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SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM)

    Score8.3 out of 10
    N/ASolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is network diagnostics and troubleshooting technology, from Austin-based SolarWinds.N/A

    SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

    Score9.1 out of 10
    N/ASolarWinds Network Device Monitor is a network diagnostic tool, from Austin-based SolarWinds.N/A
    Pricing
    SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM)SolarWinds Network Device Monitor
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM)SolarWinds Network Device Monitor
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM)SolarWinds Network Device Monitor
    Considered Both Products
    SolarWinds
    No answer on this topic
    SolarWinds
    Chose SolarWinds Network Device Monitor
    na
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    92%
    Would buy again
    33 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    18 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    88%
    Delivers good value for the price
    30 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    17 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    94%
    Happy with the feature set
    34 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    18 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    94%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    30 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    14 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    94%
    Implementation went as expected
    31 Answers
    93%
    Implementation went as expected
    13 Answers
    Best Alternatives
    SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM)SolarWinds Network Device Monitor
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    No answers on this topic
    SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM)
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Enterprises
    No answers on this topic
    SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM)
    Score8.3 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM)SolarWinds Network Device Monitor
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.4
    (141 ratings)
    8.4
    (19 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.1
    (6 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    7.1
    (8 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.7
    (9 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM)SolarWinds Network Device Monitor
    Likelihood to Recommend
    SolarWinds
    If your IT team isn't proficient in automation and scripting, Solarwinds NCM can fill that gap (assuming your company's security team signs off on approving SW in your environment given the hack.) Basic device configuration, pushing mass changes reliably and backups are NCM's strong suites. If you have a complex scenario where if/then cases are needed, NCM is a bit lack luster. Auto discovery isn't as easy either as certain parameters need to be met for that feature to work 100% of the time
    Incentivized
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    SolarWinds
    On its own, it's a solid choice for an SMB or Mid-size Enterprise if you're price sensitive and looking primarily for core functionality. SolarWinds has a large family of products that can also be leveraged in conjunction with SWNDM. Turning the product loose on a very large environment for discovery and mapping should be done with care and concern for a number of reasons but including the performance of the product for this task. If you're looking for an all-in-one product with some presumed supporting features built in (config manager, etc.) you'll need to look elsewhere.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    SolarWinds
    • Integrates with Network Performance Management for Alerting and Reporting.
    • NetPath and detects issues due to Configuration Change.
    • Keeps a record of which user made the change.
    • Which devices are not being backed up, devices where backups are failing, dashboard and alerting available.
    Incentivized
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    SolarWinds
    • Monitor for and record network device configuration changes.
    • Allow for the creation, or modification, of hardening standards for multiple vendors' network devices.
    • Automate the creation of alerts that can be sent to owners for correction of compliance violations.
    • Allow you to organize a visualization of your network devices.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    SolarWinds
    • 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.
    Incentivized
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    SolarWinds
    • More security put into the product, the Orion hack was not good news.
    • More frequent releases to address small bugs rather than big releases that are rare.
    • More IPv6 related features to make it easier for people familiar with IPv4 to learn IPv6.
    • Ability to edit dashboards using JSON or another similar language.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    SolarWinds
    Medium complexity to set up in the beginning if using any non-standard devices or configurations, else fairly easy (e.g. Cisco Nexus or IOS-based devices). Reports are fairly straightforward to set up. Updates to the platform are fairly straightforward and don't take a major effort. Easy to add or remove devices.
    Incentivized
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    SolarWinds
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    SolarWinds
    The user interface is lacking. It is difficult to navigate at times and things can be done multiple ways. Quite often I am confused by how their notification structure works. It is not very intuitive. They do offer a free Academy. They also offer a community of other technical folks. I have enjoyed both.
    Incentivized
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    SolarWinds
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    SolarWinds
    To be fair, I have not had to involve Support in a number of years, but when I did, I was greeted with enthusiastic engineers who wanted to understand and solve the issue. It was a fairly complex scenario and I have discovered in my most recent implementation that engineering included that option as a standard now.
    Incentivized
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    SolarWinds
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    SolarWinds
    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
    Incentivized
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    SolarWinds
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    SolarWinds
    it was a fairly easy implementation and everything was pretty straightforward. only challenge we had was getting all the snmp communities updated on the networking equipment
    Incentivized
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    SolarWinds
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    SolarWinds
    Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is a great tool and matches much of the functionality of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager. Nothing about Ansible will likely be overwhelming to an engineer with a little time to spare, but that spare time combined with SolarWinds already being our monitoring tool made the decision easy. Time is at a premium in small teams and SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is very easy to use right out of the box without all the tweaking required by powerful command line driven tools like Ansible.
    Incentivized
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    SolarWinds
    MS is meant for windows monitoring and up/down for mostly everything else. Moved away from MS System Center. Now we have better visibility and management can get reports. The other teams have added Linux to Solarwinds and also see improvements in monitoring. Whether you use snmp (v3), wmi or some other credentials to connect to you system, Solarwinds will more than likely be able to manage and monitor it.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    SolarWinds
    • The time savings from automatic daily backups is significant
    • The compare configuration tool is super helpful at spotting errors when small changes occur that are hard to detect otherwise.
    • The compliance check tool saves countless hours going through configurations for errors.
    Incentivized
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    SolarWinds
    • Reduced site visits and recurring issues by 25 to 35%
    • Enables proactive warning, thereby reducing downtime caused by unforeseen issues
    • Provides a central panel for monitoring the entire network at a glance
    • Allows for SLA management thereby increasing accountability by 50%
    • Reduced time to repair by 35% as techs are more informed of root cause
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    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.