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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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Product Details
- 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:
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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
(1-3 of 3)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
February 14, 2020
Really good at capturing network configurations.
We use the SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager module to backup network device configurations across our environments. We get emails daily on whether the backup happened or not. The good part is SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager provides info on what has changed and when, along with the config backups. It is used across our entire infrastructure.
- SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager backs up network device configurations across our environments, like firewalls and other devices.
- It provides info on what has changed and when.
- We can add/edit SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager in add nodes. If we could configure just SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager separately, without adding the node to mandatory monitoring, it would be helpful.
- Too much manual configuration is required.
- It helped resolve multiple issues by detailing what changed from the network end.
- It helped when our network configs got messed up, and they were missing.
- Dynatrace, Dynatrace Application Monitoring, Datadog and Micro Focus SiteScope (formerly HP SiteScope)
For NCM, there is no other tool that I know of that can work as well as SolarWinds does.
All other products that I have used are mainly used for application performance monitoring more than network configuration capture.
Yes
Yes
Not really. They asked to upgrade SolarWinds instead of a workaround, which is a very painful process.
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.
- None in my experience.
We have SolarWinds because it's what was here before I started. It is not good compared to competitors.
Yes
This is our primary monitoring tool and it constantly has issues so we're forced to pay for support. Non-paid support is not available.
Yes
Issue was never resolved.
I have opened many many cases with their support team and I don't think a single one has not given me a headache dealing with their awful support team.