Config Management Clarity
September 03, 2018
Config Management Clarity
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager
As an MSP we utilize NCM within my department to backup network configurations and provide change control for customers globally. NCM provides checks and balances for configuration changes as well as historical information on who implemented what configuration change and whether they saved the changes to the startup config.
- NCM provides backups of all network configs. which are easily accessible in the event of a disaster.
- NCM provides historical details on config. changes and who performed the change (assuming RADIUS/TACACS is being used).
- NCM provides detailed reports on config. backups as well as whether running configs were saved to the startup config.
- NCM provides a central console to deploy standard config. changes across hundreds of devices easily.
- The configuration of exclusions for which configs. are compared is often finicky. Example is the crypto keys and null lines cause comparison issues where NCM will constantly flag the running config. as not saved to the startup config. when in fact it is.
- NCM does not provide any warning prior to pushing configuration changes out. The same caution should be used as if you are directly connected to the switch as you can disconnect yourself and/or brick the end device.
- NCM provides solid backups and config. change control across hundreds of switches.
- I looked into other solutions to replace NCM however none of them can do what NCM does and that I currently need.
NCM was chosen for its ability to backup, compare, and report on network configs.