Users appreciate the simplicity and ease of reporting provided by Solarwinds Network Configuration Manager. They find generating reports to be a straightforward process, thanks to the product's user-friendly interface. This allows users to easily access and analyze the necessary data.

Seamless Integration with Other SolarWinds Products: Users highlight the compatibility of Solarwinds Network Configuration Manager with other products from the same company. It seamlessly integrates with other SolarWinds tools and can run on the same server instance. This unified experience provides users with a cohesive workflow and enhances their overall efficiency.

Confusing User Interface: Some users have expressed frustration with the user interface of the software, finding it confusing and difficult to navigate. This sentiment is shared by multiple reviewers who feel that the interface hinders their ability to quickly find information and perform tasks efficiently.

Slowness of Orion Platform: Several users have complained about the slowness of the Orion platform, particularly when additional modules and nodes are added. This issue has been raised by a significant number of reviewers, highlighting the need for improved performance optimization to enhance user experience.

Limited Vendor Support: Users have expressed a need for better support for multiple vendors in the software. They feel that currently, there is a lack of vendor-specific equipment profiles and features for non-Cisco devices. Multiple reviewers have suggested expanding the range of supported devices to make the software more versatile and suitable for diverse network environments.

Users of Solarwinds configuration manager have made several recommendations based on their experiences with the product. The three most common recommendations are as follows:

  1. Make it easier to access saved config comparisons - Users have suggested improving the accessibility of saved configuration comparisons. This would enable them to quickly refer to previous configurations and compare them with current ones, aiding in troubleshooting and auditing processes.

  2. Explore Thwack for inspiration from other users' experiences - Users recommend exploring Thwack, Solarwinds' online community platform, to learn from other users' experiences and gain insights into best practices for using the software. This can help users make the most of the features and functionality available in Solarwinds configuration manager.

  3. Add more support for different vendors - Users have noted that while Solarwinds configuration manager is a useful tool, they would appreciate additional support for a wider range of vendor devices. Expanding compatibility and incorporating more device types would enhance the software's usefulness for a broader user base.

These recommendations highlight areas where users find room for improvement or suggest ways to enhance their experience with Solarwinds configuration manager.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-25 of 141)
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March 12, 2023

SolarWinds NCM provides a solid device management platform at a reasonable price

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Financial Services Company, 201-500 employees
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
SolarWinds N[etwork] C[onfiguration] M[anage] is a good fit for most small and medium-sized businesses that need an automated way to make sure their configurations are safe as well as to provide a way to track changes. The platform has been around for a long time and has many features, so there is some room for it to grow as well. Pricing is reasonable, though it's definitely not cheap, as it's meant to be an enterprise product. For organizations with virtually no budget, there are some open-source options, though they do take time to configure and manage.
March 01, 2023

The best tool to manage your network devices while saving time!

David Bothorel | TrustRadius Reviewer
David Bothorel
Network and Telecommunications Analyst
Linde Americas (Chemicals, 10,001+ employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
It's really important to keep a configuration backup of network devices in case of hardware failure. SolarWinds NCM is a great tool to backup configuration and restore if needed. It can also give us useful information about EOS and EOL of each network device which can give us an idea of which one will have to be replaced soon.
November 16, 2022

NCM - makes our lives easy.

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Computer Networking Company, 501-1000 employees
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Whenever a device goes down, I can easily use SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager to get the configurations files and reconfigure a new device. When switches and other network devices have a firmware update, I can do it from SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager either using the firmware update, or if the device is unsupported I can script the firmware update saving valuable time. NCM is great at pushing out changes to multiple devices. I have used it to update vlans, snmp, and ntp settings across over 300 devices without issues.
November 14, 2022

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager review

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Primary/Secondary Education Company, 201-500 employees
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Likelihood to Recommend
Well suited in an environment with limited rollout time for new network devices. You can easily push code to devices from SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager. Solarwinds Network Configuration Monitor would not be recommended in scenarios where there are very few network devices - for instance, five or less.
September 24, 2022

Tool which is easy to implement and very well integrated with other SolarWinds products

Verified User
Strategist in Information Technology
Banking Company, 501-1000 employees
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
[The] product is good for doing [a] scheduled backup of configuration on various types of devices to identify differences of configurations and report. That was [the] initial intention to have central backup and reason why product is bought. Additionally there is [the] possibility to do mass changes to devices and to report if devices are setup according to policies. [The] product has integrated some diagnostic tools which helps in integration between device and NCM, but there is a space to improve it to have integrated diagnostic into GUI to avoid log checkups.
September 13, 2022

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manger - Software that backs up your Engineer!

Jennifer Aguilar | TrustRadius Reviewer
Jennifer Aguilar
Senior Network Administrator
County of El Paso 911 District (Public Safety, 11-50 employees)
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Network Config manager is a blessing in disguise! I had made a configuration change to my environment and it did not kick back issues for several days. I was able to download the current running config and compare it to the last downloaded config prior to making changes. In any situation where things stop working you have to first ask yourself .. What changes have been made in the environment? I now rely upon config manager to store all my configurations. I no longer have to do copy tftp ugh .. ugh ... ugh .. I can click .. download config, promote to baseline and move on to the next endeavor.
April 15, 2022

Solarwinds NCM - filling the gap of automation

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Civil Engineering Company, 1001-5000 employees
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
If your IT team isn't proficient in automation and scripting, Solarwinds NCM can fill that gap (assuming your company's security team signs off on approving SW in your environment given the hack.) Basic device configuration, pushing mass changes reliably and backups are NCM's strong suites. If you have a complex scenario where if/then cases are needed, NCM is a bit lack luster. Auto discovery isn't as easy either as certain parameters need to be met for that feature to work 100% of the time.
March 25, 2022

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is a huge time saver!

BO
Brett Organ
Senior Technology Consultant
Corona Technical Services (Government Relations, 10,001+ employees)
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
ResellerIncentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Network Configuration Manager really is well suited to any environment regardless of size or vendor mix. It has out-of-the-box support for a large and growing list of network vendors, and provides a user-friendly tool to adjust the tool to work with the occasional device that cannot be recognized by default. NCM would be of particular value to the small IT shop where only a few busy IT staff are responsible for a large number of network devices. The time that is saved by being able to centrally manage configuration management and reporting tasks is huge.
March 08, 2022

NCM easy management of network configuration files

Verified User
Executive in Information Technology
Government Administration Company, 501-1000 employees
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Support for the products is 24/7, which is fantastic should you need assistance. We have used this product to keep track of configurations and configuration changes on all multi-vendor routers/switches. If we experience an outage we are able to provide services to troubleshoot and provide details regarding the outage with reports. Configuration comparison is not easy to create and does not work as expected. We have experienced issues where ports are stuck in an undefined state and cannot be removed without going directly into the database tables.
January 28, 2022

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) Review

NK
Ned Kelley
Cyber Security Engineer / Analyst
RTX (Information Technology & Services, 10,001+ employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
There was a need to find an old configuration of a network switch that was accidentally wiped clean. Fortunately, SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) kept and archived a backup copy of the switch device in question! We were easily able to upload the configuration file to the switch and restore the device back on the network in a matter of minutes!
January 26, 2022

SolarWinds NCM good product

Verified User
Professional in Engineering
Mechanical Or Industrial Engineering Company, 51-200 employees
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
We had a switch, which the internal power supply was damaged, and thereby damaged the entire switch. Replacement of the switch was required. Just a few days ago configuration to port assignments were done, with the automatic daily backup we could restore the latest configuration to a new switch very easily.
January 26, 2022

SolarWinds NCM perfect tool to manage your whole Network devices

Eduardo Ramirez | TrustRadius Reviewer
Eduardo Ramirez
Senior Cyber Security Engineer
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. (Utilities, 1001-5000 employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
In my experience one of the best and strongest SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) features are the Backups, you can get these on a really simple cron job, also you can get multiple ones to compare changes in case troubleshooting is needed to compare configurations.
January 25, 2022

Centrally manage all network devices using Solarwinds NCM

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Financial Services Company, 1001-5000 employees
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
It works well to monitor many network devices of the whole network. The configuration scripts can be used to deploy patches or quick fixes/changes quite easily to all managed devices. The configuration backup is helpful for version control and tracing back the change history if needed.
January 25, 2022

Review of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Education Management Company, 1001-5000 employees
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Solarwinds Network Configuration Manager is great for pushing configs to multiple devices, for example, we change the root passwords on all network equipment every 6 months. With Network Configuration Manager we are able to do have this completed across 300 switches in minutes as opposed to doing it manually which took a least a week. Recently we also had cause to change your NTP server and we were able to push out the new values using Network Configuration Manager saving time. Solarwinds Network Configuration Manager is very good at config backups. We use Network Configuration Manager to back up configs daily once a change is detected, allowing us to be ready to replace any and all devices on short notice.
January 24, 2022

A great time saver!

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Medical Practice Company, 1001-5000 employees
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is perfectly suited for small teams or single engineer jack of all trades types who have a lot on their plate. This module will let you quickly import any currently monitored devices to poll for configuration backups and pushing jobs. This can save you a lot of time compared to spinning up an open source tool or rolling some DIY solution. Larger teams can benefit as well given how easy it is to learn/teach the tool.
January 20, 2022

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager review

HA
holt archer
senior security architect
openmarket (Telecommunications, 201-500 employees)
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Well suited if you have a requirement to either harden your network device configs or want to standardize your network device configs. As a network engineer, I found this tool super helpful for managing parts of my Cisco device configs such as the ntp info, logging setup, ssh access lists for interfaces, and ensuring only the services I wanted were enabled. This helped make sure all my devices were set up how I wanted and really empowered my junior guys to move faster in their deployments. I could also use the automation to make config changes as a response to any deviations it found. As a security guy, I found it super useful to define and demonstrate network device hardening configs automatically, this really helped during audits. Not useful if you don't require a third-party tool for compliance or config standardization, panorama comes to mind.
January 20, 2022

Network Configuration Management Made Easy with Solarwinds NCM

JJ
James Jakimowicz
Senior Network Engineer
Synergy Fiber (Computer Networking, 51-200 employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) works very well for configuration tracking and pulling new configurations from nodes and it does it reliably. The configuration diff baked into SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) is also really nice to have. It's easy to save a configuration right out of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) or revert a change using SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM). Reports to see which nodes are not at their baseline work well, this allows us to review changes and set new baselines or revert depending on the change. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) does have configuration approvals that might help with setting the baseline, but we had an existing process before adopting SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) for change management. It seems like this feature was well thought out for SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) but just something we hadn't adopted. We can also see the firmware image of devices in SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) and it will provide CVE details and track equipment support which is great for auditing our environment.
January 20, 2022

Making Networks Better

Richard Chisala, Jnr. MIEEE | TrustRadius Reviewer
Richard Chisala, Jnr. MIEEE
Technical Director
Ultimate Internetworking Solutions (Computer & Network Security, 1-10 employees)
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
NCM is ideal for network automation, network configuration auditing, and vulnerability detection. However not the appropriate tool for general IT, Databases, and Application Management. In addition, NCM is neither a traffic analyzer nor a network performance monitoring tool required for 24/7 network infrastructure support services. In the past, we used NCM to benchmark a large public services provider as part of the network consolidation and cloud migration project.
January 20, 2022

Best NCM Tool

Verified User
Professional in Other
Information Technology & Services Company, 10,001+ employees
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
It is suitable for scenarios with multiple devices for which a critical backup and accurate inventory must be kept, referring to operating system versions, etc. It is easy to use and configure with structured manuals that are easy to implement. I think it is an excellent management and control tool.
January 20, 2022

A U.S. Airline Network Operations Manager Review of Solarwinds NCM

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Airlines/Aviation Company, 501-1000 employees
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
SolarWinds NCM is a must-have for network operations managers who need daily backups of all of their routers, switches and firewalls. Not only are you assured of backup recovery, but you can also perform compliance reporting on all of your configurations and script remediation too.
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