Observer GigaStor vs SolarWinds NPM comparison

Viavi Solutions and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Viavi Solutions is ranked #84, while SolarWinds is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.3. Viavi Solutions holds a 0.5% mindshare in NMS, compared to SolarWinds’s 3.7% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Viavi Solutions users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

Observer GigaStor

Read 7 Observer GigaStor reviews

2,796 Views
1,761 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

SolarWinds NPM

Read 161 SolarWinds NPM reviews

23,097 Views
18,016 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Observer GigaStor

SolarWinds NPM

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

SolarWinds NPM and Observer GigaStor are competing products in the network performance monitoring space. SolarWinds NPM is favored for cost-effectiveness and user-friendly support, while Observer GigaStor stands out with comprehensive features suitable for detailed analysis.

Features: SolarWinds NPM provides real-time network monitoring, advanced alerting, and user-friendly dashboards. It offers robust scalability for growing networks. Observer GigaStor provides detailed packet capturing, deep packet inspection, and extensive data analysis capabilities. It also offers tools for comprehensive historical data review.

Room for Improvement: SolarWinds NPM could improve with more detailed packet analysis, enhanced historical data context, and higher granularity in alerts. Observer GigaStor could benefit from simplified deployment processes, more intuitive user interfaces, and better integration with third-party tools.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SolarWinds NPM is known for an easy setup and responsive customer service, making it accessible for businesses of all sizes. Observer GigaStor, requiring a more complex installation, addresses advanced user needs with its potent capabilities but may demand more technical support during deployment.

Pricing and ROI: SolarWinds NPM offers a straightforward, cost-effective pricing model, ensuring a solid ROI, particularly for budget-conscious businesses. Observer GigaStor, while demanding a higher initial investment, delivers excellent ROI for businesses prioritizing extensive network analysis and diagnostics.

To learn more, read our detailed Observer GigaStor vs. SolarWinds NPM Report (Updated: August 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Observer GigaStor vs. SolarWinds NPM

August 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

Observer GigaStor

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

84th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Troubleshooting (14th), Network Packet Broker (NPB) (8th)

SolarWinds NPM

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

2nd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

161

Ranking in other categories

IT Infrastructure Monitoring (6th), Cloud Monitoring Software (7th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Observer GigaStor is 0.5%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds NPM is 3.7%, down from 4.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
SolarWinds NPM	3.7%
Observer GigaStor	0.5%
Other	95.8%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Jeroen-Dubbelman

Director at Bitrate

Aids significantly in the threat-hunting process and provides a score-based evaluation of user experience

There are many valuable features, but understanding end-user response times stands out. It provides a score-based evaluation of user experience, helping customers quickly pinpoint whether issues originate from the network, server, client, or application. Additionally, it facilitates in-depth analysis of application dependencies. The retrospective network analysis capability of Observer GigaStor has been beneficial. It's a pivotal feature for network performance solutions. However, I prefer to consider the entire solution suite - GigaStor, along with GigaFlow and Apex - for comprehensive network visibility and monitoring. So, I prefer to integrate all three solutions to provide the best visibility. They complement each other well, with Apex aggregating and correlating data from both GigaStor and GigaFlow to enhance environmental understanding and troubleshooting efficiency.

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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

"I also have the ability to see an application's performance, to see what's going on, why a network is slow, why this program for this user is experiencing a delay or some network issue"

"There are many valuable features, but understanding end-user response times stands out. It provides a score-based evaluation of user experience, helping customers quickly pinpoint whether issues originate from the network, server, client, or application. Additionally, it facilitates in-depth analysis of application dependencies."

"I have no regrets using this product, I am very satisfied for what I paid for it and for the things I am able to do with the product."

"It's able to capture packets and, after a long time, you can come and use that information; to check, to analyze - everything you would want to do. So it's very good and helpful if you want to protect your data. It is stored in a certain place where you can access it every time you want to analyze it."

"If you have the opportunity, I would strongly encourage you to get it, because it makes the IT experience easier and more flexible, by providing the ability to see things in your networks like the directory packet label."

"It can help to write your rules, organize firewalls, your block, and also your protocols and IP address to come in or out of your network."

"The ability to capture packets. It is not only for monitoring. That is very important for a company that wants to keep an eye on the packets, the transactions, the flows..."

"Industry-leading line rates, packet-capture technology and data-mining capabilities are the most valuable features."

More Observer GigaStor pros

"This is a valuable and powerful product that will provide users with more than they expect, all in one place."

"It has helped us a ton to actually be proactive and not simply wait for customers to call."

"The initial setup was straightforward. We deployed the solution from new and completed the upgrades."

"Our search finally ended at this Orion’s NPM tool which has great scalability and reliability."

"In my experience with SolarWinds NPM Quality of Experience dashboard, it fulfilled all of our requirements."

"I would rate the overall solution nine out of ten due to its capabilities, however, its complexity is a major drawback."

"It is scalable."

"This product is of good caliber and we get better results by using it on our network."

More SolarWinds NPM pros

Cons

"There are some issues, in our environment that puts processing restraints on the Gigastor when turning on trending data to be sent to APEX."

"Graphics need improvement. Because a lot of the information there you have to input first in some case to have full potential. It could be more automated."

"I would like to have more than 4TB of storage available in the portable version of this solution."

"Maybe the graphical user interface could be simplified to allow people to use it more easily. It's already good, but they can work more on it to make it even easier."

"The Observer Console UI is consistent and stable, but could use some updating to be more modern."

"GigaStor feeds into Apex. So, the area where there could be improvement would be in artificial intelligence. For example, the incorporation of more advanced machine learning or AI capabilities could enhance its functionality."

"The interface is pretty complex, so for the average user, it takes a while to get up to speed with it. I would like it to be more user-friendly."

"There should be a little bit more integration in some of the other tooling and utilizing the APIs of devices or tools could be a little bit better."

"An area for improvement would be the use of modular licenses, which are not practical for big clients."

"The only other issue I have is that sometimes when upgrading, it becomes complicated to manage the upgrade."

"The solution needs to integrate with additional SDN technologies that are part of the hyper market."

"They could make the process of adding various devices easier and more intuitive."

"SolarWinds could offer more support and insights for a broader range of devices. Currently, it focuses on routers, switches, and some load balancers. However, it lacks an out-of-the-box dashboard for monitoring firewalls and some other modern network security devices. We have to customize it a lot."

"They have had a rather large security breach in the past. It's cost some companies customers."

"The response time of the support team needs to improve"

More SolarWinds NPM cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's quite expensive."

"It depends on the requirements you have. There are three types of license. There's the updates license, the work group license, and the workstation license."

"Price could be improved on"

"SolarWinds NPM is very expensive, and we pay ten thousand yearly."

"It is not an expensive product."

"I believe the original setup cost was around $3500 with an annual cost of around $1200-$1500 to renew the support license. This would bring the average day-to-day cost of around $5-$6 over three years."

"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."

"The pricing needs to be improved. It is too high. One full engine costs around $10 000, which is why we don't have high availability right now."

"The pricing is in the middle. It's not particularly cost-effective, but it's not overly expensive either."

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

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

17%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Outsourcing Company

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

Outsourcing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Large Enterprise	3

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	59
Midsize Enterprise	33
Large Enterprise	87

Questions from the Community

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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...

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What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

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

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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

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Compared 14% of the time

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Compared 6% of the time

IxChariot vs Observer GigaStor

Compared 6% of the time

NETSCOUT nGeniusONE vs Observer GigaStor

Compared 6% of the time

Gigamon Deep Observability Pipeline vs Observer GigaStor

Compared 6% of the time

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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

Observer GigaStor

July 2026

Download Observer GigaStor product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds NPM

July 2026

Download SolarWinds NPM product report

Also Known As

No data available

Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor, SolarWinds Network Bandwidth Analyzer

Overview

Observer GigaStor provides detailed network visibility and data capture for efficient troubleshooting and analysis. It's a robust tool designed to manage today’s complex network environments, offering reliability and performance insights.

Observer GigaStor specializes in long-term network traffic capture, delivering comprehensive forensic analysis capabilities. It stands as a trusted resource for IT departments aiming to resolve network performance issues swiftly. By capturing and storing packets with high precision, it aids in identifying both current and past anomalies, ensuring network health and performance continuity through proactive monitoring.

What are the key features of Observer GigaStor?

Long-term Data Capture: Enables storage of vast amounts of data for extensive historical analysis.
Comprehensive Protocol Support: Offers support for diverse protocols, enhancing troubleshooting accuracy.
Retrospective Analysis: Provides the ability to trace issues back to their origin point, improving issue resolution speed.
Scalability: Adapts to network growth without sacrificing performance capabilities.

What benefits and ROI can be expected from reviews?

Increased Troubleshooting Efficiency: Provides quicker resolution times, reducing network downtime.
Enhanced Network Visibility: Improves understanding of network performance and traffic patterns.
Reduced Operational Costs: Limits the need for manual troubleshooting, saving on labor costs.
Improved Decision Making: Data insights aid in strategic planning for infrastructure improvements.

Observer GigaStor's implementation spans across various industries, from telecommunications to finance, where maintaining robust and secure network performance is crucial. Its ability to analyze and retrieve historical network data supports compliance and operational stability demands in these sectors.

Viavi Solutions

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

Cisco Systems, Hawaiian Telecom, Renown Health, State of Nevada, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Allstate Insurance, Jack Henry & Associates, United States Airforce, US Bank, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Chicago Board Options Exchange

Microsoft, Federal Express, Hewlett-Packard, and MasterCard

Buyer's Guide

Observer GigaStor vs. SolarWinds NPM

August 2026

Free Report: Observer GigaStor vs. SolarWinds NPM

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