IBM Tivoli NetCool vs SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper comparison

IBM and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Network Management Applications category. IBM is ranked #14 with an average rating of 7.7, while SolarWinds is ranked #11 with an average rating of 10.0. IBM holds a 2.4% mindshare in NMA, compared to SolarWinds’s 2.1% mindshare. Additionally, 83% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

IBM Tivoli NetCool

Read 13 IBM Tivoli NetCool reviews

964 Views
665 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Network Topology...

Read 2 SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper reviews

299 Views
299 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Tivoli NetCool

SolarWinds Network Topology...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IBM Tivoli NetCool and SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Network Management Applications solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Tivoli NetCool vs. SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Tivoli NetCool vs. SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper

September 2025

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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

IBM Tivoli NetCool

Ranking in Network Management Applications

14th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SolarWinds Network Topology...

Ranking in Network Management Applications

11th

Average Rating

9.6

Reviews Sentiment

2.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of IBM Tivoli NetCool is 2.4%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper is 2.1%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Management Applications Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper	2.1%
IBM Tivoli NetCool	2.4%
Other	95.5%

Network Management Applications

Featured Reviews

Petar Ganev

Senior Enterprise Monitoring Engineer at Commerzbank

Reliable for enterprise monitoring but no longer actively developed

There are problems with the latest security requirements because many things have changed in recent years, and now the security audits are very strict. And we need to switch to something else. We need to patch it constantly. Moreover, it is a very old tool and a little bit difficult to support. Otherwise, they work okay.

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reviewer2687874

Design Engineer at a wholesaler/distributor with 501-1,000 employees

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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The scalability of monitoring, the breadth of supported network components, the scale of the number of monitoring events, and the flexibility in customization make this a well-rounded product."

"The solution has very good integration capabilities."

"The feature I have found most valuable with NetCool is how it collaborates all the alarms, and then it does a predictive analysis, providing a consolidated alarm view and management."

"It's very easy to use."

"The tool is much easier to manage than running scripts and figuring out how many endpoints have been exceeded."

"NetCool has a huge database that can collect and process about one million alarms a day."

"It's very easy to use."

"Support is one of the best aspects of this solution. NetCool is a good product that has good flexibility. There are a lot of documents available online which is one of the best features of IBM Tivoli Suite. Whenever an issue happens, rather than going to technical support, if you find the exact issue in Google, you can get tech notes for that particular issue."

More IBM Tivoli NetCool pros

"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

"Tivoli NetCool is based on a Linux platform, it would be beneficial if they moved it to Windows because not everyone is acquainted with Linux."

"The solution is too expensive."

"The solution is not user-friendly."

"The solution does not have any AI capabilities."

"Customization and integration that you need to do to make the product fit your needs is very complex. It is not a product that somebody could easily pick up without any prior training or experience."

"In terms of improvement, I would like to see more AIOps, Artificial Intelligent Operations in the next release. IBM develops new features for Power BI or Cognos Analytics, which is good. As of now, we use Cognos Analytics, we are not using Power BI. They have the Insight concept but we don't like that."

"The installation could be simplified, and technical support could be faster."

"Tivoli NetCool's has medium scalability - there are some problems with its replications not being mature."

More IBM Tivoli NetCool cons

"This is a relatively expensive product."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

"The price of the product is too expensive."

"It costs around 100k for every ten servers, which is lower than similar products from other vendors."

"Customers are required to pay a licensing fee."

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

32%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

12%

Government

10%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	4

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

I have worked from 1973 with all kind of systems in large enterprises across the world. And have experience with all kind of software in monitoring from infra to end to end, it depends on the funct...

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What do you like most about IBM Tivoli NetCool?

The tool had many built-in automation capabilities.

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What needs improvement with IBM Tivoli NetCool?

The main challenge is its licensing model, which is very complicated.

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What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper?

In general, I use it for scanning IT and OT devices for networks and laying out their topology mapping. The industry I use it for is manufacturing. We specifically don't use it as our network manag...

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What advice do you have for others considering SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper?

The Engineer's Toolset is something I use hand-in-hand with the Topology Mapper, and it complements it well. Regarding pricing and licensing with SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper, I haven't faced...

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Comparisons

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Compared 36% of the time

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs IBM Tivoli NetCool

Compared 36% of the time

HPE Intelligent Management Center vs IBM Tivoli NetCool

Compared 28% of the time

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Aruba Airwave vs SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper

Compared 29% of the time

Cisco Catalyst Center vs SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper

Compared 29% of the time

Cisco DNA Center vs SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper

Compared 24% of the time

Fortinet FortiManager vs SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper

Compared 19% of the time

More SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Tivoli NetCool

September 2025

Download IBM Tivoli NetCool product report

Buyer's Guide

Network Management Applications

August 2025

SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper report

Download SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper product report

Also Known As

Tivoli NetCool

SolarWinds NTM

Overview

IBM Tivoli Netcool delivers near real-time, consolidated event management across business infrastructure, data centers, complex networks and IT domains. The software provides full management and automation to help you deliver continuous uptime of business services and applications.

IBM

Automate device discovery and mapping
Build multiple maps from a single scan
Export network diagrams to Visio
Auto-detect changes to network topology
Perform multi-level network discovery
Address regulatory PCI compliance

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Claranet, Consolidated Communications, Telus, €sterreichische Bundesbahnen (€BB), Telekom Srbija, Bendigo Community Telco, Capgemini, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen (SBB)

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

IBM Tivoli NetCool vs. SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper

September 2025

Free Report: IBM Tivoli NetCool vs. SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Tivoli NetCool vs. SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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