SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager Review
March 09, 2019
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager Review
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager
Solarwinds Network Configuration Manager is used on a daily basis at Midwest Energy & Communications. This network support product from Solarwinds is used to back up our Cisco network switches on a weekly basis. It is used as a network configuration change management approval and tracking system. It is used as a running and startup comparison tool. We use it as a compliance verification resources. We use it as a safety net when making network changes. Finally, you can use it to perform upgrades on multiple switches in a scheduled process.
- Solarwinds Network Configuration Manager is an automated configuration backup system that archives configurations for your managed network devices. The backup process is very easy to set up and backups are fully automated. You can make the backup task reoccur, which lets you set up a schedule and target devices. NCM uses secure credentials to access each device and store the configs in a central database. If a backup fails, it will alert you immediately so you can correct the problem.
- With NCM's change management in place, you can avoid bad or invalid configuration changes before being deployment using a change approval process. Adhering to security policies is a difficult part of configuration management and change control. SolarWinds Configuration Manager includes vulnerability scanning, compliance assessment reports, and real-time configuration change monitoring to help you meet security policy requirements.
- NCM makes bulk switch config and router changes saving time and reducing errors when compared to manual updates by automating bulk configuration changes to wired and wireless devices. We save time by using change management to push approved and standardized config changes to devices in minutes across our entire network.
- It lakes the out-of-box integration with some of the lower end product lines on the market and focuses on the more high end and expensive switching and routing products.
- As with most of Solarwinds product line, it is now requiring the Windows Server 2016 operating system to run. Due to the price point, they should make it available to run on open source Linux platforms.
- Midwest Energy & Communications had a situation were a bad configuration was found with the change management process that stops a major outage from occurring. We are an ISP and provide Internet and phone line communications to our customers. If we would have placed a configuration that would have had us down for an extended time we would be fined by the FCC. That alone made the product pay for itself.
- Handling information and financial data occur here daily. The peace of mind that NCM finds the holes that would violate PCI-DSS is fantastic. To even be shut down for a single day due to a compliance violation would cripple the payment process for our customers.
- The life-cycle monitor and inventory control piece allows for us to see reports of the EOL for or equipment allowing us to stay ahead of old equipment.
We tried a few different products at a cheaper level such as Spiceworks and PRTG. But were unable to make them work for everything we would get with Solarwinds. We also tried a few products at a higher price point like Ipswitch by What's up Gold and BladeLogic Network Automation and found them to be okay but we received a better deal packaging Solarwinds products with the NCM and have a single pane of glass to look at all of our devices.