Ixia Hawkeye vs SolarWinds NPM comparison

Keysight Technologies and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Keysight Technologies is ranked #82, while SolarWinds is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.5. Keysight Technologies holds a 0.5% mindshare in NMS, compared to SolarWinds’s 3.6% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Keysight Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

Ixia Hawkeye

Read 4 Ixia Hawkeye reviews

2,223 Views
1,556 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

SolarWinds NPM

Read 160 SolarWinds NPM reviews

20,239 Views
15,584 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Ixia Hawkeye

SolarWinds NPM

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

SolarWinds NPM and Ixia Hawkeye are network monitoring products. SolarWinds NPM appears to have an edge in pricing and support, while Ixia Hawkeye stands out for its comprehensive feature set.

Features: SolarWinds NPM offers comprehensive network performance management capabilities, providing in-depth insights and alerts. It ensures detailed monitoring and alert systems which are essential for maintaining operational efficiency. Ixia Hawkeye delivers superior active monitoring features along with network path and performance visualization. It provides advanced diagnostics and a holistic view of network performance, using these tools to enhance network reliability.

Room for Improvement: SolarWinds NPM could enhance its feature set by introducing more advanced diagnostics, which Ixia Hawkeye currently excels in. Improving its network path visualization tools could also help NPM compete more directly with Hawkeye’s offerings. Additionally, SolarWinds NPM might benefit from refining its active monitoring features. Ixia Hawkeye might explore offering more cost-effective solutions, as its comprehensive feature set does lead to higher initial costs. There is also room for improvement in simplifying its introductory and installation procedures. Providing more accessible versions for smaller networks could expand its user base.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SolarWinds NPM features an easy-to-follow deployment process bolstered by robust customer service, simplifying both initial setup and prolonged support. This makes it attractive for customers new to network monitoring. Ixia Hawkeye’s flexible deployment model emphasizes rapid integration, which is advantageous in complex environments. Furthermore, its proactive support team efficiently tackles integration and service issues, making customer support more effective for demanding environments.

Pricing and ROI: SolarWinds NPM is praised for a lower initial setup cost, making it appealing to budget-focused buyers. This is accompanied by a favorable ROI, especially for small-to-medium enterprises looking for dependable network management at a lower cost. In contrast, Ixia Hawkeye reflects its extensive feature set with higher setup costs, yet its ROI is significant for environments that require its advanced functionalities. While the initial investment is higher, the long-term benefits align with the demands of high-performance network environments, providing substantial value over time.

To learn more, read our detailed Ixia Hawkeye vs. SolarWinds NPM Report (Updated: June 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Ixia Hawkeye vs. SolarWinds NPM

June 2026

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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

Ixia Hawkeye

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

82nd

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

67th

Average Rating

9.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Unified Communications Monitoring (5th)

SolarWinds NPM

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

2nd

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

160

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Monitoring Software (8th)

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Ixia Hawkeye is 0.5%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds NPM is 3.6%, down from 4.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
SolarWinds NPM	3.6%
Ixia Hawkeye	0.5%
Other	95.9%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

José Enrique Cano Rodriguez

Assistant Consultant at Tata Consultancy

A valuable tool for optimizing network performance and security with comprehensive network monitoring capabilities, user-friendly interface, and flexibility for scripting

Distinguishing itself from network management systems like SolarWinds Orion and Dataminer, Hawkeye offers a distinctive feature. It empowers network administrators to access specialized and detailed views for specific tests, including video streaming and performance related to specific applications like video games. In contrast, SolarWinds and Dataminer typically offer a more general evaluation of network health. Hawkeye's unique capability enables a detailed analysis of network performance through specific tests, allowing administrators to identify areas in need of improvement and take precise actions to enhance network performance.

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Vivek Jaiswal

Manager IT at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Central monitoring has improved outage alerts and now needs smarter detection and modern dashboards

Regarding the automated network topology and mapping feature in SolarWinds NPM, I am not satisfied with it. For static monitoring, it is acceptable. However, if it is possible, I would need a feature in SolarWinds in the future for some kind of malfunctioning detection, such as malware attacks or that type of environment. We did not have any facility to detect that in SolarWinds. I think it would be better to incorporate those types of features. Regarding customization options in SolarWinds, the ability to customize the dashboard has room for improvement. The dashboard is quite old, and we need some improvement in it. Nowadays, we have multiple tools with AI-based monitoring and web-based dashboards. SolarWinds also has a web-based dashboard, but I think there is scope for improvement in the UI. There may be other areas I would like to improve in SolarWinds NPM.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the deployment because it's very easy to deploy real flow through the network."

"So far, this product is doing exactly what it is promised to do."

"I would recommend Ixia Hawkeye because there are some KPIs that are very useful."

"Our customer was happiest with the price of this product."

"It empowers network administrators to access specialized and detailed views for specific tests, including video streaming and performance related to specific applications like video games."

"The ease of setup is the most valuable aspect of this solution. It's easy to set up and run tests."

"We moved from nGenius to Orion NPM about 3 years ago and are very happy with the performance, features, and pricing, the company is very pro-active, as in adding additional features and being responsive to customer requests."

"The solution is easy to install and it takes a couple of hours."

"Implementing this product has given us detailed visibility and understanding of our network, and small teams are able to manage large enterprises with this tool."

"We found that it was easy to operate, and it was simple if anyone has entry-level working experience or even if someone is not experienced."

"We have configured multiple alerts for our network devices, including routers and switches, so that we are notified if any interface goes down."

"The product covers our needs for the basic care and feeding of servers, whether they are physical or virtual."

"Its GUI is very user-friendly."

"SolarWinds core data is organized in a very good way and the solution can easily be interconnected with other management systems to get information not only from networking devices but also applications and servers."

More SolarWinds NPM pros

Cons

"You can't delete more than one thing at a time. It would be great to be able to highlight three out of five things and delete them, whether it's a test or an actual report."

"Ixia has one flaw, which is that they do not print the license code on the paper licenses that are shipped to the customers."

"Improvements in network performance are essential."

"The customization of tests and even the results can be improved."

"Scalability is a bit tricky because it requires more gateways in order to get the performance you may need. It also requires a lot of licensing."

"Better support and integration for vendors other than Cisco."

"It would be good to have high security."

"An area for improvement in SolarWinds NPM is the short retention period. Currently, it's just for seven days of data, which is very low, making it hard for my organization to keep that data. SolarWinds recommended a seven-day retention period, but my organization needs a fourteen-day data retention period. Hence, I'd like an increase in the retention period or the database limit in SolarWinds NPM because you can't go back to the data for any investigation if seven days have passed. Another area for improvement in SolarWinds NPM is the database, which needs to be a bit more mature. I want a modified database in the next release of SolarWinds NPM. I'd also like more options added to groups because, currently, it's very limited."

"The root cause analysis and installation faults are not clear."

"The dashboards for this solution could be improved."

"I would say the NPM toolset has room for improvement."

"Consolidation of platforms would provide a smoother experience."

More SolarWinds NPM cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It cost us approximately 25,000 for two years. This is cheaper than ThousandEyes."

"In larger networks, the costs for licenses tend to be more reasonable, but for smaller networks, it appears relatively costly."

"Though I don't remember the price for SolarWinds NPM, its price is somewhat okay when you compare it with other tools in the market. The price isn't too high and isn't too low, so it's okay."

"The licensing is based on the number of nodes, interfaces, and volumes."

"It is not an expensive product."

"Excluding the costs of running VMs and physical blade servers, our licensing costs run around US$200,000/year for over 60 polling engines."

"The cost is based on the number of nodes, so it is expensive when you have a lot of them."

"The licensing model is such that you can purchase only what you need; and then grow into the next level by paying only the difference in price and the associated maintenance costs."

"We have a perpetual license for this solution, and my impression is that this solution is cheap."

"Our customer reports that the solution is somewhat costly and licensing is a bit complicated."

More SolarWinds NPM pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user174738

IT Developer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

May 31, 2015

Nagios vs. Zabbix vs. PRTG vs. Spiceworks vs. Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor

I have researched a quite a few network monitoring tools which can be used for various monitoring purposes of not only the servers, but the intermediate routers as well. There are majorly three types of these softwares. Ones which are completely open-source, you can do almost anything you want…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Construction Company

13%

Outsourcing Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

University

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Construction Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	59
Midsize Enterprise	33
Large Enterprise	86

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

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What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

It actually depends on the exact purpose or kind of devices (network devices, servers, something else). Some tools are better for only network devices while others are better for a cloud monitoring...

See all answers

What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

From my point of view, SolarWind is the best tool.

See all answers

What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

We are partners with SolarWinds and we sell a lot of Network management to large enterprises also because of scalability, products like Network Performance Monitor & Netflow Traffic Analyzer ar...

See all answers

Comparisons

Aurea CX Monitor vs Ixia Hawkeye

Compared 8% of the time

NETSCOUT nGeniusONE vs Ixia Hawkeye

Compared 8% of the time

Zabbix vs Ixia Hawkeye

Compared 6% of the time

DX Unified Infrastructure Management vs Ixia Hawkeye

Compared 6% of the time

ThousandEyes vs Ixia Hawkeye

Compared 5% of the time

More Ixia Hawkeye Competitors

ManageEngine OpManager vs SolarWinds NPM

Compared 3% of the time

Nagios XI vs SolarWinds NPM

Compared 3% of the time

DX Spectrum vs SolarWinds NPM

Compared 3% of the time

Zabbix vs SolarWinds NPM

Compared 3% of the time

PRTG Network Monitor vs SolarWinds NPM

Compared 2% of the time

More SolarWinds NPM Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Network Monitoring Software

May 2026

Download Ixia Hawkeye product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds NPM

May 2026

Download SolarWinds NPM product report

Also Known As

No data available

Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor, SolarWinds Network Bandwidth Analyzer

Overview

Ixia Hawkeye provides network administrators with specialized tools for video streaming and application performance analysis, offering a straightforward deployment with efficient test scheduling and performance insights.

Ixia Hawkeye is a powerful tool for detailed network performance analysis, focusing on GPON and DOCSIS networks. It facilitates tests like traceroute, STP, and video streaming assessments crucial for proof of concept and service validation in industries such as telecom. Though cost-effective, there is potential for improving test customization, graph features, and making license codes more accessible. Users leverage its throughput test to gain insights into bandwidth, latency, and packet loss while also identifying areas needing improvements such as customizable outputs and enhanced comparison tools.

What are the most important features?

Specialized Views: Offers insights into video streaming and applications.
Performance Analysis: Provides detailed results on bandwidth, latency, and packet loss.
Graph Clarity: Easy-to-read visual data representations.
Cost-Effectiveness: Competitive pricing.

What benefits or ROI should be considered?

Efficiency: Simplifies test scheduling and execution.
Visibility: Enhances network and application performance insights.
Accessibility: Streamlined network performance assessments.
Verification: Validates internet services with real-world applications.

In the telecom industry, solution providers employ Ixia Hawkeye for enhanced network visibility and proof of concept. Network engineers and IT specialists utilize it for conducting performance tests and generating traffic, aiding clients in sectors like telecom with comprehensive performance assessments.

Keysight Technologies

SolarWinds NPM is a network performance monitoring tool offering a user-friendly interface with customizable dashboards. It provides real-time tracking of device health, latency, and bandwidth utilization, supporting diverse integration and scalability needs.

SolarWinds NPM's robust features include real-time monitoring of network performance and efficient tracking of device health, latency, and bandwidth utilization. The tool is appreciated for its ease of deployment, scalability, and support for integration with other tools. Features like SNMP monitoring, NetPath, and comprehensive reporting enhance its diagnostic capabilities and network visibility. However, users identify areas for improvement such as real-time analytics, advanced customization options, and enhanced scalability for larger enterprises. Better customer support, improved integrations, and security measures are also desired.

What are the key features of SolarWinds NPM?

User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies navigation and operation.
Customizable Dashboards: Allows personalized data views.
Real-Time Monitoring: Provides instant updates on network performance.
Strong Alerting Capabilities: Offers immediate notifications for issues.
Scalability: Supports growth with ease.
Integration: Works smoothly with other tools for comprehensive monitoring.
SNMP Monitoring: Tracks device stats effectively.
NetPath: Helps visualize network paths and performance.

What benefits and ROI can users expect?

Improved Network Visibility: Enables proactive issue resolution.
Enhanced Diagnostics: Facilitates quicker troubleshooting.
Real-Time Performance Data: Supports informed decision-making.
Ease of Deployment: Reduces setup time and complexity.
Infrastructure Monitoring: Ensures network stability and reliability.
Custom Integration: Adapts to existing IT environments.

In enterprise environments, SolarWinds NPM is deployed to monitor network health and device status, sending alerts for any issues. It provides visibility into network performance, tracking bandwidth utilization and server metrics efficiently. Its applications span from monitoring routers, switches, and firewalls to supporting infrastructure monitoring across industries.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

EMA

Microsoft, Federal Express, Hewlett-Packard, and MasterCard

Buyer's Guide

Ixia Hawkeye vs. SolarWinds NPM

June 2026

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