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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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- About
- 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).
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!
- 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:
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
(1-4 of 4)Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
July 19, 2020
NCM: lost possibilities
Initially purchased for Network Switch management, but only used for configuration backups. It does not address configuration management as we've hoped it would because of SolarWinds inability to support the mainstream HP/Aruba devices by this product's device templates.
- Configuration Backups
- Support of mainstream network hardware manufacturers
- Intelligent approach to NCM reporting logic (NCM stack in 15-25 years ago approach)
- We were able to move network device config backup under the same roof as their monitoring. Nothing else.
We are actually evaluating new products so that we can move away from SolarWinds at the first opportunity (to something that works for CISCO Viptela routers and HP/Aruba switches, as well as Aruba Wireless APs and controller). So far we keep losing visibility (like many SolarWinds customers) with newer devices and firmware versions coming to the market that SolarWinds is unable to support.
Yes
Less known network device backup/restore tool
- Product Features
- Existing Relationship with the Vendor
We've got network devices under the same Orion umbrella, but could not use NCM fully due to its lack of support for HP/Aruba devices.
If we could find a similar product, which would work for our HP/Aruba switches in conjunction with resolving another problem with Cisco Viptels (VS NPM), plus the functionality. similar to NTA, we would switch away from SolarWinds in a heartbeat
No
No
We had a couple of cases of the exceptional SW support (very uncommon and extraordinary for SW). Just got lucky getting into someone above the average support level.
- Backups
- Config Templates
- Restores to remote locations without IT personnel in place
No
July 17, 2020
Learning new features everyday
We are using NCM to manage our network across the state. We are using it to backup up switches, find when they are down, update and maintain them.
- Backups up configs of different switches.
- Easily scripts changes.
- Run reports to find version/config setups.
- The GUI has a lot going on and can be overwhelming.
- I have been able to quickly make changes that would have taken days before.
5
Network Techs and Analysts
3
Basic Windows Server and SQL skills
- Backups
- Bulk Changes
- Logging
- Using the config change template to automate changes
- Gather more data from reports
- Have better live network monitor/overview
- Backups
- Standard reports
- Custom reports
- Custom config change templates
February 25, 2020
NCM - Network automation made easy
At our organization Unified communications & Enterprise Engineering groups use this tool on a daily basis. It is great tool with multiple use cases such as managing, maintaining Network configurations. It also features Script Automation and Config Change management.
- Script management. The ability to save scripts & script results in this tool is a great.
- Change management. The feature to compare old and new configurations which gives us a good graphical glimpse of what changed with respect to configurations.
- This tool comes really handy if an engineer wants to SWARM config. changes.
- Configuration comparison.
- Configuration display.
- Color coding change comparison.
- ROI for ease of implementation and monthly audits for configs.
I deal with configs on a daily basis. I needed a tool that can run scripts and automate tasks and NCM totally met my expectations.
1
I basically use it to automate scripts. Run bulk configuration updates, upkeep of the configuration files ex: running config, OS versions, duplex identifiers.
1
Definitely a basic understanding of cisco OS and cisco CLI commands.
- Config updates
- Config upkeep
- Config stadardisation
- Template records
- Automate IOS upgrades
- Out of band device management
Yes
Replaced Putty.
- Price
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Existing Relationship with the Vendor
Product usability.
Config compare with more than 2 nodes would be great.
- Implemented in-house
No
Change management was a big part of the implementation and was well-handled
- Change management
- Integrating SSH and Telnet
No
We have a dedicated Loop 1 support engineer for our account. He goes above and beyond his hours to work on customer issues.
- Automation
- Upkeep of configs
No
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.
- It's greatly reduced our downtime.
I tried to setup a rancid server early on but I found it cumbersome to keep up to date and configured for all our networking products. When I found NCM from SolarWinds I was ecstatic to download and try. When we got the demo version, we quickly purchased shortly after.
1
so far i'm the only one that uses NCM in our environment. I handle everything dealing with the infrastructure. I'm in charge of making sure our configs are up to date, backed up, and easily accessible so when a failure occurs we can recover quickly. I also handle the virtual environment.
1
I'm a jack of all trades master of none. Network config manager is really a product that i like to call a "Ronco" product. you set it and forget it to some extent. i have reports that i get daily to ensure that my configs are backup and saved. I also have a command that runs weekly to write the configs on the networking equipment incase i forget when i'm making changes.
- config backups
- config recovery
- config change log
- NA
- NA
- NA
- push bulk config
- backup non cisco configs
No
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Vendor Reputation
we've been using solarwinds Network performance monitor for a while and wanted something with that would have a smooth transition to back up our configs. when we learned that solarwinds had network config manager it was a no brainer for us and we jumped on the opportunity to purchase it with our existing package.
i wouldn't change anything. i fell in love with network configuration manager from the word go. it was easy to setup and use and provided us with a lot of valuable configs and different versions of configs to compare and see where we may have differed from site to site. it was a great experience.
- Implemented in-house
No
- not all snmp communities were the same
No
i don't have a specific time where they went above and beyond, but i will toot their horn and say they always strive to give the best support that they can to their customers. i think that mentality will always make them a cut above other vendors that have similar products.
- setup
- use
- exporting configs
- na
- na
- na