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Easy Installation and Configuration: Many users have found the installation, configuration, and use of Solarwinds Network Configuration …
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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- Integrations
- Competitors
- Tech Details
- Downloadables
- FAQs
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:
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
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) Video
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager Overview
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) Integrations
- SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor
- SolarWinds Database Performance Analyzer
- SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM)
- SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)
- SolarWinds Web Performance Monitor (WPM)
- SolarWinds IP Address Manager (IPAM)
- SolarWinds VoIP & Network Quality Manager (VNQM)
- SolarWinds Virtualization Manager (VMAN)
- SolarWinds Storage Resource Monitor (SRM)
- SolarWinds User Device Tracker
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) Competitors
- ManageEngine OpManager
- Cisco Prime LAN Management (discontinued)
- DX Spectrum (formerly CA Spectrum)
- RANCID
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) Technical Details
| Deployment Types | On-premise |
|---|---|
| Operating Systems | Windows, Windows Server |
| Mobile Application | No |
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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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!
- Pros
- Cons
- Recommendations
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:
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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.
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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.
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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
(76-100 of 141)Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
November 13, 2019
NCM does what we need without having to buy a suite
It is being used within our department. We manage a subset of the network infrastructure for the organization. It helps us adhere to configuration and compliance standards on the hundreds of devices we manage.
- Stores historical configuration information.
- The compliance checking allows us to ensure our configurations are standard across the board.
- It allows us to easily automate and schedule configuration changes across our environment.
- The configuration comparison tool is just clunky. I ended up using the compliance tools instead because the comparison tool became easily confused when the configurations weren't identical. No two switches are alike in terms of ports or configured networks.
- The concept of GROUPS is disconnected from the settings other tools use to manage groups of switches. Groups and departments should not be separate.
- Some screens can multi-select nodes conveniently and some look as if they were created by an entirely different group because they do not use the same metaphor. If you have multi-select for nodes when applying something, it should be the same screen universally.
November 04, 2019
SolarWinds NCM Review
It's used for managing the configuration of the network devices across the network environment and enables the standardisation & simplification of network management. It is used across the whole organisation, except for a couple of departments.
- Deployment of firmware updates or other config upgrades for one or more devices
- Network device configuration and audit through automation, backup and policy management
- Integration with SolarWinds NPM that helps in detecting faults proactively as well as correcting configuration errors, if any
- Integration with a single sign-on solution
- Ability to store data in various formats
We use the template function to provide deployment for all devices in an MSP environment. It has also become the central record of truth for configs, and single point for updates of all devices.
- Configuration creating from the templating engine.
- Device backups and recovery.
- Device updates.
- NetConf support.
- Better resource planning for server.
October 31, 2019
NetWork
We basically use NCM for deploying the common network changes across our network instead of the traditional way, by logging into each device doing the same configuration change. This saves a lot of time by just running the script at our convenience.
- It's easy to write configuration templates using NCM. They also have a default config template.
- It's easy to select the device to which we need to push the config.
- It runs the script at our convenience any time, or we can even schedule the time and date when you want to run the script.
- It's good to have all the NCM script on a single TAB.
- Each time we run the script the different tab we need to make changes to go to the final run.
October 17, 2019
Configuration Compliance Audits Become a Breeze
We use it to standardize and preserve the configurations for all of our network devices. We use the reporting to ensure the configuration of those devices meet policy. The use is limited to those that manage the network having access to edit. For all of IT, we have view capabilities. I, myself, have full access so I can perform the audit procedures necessary.
- Provides a quick and easy compliance check, listing devices that are configured against policy.
- I would suggest more canned reports. We have developed some ourselves to meet our needs, but it would have been nice to have had them ready when we implemented.
October 12, 2019
Great product for network Configuration
We set up the tool as a proactive monitoring solution to verify the up status of our network devices. The tool helps us maintain our Service Level Agreements, Operational Level Agreements and Under Pinning Contracts with our vendors and customers are maintained at the agreed-upon service levels. The tools are also used for maintaining the inventory of our network devices.
- Discovery of the network devices.
- Monitoring of the network devices.
- Performance reporting.
- Upgrading can be difficult.
- Speed of the upgrades.
- Configuration of the discovery component.
October 08, 2019
SolarWinds Experience
As an ISP, we use SolarWinds to monitor links to our commercial accounts to ensure good service and to catch any service degradation. We also try and use the reporting tools provided but they have been inaccurate for some time, and just today I was told by their engineering team that our reports are inaccurate because their tools have a lot of known bugs and the issue cannot be fixed.
- Pings IPS
- Records when links go down
- Custom node properties so you can create your own due to the serious lack of premade ones by SolarWinds
- Their Support team is slow and usually tries to close a case multiple times before actually looking into it.
- The system can be given well beyond recommended resources and still crashes constantly and needs services restarted. Support is never able to find a cause
- It's one of the more expensive solutions out there and I feel you do not get your money worth.
- They have a legacy report builder that runs on the main polling server as well as a built-in report builder as part of the interface. Both builders can do things the other cannot so you cannot live in one environment and as it turns out the reports give false numbers which can lead you to mislead clients.
September 28, 2019
SolarWinds wins in our network!
We currently use SolarWinds network configuration manager across the entire organization. It helps keep multiple teams organized and on the same page as they move forward on projects. When we have collaboration needs and multiple teams are working towards the same goal, it is really helpful to have a single location to keep our configs. If someone is out, their teammates can step in and provide instant help.
- It provides a single pane of glass that multiple teams can share at the same time.
- Reduces the time spent on repetitive tasks, includes automation functionality.
- Out of the box, it is compatible with most vendors.
- The device configuration management tool allows us to stay on top of the end of life and end of service situations.
- I would like to see more a la cart pricing options.
- It can be difficult to effectively set up without professional services.
- Professional services are hit or miss.
September 25, 2019
SolarWinds Review
It is being used by one department for security auditing/logging.
- Remediate firmware vulnerabilities
- Change control
- Workflow approval
- User interface
September 13, 2019
A wonderful product for config management and recovery
We use it to back up our Cisco Networking configs and recover or do mass changes when needed. I can keep multiple config copies in case I need to revert back to a previous version or reference changes for troubleshooting purposes. This has cut my recover and troubleshooting times in half.
- Backup Cisco configs
- Change highlights
- Recovery of configs
- I like it just the way it is.
September 09, 2019
Good Product
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager has been an extremely helpful tool, streamlining our operations department and maximizing efficiency. Cost is a bit high, but helpful in managing medium to large size networks.
- Backups
- Bulk Changes
- Cost
- Could be more flexible
September 06, 2019
GUI >> CLI
We use it as an audit tool to ensure that all configurations are standardized across all identical Cisco devices (switches, routers). It can easily generate a report of which devices aren't compliant and how. Given that we have over 1000 Cisco devices across our enterprise, this makes it a hugely valuable tool for us.
- Replaces CLI with a GUI interface.
- Manage, compare, and configure multiple devices at the same time.
- Audit many devices across the enterprise and generate reports on configuration inconsistencies.
- It would help if NCM could analyze and make recommendations about ways to improve Cisco configs (routing protocols, etc.)
- NCM could also potentially recommend more architectural changes to LANs and/or WANs on the network.
- That's it!
September 03, 2019
SolarWinds NCM review
We use several SolarWinds products. We use NCM in our Network Infrastructure department to manage the configuration of our switches. We're working on implementing configuration backup of our other equipment as well. Having archives of configurations helps us troubleshoot and look back at recent changes, and restore to previous configs in the case of an emergency or replacing a switch. So far, we haven't had to use it a lot but it's comforting to know we have our most recent and previous configurations ready. Previously, we were copying configs into .txt files to save, but with NCM, our backups are always up to date without needing to do much extra work.
- NCM does a great job of automatically and reliably backing up our configurations with no extra work on our part.
- NCM also has a lot of options as far as archiving and reporting on backup status.
- The change reports feature is a great way to see a quick overview of recent config changes on our network while troubleshooting.
- The biggest problem I've hit is trying to implement configuration management on new hardware vendors. It's not always super simple, and there could be room for improvement to make that process easier.
August 31, 2019
SolarWinds does an amazing job automating and and configuring our disparate technology!
We use it to manage a wide range of infrastructure services, from routers, firewalls, and UPSs to Windows, Linux and virtual server hosting hardware. Also, SAN networks and devices.
- Monitoring health levels of disparate technology.
- Configuring a wide array of equipment.
- Providing default and customized views of the status of all of your systems.
- Cost-effective and very fairly priced.
- Could provide even easier customization of reports and user interfaces.
- Continue to advance in rolling out updates to devices including APIs to allow the use of Ansible and other standard automation capabilities.
- Continue to widen the number of devices supported.
We use NCM to manage configs for all supported devices company wide. It has proven itself useful on many occasions for configuration rollouts and recovery.
- Backup configurations
- Rollout changes to managed devices
- I'd love to see reports on deltas to quickly determine changes made outside of SolarWinds.
August 06, 2019
Sean Ardalan review
We are using it to monitor and mange configurations of different switches and routers from different vendors. Our network is diverse and we need a configuration and monitoring tool to let us know in case of any network failure and which component has failed. Currently we are using so and so v3 to monitor the network.
- Ease of use
- Reliability
- Compilation of Data
- Centralized location for all configurations
- Ease of management
- Collecting data
- Addition of new nodes
- Security of the node management
July 30, 2019
Must have NCM for backing up your various platforms
We use NCM for backing our 100+ customer routers and some other Linux appliance's settings. Very useful when trying to recover or checking the settings before making any changes.
- Can support different platforms.
- Linux appliances also support it.
- Very robust.
- Some user interfaces need to be improved.
- Web GUI sometimes is slow.
We are using it to track a few private network devices that aren't being supported by our main IT organization. In the past few years, that usage has declined but we still use it for a few devices to track configuration history and changes.
- Fairly easy to set up.
- Very customizable.
- Interface could be cleaner.
July 27, 2019
Don't Delay, Automate it Today!
SolarWinds NCM allows us to audit our nodes for configuration compliance and standards. This software enables us to easily make bulk changes for security password management of managed devices.
- Bulk changes on multiple devices.
- Audit changes to configurations and ensure conformity to a standard build/design.
- An easier way to create a new bulk config entry across multiple devices.
- Change passwords on all devices in the event of employee turnover is quick and easy.
- They need to store and push firmware/Boot ROM images for switches/routers.
July 24, 2019
NCM Manager Review
We are using it to automate new customer builds, where it is touching numerous Cisco devices.
- The configuration templates have been great in helping us to automate our build process.
- The dashboard is a great way of seeing at a glance what is happening with our system.
- The discovery process has been very helpful in the addition of new devices.
- Why can't the Config Templates add? We have numerous cases where we need to add variables and currently need to subtract negative numbers.
- Support was particularly painful when we had issues.
July 10, 2019
NCM is the HIGHLIGHT of my life
Solarwinds Network Configuration Manager is used to back up our core switches configuration. We have a team of four network admins and often times someone will make a change without documenting. NCM has helped by highlighting those changes when we have issues come up.
- Fast Deployment of failed or replacement switches.
- Automated documentation. Nothing replaces notes from the Network Admin but NCM helps fill in the blanks.
- I don't have any suggestions.
June 30, 2019
The Real Deal
It's being used primarily by IT to manage all networking in the DC. We do however create dashboards per department where it's required to know the stats of a group of devices. SolarWinds allows us to make the same config changes in one fell swoop and provides us greater visibility into our network than we ever had before.
- Alerting
- Configuration management
- Network map
- Easier navigation
June 24, 2019
NCM for the win
We use SolarWinds NCM to backup our network devices throughout out multi-site typology. We have it do full startup and running config backups as well as the changes made since the last backup, the deltas, per se.
- Very lightweight
- Integrates well into the SolorWinds Orion product. It is another pane of glass on the web interface. Selecting the device gives you the option to see all the config informaiton
- Easy to configure and get running on the most popular network hardware, i.e. Cisco, Juniper, Palo, Checkpoint, Dell, HPE
- The NCM does not work particularly well out of the box on some not so popular network hardware like Ubiquiti, Fluid Mesh and others
- The auto-select device does not always work and sometimes you have to modify a template to get the full backup to work. SolarWinds tech support can help with this if you are not familiar
- The email notifications of the backups and the deltas are very simple html. It would be nice to see some improvement on the output there. Looks about 10 years old...
June 20, 2019
Life is easier with Network Configuration Manager
We use the Network Configuration Manager to manage all of our switches, routers and as well as our ASA firewall configuration changes and for security auditing as well. We use it to have a consistent configuration to all of our switches and help us troubleshoot operational issues. It's used by the whole organization and IT interconnects all the departments. It helps us to have a consistent configuration, manage and approves necessary changes so we can reduce downtime to prevent outages that will prevent any business related issues.
- Manages changes and avoids repetitive tasks across the 120 switches we have in production.
- Reduce troubleshooting time by comparing configuration changes and revert back.
- Easy of use and a great reporting feature.
- Improve the view to make it easier to navigate.
- Better reporting feature
- Increase templates for other non-Cisco switches.
June 19, 2019
Great product for backing up managed network devices
We use it to archive the configurations for 30 switches and Cisco ASA firewalls. The problem it addresses is having a historical backup for each managed network device on our network.
- Collecting configs
- Easy to use
- Works well with Cisco products
- Scripting interface