NCM - Network automation made easy
February 25, 2020
NCM - Network automation made easy
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager
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.
Using SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager
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
Evaluating SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager and Competitors
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.
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager Implementation
- Implemented in-house
Change management was a big part of the implementation and was well-handled
- Change management
- Integrating SSH and Telnet
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager Support
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response | None |
We have a dedicated Loop 1 support engineer for our account. He goes above and beyond his hours to work on customer issues.
Using SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Well integrated Consistent Convenient Feel confident using | Requires technical support Lots to learn |
- Automation
- Upkeep of configs