Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

ExtremeCloud IQ vs SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

ExtremeCloud IQ
Ranking in Network Management Applications
11th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
76
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (12th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (21st)
SolarWinds Network Topology...
Ranking in Network Management Applications
22nd
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
2.7
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of ExtremeCloud IQ is 2.9%, up from 2.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper is 2.1%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

KristianLarsen - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps resolve network-related issues quickly and is reasonably priced
The tool has both advantages and weaknesses because it has several pieces of software on which it has been working because of buyouts. The tool has several branches of software versions, and you can consolidate it into ExtremeCloud, but it also has the disadvantage that sometimes people can get issues because the software on the hardware is different than they expected, especially if it is not converted to the tool used. The tool has simplified things, but it also adds a complexity that sometimes stumps some users. In the future, I think the tool’s onboarding setup of a new tenant could be smoother or faster. I also think that they could provide a simpler setup for first-level support so that it can be easier for them to have a support dashboard that would help them. I am talking about customer support organizations, so you usually have a high turnaround, but you need to have something that is easier to use and where you don't need so much training.
reviewer2687874 - PeerSpot reviewer
Effective tools simplify network mapping and analysis
I can't really articulate any areas that could be improved with the product right offhand. Just as long as they keep it around, since I know things are going into subscription models. One thing we do appreciate about the tool is that it's essentially a perpetual tool. Once you purchase it and the Engineer's ToolBox, it's been beneficial, serving as another utility tool on the network. I can't think of anything specific offhand for how SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper could improve, because I treat it as a simple utility tool that serves those needs. It scans the network for SNMP and ICMP echoes to map the topologies of the existing network. It's a small utility tool that's very helpful and beneficial, another option for us to utilize, and while there's always room for more features, that typically comes with a cost that we have to weigh.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"ExtremeCloud IQ is a complete package with the pilot and the co-pilot feature that gives me full visibility of the network."
"App and firewall security at the AP."
"The cloud-based controller through HiveManager is its most valuable feature. I can manage and configure changes to my access points from anywhere."
"The feature that I like to most is unified management in a multitenant environment, where we can manage all our customers with thousands of devices (routers, switches, VPNs, and APs)."
"The deployment made my life very easy."
"The cloud management gives us the tools and reports that we need to monitor and troubleshoot the network."
"The cloud-based management interface allows us to fully manage all our wireless radios, ensuring consistency and ease of access."
"The support organization behind this product is extremely professional."
"One of the best features of SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper is that it has over 60 utility tools to utilize, so it offers a lot of different features, more than I have time to discuss at this moment, making it a good extra set of utility tools that we can incorporate onto our network."
"It's user-friendly."
 

Cons

"Certain features only exist or work in certain versions."
"I struggled with the documentation."
"I struggled with the documentation. I expected comprehensive documentation and videos but found them to be too simple."
"Their firewall configuration gets funky and it can be difficult to understand."
"Lacks cyber asset tracking."
"From our perspective, we would love to see Aerohive provide faster feature enhancement in their Virtual Appliance to match the features with the cloud solution more quickly."
"The solution will show us that there are some issues, but when we try to find those issues, we can't see them."
"The tool has simplified things, but it also adds a complexity that sometimes stumps some users."
"This is a relatively expensive product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is not the cheapest product but I think that the price is reasonable because you get a lot of support of it's needed."
"It is costly as compared to Meraki, Aruba, Juniper, and Cisco. Cloud IQ is an enterprise solution, whereas Meraki is specifically a single solution."
"ExtremeCloud IQ's pricing is high."
"The pricing is so cost-effective that it leaves no room for competition with other vendors."
"This solution offers annual licensing that is middle of the range in terms of cost."
"Customers need to pay a yearly licensing fee for ExtremeCloud IQ, which is a little bit expensive."
"Price-wise, it is a reasonable tool."
"For example, if you compare Aruba vs Aerohive, you need to check which licences from Aruba you need to match the functionality of Aerohive (usually you need at least three types of licences and a controller with redundancy). The same goes with Cisco, where you need buy additional licences for central management, firewall, spectral analysis, WIPS, PPSK, etc. Aerohive has a very simple model - one licence for all the functionalities - and you can believe that there are many. One licence makes it easy to maintain, scale, renew and you can plan your costs 10 years in advance."
Information not available
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Management Applications solutions are best for your needs.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Educational Organization
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Energy/Utilities Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What are pros and cons of Aruba 515 Series AP vs. Cisco Meraki or Extreme Networks?
Depends. I have personally used both Cisco and Aruba so I am familiar with them. Extreme I am not, so unless they have some feature that I need or want, I wouldn't consider them. Do you have expe...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ExtremeCloud IQ?
The licensing was a challenge due to budget constraints, and I used ExtremeCloud IQ without a license for a period. The documentation and training courses were also costly, impacting how easily I c...
What advice do you have for others considering ExtremeCloud IQ?
I rate the overall solution nine out of ten only due to the poor documentation. Despite this, I was very happy with ExtremeCloud IQ as it greatly eased my workload, allowing me to manage the networ...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

Aerohive Networks, Aerohive HiveManager, HiveManager, ExtremeCloud , ExtremeSecurity
SolarWinds NTM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Henry Ford Health System, Baltimore Ravens, Brandili, Federal University of Alagoas, CEDAE, Caxias do Sul, UNISC Concurrency, CenturyLink Field, Louisiana College, Cricket Tasmania Stadium, Moscow Internet Exchange
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fortinet and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.