We set up NCM as a way to continuously monitor and report on network device configuration adherence to hardened baselines standards. We also set up alerts to Jira via email such that if a device became out of compliance an email would be sent that would create a ticket on the network team's service desk. The ticket had the necessary detail to define the compliance violation and even suggest the remediation, this included config-line numbers and even some contextual information about where in the config the problem existed. The scope was all our network devices and it solved the business problem of network device compliance to hardening standards which was part of our ISO security program.

Pros

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.

Cons

The GUI is a bit sluggish in my opinion.
The GUI is not very intuitive and could use some polishing.
The creation of compliance policies needs to be streamlined and allow for better flow.
A better Linux version would be nice.

Most Important Features

Network device configuration compliance to defined baselines.
Audit-ability of network device config changes.
Alert generation for compliance deviation.

Return on Investment

Many hours saved by the security and network team during external audits.
Many hours were saved by the network team not needing to find and correct config deviations from the standard.
Many hours were saved by the security team not having to work through the network team to get config information.

Alternatives Considered

ManageEngine Network Configuration Management (NCM), Fluke Networks Etherscope, Microsoft Network Monitor (Discontinued), PRTG Network Monitor and Nagios Network Analyzer

Other Software Used

CrowdStrike Falcon Endpoint Protection, Rapid7 InsightVM (Nexpose), Tenable.sc (formerly SecurityCenter)

Jesse Bridgelal

Network Architect in Information Technology at MOH (501-1000 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I manage a large WAN with over 15 geographically dispersed sites, all within the same country. I primarily use this product to monitor my WAN links, network appliances and measure performance, uptime and for alerting. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor provides a central console for viewing all my devices on a single screen and I can also plot these devices on a map if needed. The system allows for devices to be grouped by site, type, etc. This allows me to see site issues at a high level if needed.

Pros

Monitor device uptime
Measure port utilization
Provide usable reports on network performance over a time period
Provide alerts via email, screen alerts, or SMS
Provide flexible options for grouping devices into a category that is usable and easily referenced

Cons

The device topology mapping could be improved
Device configuration database could be included
The system could include a TFTP server to allow device configs to be downloaded and saved

Most Important Features

Network discovery
Alerting on thresholds, offline and network issues
Allows for grouping of devices using standard or custom groups
Provides rich reports on network performance based on various aspects of performance indicators
Is very cost effective

Return on Investment

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

Alternatives Considered

PRTG Network Monitor

Other Software Used

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, AnyDesk, PRTG Network Monitor, Eset Endpoint Antivirus, EaseUS Todo Backup

Dipak Patel

Sr DBA in Information Technology at evicore (1001-5000 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

The tool is ok for small businesses and low amount of data generated. Once you reach the "limit" which was 12 months after the launch, we got the problems, navigation got slower, DB needed some fixes, data retention policy has to be implemented. Live data is not working as expected. The overall experience gets worst as and data continues to grow. NPM module helps to find network-related bottlenecks, easy to set up and gives a great picture. My experience is ok with this module.

Pros

reports are customizable fully
Module configuration is easy for even beginner users
Alerts can be integrated into any chat-ops or incident management tools

Cons

High-level view on the network, live data is not working as expected
DB instance needs too many fixes as data grows
The module has an even deeper analytics option

Most Important Features

reporting
diagnostics
operation analytics

Return on Investment

Useful, easy to use and with great perspectives
One of the best network monitoring tools at the market
Good visibility across entire IT environment.

Other Software Used

Opsview Monitor, Netwrix SbPAM, SolarWinds ipMonitor

John Abraham View profile

Director of Information Systems - ACOM in Information Technology at Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (51-200 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We currently use SolarWinds Network Device Monitor to provide visibility into our layer 2 and layer 3 network resources. The visibility gives our team tools that help mitigate network issues before they become real problems. It also provides a resource that is scalable and grows with our network and provides advance alerting.

Pros

Critical Path Visualization
Intelligent Mapping
Performance Analysis

Cons

Price
EDR
and Integration with other tools like AV.

Most Important Features

wifi monitoring
network packet analyzer
lan monitoring

Return on Investment

Overall visualization of Network
Alerts
works with almost all of our network devices

Other Software Used

Palo Alto Networks Advanced URL Filtering, Barracuda Essentials, Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services

Jacob Bradley

UC Manager in Information Technology at T. D. Williamson (1001-5000 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We have offices in many other locations around the world. The Network Device Monitor for SolarWinds works with our other SolarWinds Monitoring and Automation implementations to allow to quickly view and triage any outages or performance degradation. It also helps us keep track of devices that are in use or need to be decommissioned.

Pros

Monitors our Meraki switches
Monitors our AudioCodes telecom devices
Logs performance metrics for our multiple sites across the world

Cons

Performance in the GUI is very slow. It takes a lot of horsepower behind the scenes.
Some of the menu and action items are hard to find. It's not incredibly intuitive.
The dashboard should tie in to other products more seamlessly.

Most Important Features

Single dashboard to monitor status of all network devices
Network device discovery
Network device management and troubleshooting

Return on Investment

It's definitely allowed us to push responsibilities down to lower support tiers.
Allows faster response time to outages or performance degradation.
Frees up more project time for our network engineers.

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft System Center Operations Manager (SCOM)

Other Software Used

SolarWinds IP Address Manager (IPAM), SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM), SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

What is SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?

Categories & Use Cases

Who Buys & Uses SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Most Frequent Users

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

Manufacturing

Finance and Insurance

Most Frequent Users

Small Businesses

Mid-sized Companies

Enterprises

Most Frequent Users

IT

Engineering

Customer Success