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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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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

(1-1 of 1)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
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
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
We use SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) at our core and distribution to track configuration changes, since it's a module for Orion it provides a single pane of glass for the team. We have real-time configuration change monitoring enabled for the equipment with SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) enabled so once a change has been made we have a record of the change and can easily revert changes from SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) or do a comparison if needed. Previously we had used other products but the setup was more difficult and not all equipment was easily supported whereas SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) has support for a majority of the devices we use out of the box without any additional configuration or customization, although that is an option if needed.
Pros and Cons
  • Keeping previous configurations
  • Tracking configuration changes
  • Configuration reporting
  • Real-time configuration change tracking via trap notifications
  • For our use case, it does everything great and some of the features we underutilize but I would like to be able to set a configuration baseline when initially adding a node instead of after the configuration is pulled but it's not a particularly big deal to let it pull the configuration then set it as the baseline.
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.
Return on Investment
  • Reduced labor when replacing failed equipment, we always have the latest configuration as well as previous configurations readily available. Saves us from needing to rewrite configurations.
  • Reduced labor for adding devices for configuration tracking. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) just works and doesn't require much input from the team to continue operating and pulling configurations for new or existing nodes.
  • Pushing out firmware updates to network devices is incredibly simple using SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) which also saves significantly on labor since we can do all nodes from a single location.
  • SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) replaced a variety of other tools that our engineers would use, so instead of managing and configuring each tool only one needs to be configured and maintained.
Alternatives Considered
We had previously used cattools and rancid for configuration management. Cattools is another Solarwinds product but one that we outgrew and doesn't integrate with the Orion platform like SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) does. Rancid it seems a lot of engineers are familiar with and is suitable for some use cases but its feature set is lacking when compared with NCM. Oxidized can be used standalone or with LibreNMS and works well for supported devices. Unfortunately, we came across a fair number of devices that it didn't support at the time so we moved on from Oxidized. Its also not as user-friendly to set up and maintain as NCM and also doesn't number of features as NCM. When paired with Librenms Oxidized I would rank this as our second-place pick. Depending on the environment and the organization this might be the first pick for some people. Ultimately for us, the Orion platform was the top pick because of its usability and available features.
Other Software Used
Training Types Used
  • Online training
Online Training
10
Solarwinds has actually produced new training since I last used it that is available on their site at any time. Their previous training was more than enough to get us started but now there is significantly more content. Since I'm comfortable with the Orion platform and the products we use I haven't checked the new training out yet but we have new staff go through portions of that training and they always come away with an understanding of the platform and ready to use it.
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