Cisco Prime LAN Management Solution is discontinued. Current users are encouraged to explore Cisco Catalyst Center as a modern solution.
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SPDocKit
Score 10.0 out of 10
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SysKit, in Zagreb, offers SPDocKit as the Ultimate SharePoint On-Premises Administration Tool, used to automate routine administrators’ tasks such as document configuration and exploration of SharePoint structure.
Cisco Prime can monitor faults and performance, generate heat maps, manage device configuration, and alert. The tools that we find will help us identify wireless access points, network switches, and everything in between. It's simple to manage a dozen devices, but hundreds or thousands require a platform like Cisco LMS. Its bulk configuration and backup configuration features are crucial. We can also access dashboards that show admins and technicians the network's health at a glance.
The product is second to none in providing an accurate and detailed view of a SharePoint farm, its composition, and its configuration. It is an essential tool for discovery purposes, and it should be used anytime business continuity and disaster recover plans/documentations are being prepared. Since SharePoint doesn't include a "farm clone" method, SPDocKit provides the next best thing in attempts to replicate configuration. It can also be used as a Q&A checkpoint through the use of farm snapshots to highlight differences that exist between two or more environments.
You can deploy from simple snippets of config to a whole template to multiple devices at the same time. That saves us a lot of time (remember that time is money) when we need to change some setting globally, like adjust a ACL or add new global policy. Doesn't matter how many models of the same equipment you have.
The Network Topology map is also a great tool for troubleshooting. You can check several aspects of the topology, the connection between the equipment, the status of the connections and even check specific alarms related to that part of the topology (or map). Again, consider that in a multi site, global environment and you'll see the benefits.
Inventory and firmware updates are also great tools inside the solution. You have check exactly what equipment is outdated and schedule an update with a couple of clicks. You can do that also in a batch, saving a lot of time (and money) and avoid to go handle the equipment one by one, sometimes even needing to have physical access to those equipment.
Discovery. When trying to learn the ins and outs of an unfamiliar SharePoint farm configuration, SPDocKit creates a complete and accurate picture.
Documentation. Documenting farm configurations manually is a very time and labor intensive process, so I turn to SPDocKit to automate the process for me.
Change Tracking. SPDocKit can take a series of farm snapshots over time, and it can highlight and track differences in configuration and settings from snapshot to snapshot.
Cloud Readiness. Unfortunately, SPDocKit cannot run against SharePoint Online (SPO) environments due to its reliance on server APIs that aren't exposed in the cloud.
Variations. SPDocKit exists in a number of forms for licensing purposes, and not all versions are equivalent. It's sometimes difficult to know what version of the product houses the feature that I want to use, as well as whether or not I'm licensed for it.
We are very happy using Cisco Prime LAN Management Solution for the following reason: 1- Ease of use with the GUI. 2- Very well organized dashboard which can view many statistics on your devices. 3- Customized dashboard for different views ( for technical team and executives ) 4- Schedule configuration templates to use whenever we need on whatever device we want.
SysKit support is second to none. On occasions where I've had questions about any aspect of SPDocKit, I've reached out to SysKit through available channels and usually gotten back a detailed and helpful answer within 24 hours of my request submission. They're also very friendly and supply more information that may be related to my inquiry or problem. I never feel like customer support is an afterthought with SysKit.
Although there are many powerful tools available in the market such as Solarwinds, Micro Focus, CA Spectrum with advanced configuration options and customization options available still Cisco Prime [LAN Management Solution] is the preferred tool for following reasons - 1. If you have only Cisco Infrastructure then go for Cisco Prime Blindly. 2. Extensive information on network devices mapping layout. 3. Devices configuration management specially for wireless.
I am unaware of any other product on the market that does what SysKit SPDocKit does. SPDocKit has certainly been doing it the longest, and it offers a unique value proposition and set of capabilities.
It has helped us with our quarterly wireless security testing by pinpointing the location of non-approved access points vs. hunting for them via signal strength.
Saves time by helping to identify network health issues before they become a definitive problem causing downtime.
With errors detected early, we have noticed our wi-fi network is much more stable thus freeing up our engineer's time elsewhere.
The product cost may appear large, but when you compare the cost and reuse of the product to what it would cost in time and effort to carry out its functions manually, the cost is truly a drop in the bucket.
Since I operate as a consultant, I consider the SysKit SPDocKit tool essential to the work I do. It allows me to go into new environments, generate a farm report, and use that report as something I provide to the client - as well as for my own purposes.
