Perforce Puppet vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager comparison

Perforce Puppet vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

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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

Microsoft Intune

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 10.3%, up from 9.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Perforce Puppet is 0.8%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is 1.4%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Configuration Management

Featured Reviews

Joseph Merusi

Collaborations engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

Everything has worked better since we started using it

Sometimes the syncing is inconsistent. I'm confident that the devices are checking in every eight hours, but sometimes the devices aren't picking up the settings as quickly as I would expect. Some features haven't been updated in a while, and Microsoft doesn't seem interested in developing them. Unless you talk to an engineer, you don't know whether there will be an update. There are communication issues, so you might start working with a feature without knowing if it will be deprecated six months from now. Some reporting areas still need development. For example, I noticed that the reporting for driver updates is still confusing.

Read full review

Erik Ableson

Owner at Infrageeks

A stable solution that is more suited for larger companies with mature CI/CD structures and image management processes

Puppet Enterprise is more suitable for clients working up much more structured deployment images they manage internally. Before choosing Puppet Enterprise, users should think seriously about what they're trying to accomplish and ensure they put the right pieces in place. Overall, I rate Puppet Enterprise an eight out of ten.

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RajeshB

Server and Network Monitoring Manager at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees

Offers additional functionality, including warranty management

Setting up a solution involves configuring a server and a web console, which is straightforward. Network team coordination is necessary when applying it to devices. This involves creating device connection profiles and ensuring SNMP is enabled. Initially, there were challenges involved in this process, but once the setup was complete, operations proceeded smoothly. All network devices are automatically added to NPM during auto-discovery in SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor, including Network Configuration Manager features. Once configuration profile credentials are established in NCM, they are automatically deployed to all network devices. The solution is easy to use and deploy, although initial setup may require coordination and overcoming challenges.

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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

"Intune makes our organization more secure and flexible. We can onboard new employees faster and more securely. We are a governmental organization with strict regulations, and Intune helps us comply with those requirements."

"The most valuable includes managing everything from a single console."

"Maturity makes it a stable product."

"The most valuable feature is the UEM capabilities."

"In terms of technical support, you will get an immediate response."

"For the price, the features included with Microsoft are appealing."

"The automatic patching is the most valuable feature of Intune."

"I like how Intune brings everything into one place. For example, you can set up conditional access to applications and devices inside Intune. I also like the segregation inside the Intune devices. You can segregate them by Windows, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and Android. You can sort it by platform, so you don't need to go into the devices section."

More Microsoft Intune pros

"The most valuable features are the agent, high load balancing, and overall robustness and features."

"The versatility is great."

"I rate the stability of Puppet as ten out of ten."

"Puppet Enterprise has reduced the time of production changes or environment changes."

"Puppet Enterprise has good functionalities."

"Puppet Enterprise is a stable solution."

"Anything that we manage through Puppet always runs perfectly."

"The main purpose for this automation tool would be: deploying, controlling, ordering change for the system and IT Infrastructure."

More Perforce Puppet pros

"Compared to other vendors, like NetBrain, managing the solution is easy. They made it very user-friendly."

"The most valuable features the solution offers are compliance, reliability, and information about reliability."

"The scanning features have proven to be highly valuable, particularly due to the comprehensive information they provide."

"NCM also helps with vulnerability assessment and remediation."

"This solution has helped our organization by allowing us to store all the device configurations for the various network devices in NCM and making it easy for us to retrieve and look them over."

"SolarWinds NCM provides updates on the status of your network infrastructure. If any issues arise, such as a link failure or a device going offline, you will receive notifications and alerts. Additionally, if someone unplugs a cable, SolarWinds NCM will detect it. It also features a Topology Mapper that displays the connectivity of your network devices, giving you a visual representation of the network's structure. With SolarWinds NCM, you have a clear understanding of what's happening within your network and can generate comprehensive reports."

"What's nice with NCM is you can set up policies that you can then check against the configs to ensure that your device configs adhere to a baseline or standard that you've set in place."

"The solution's view is very nice, and they have a great customized dashboard."

More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager pros

Cons

"Deploying an app can be a complex process due to dependencies."

"I know that their AI pieces are at the infancy stage, but allowing users to do more tagging for information would be an interesting thing because Intune also directly integrates with Azure. Because a lot of the devices are hosted with that, you also get a lot of tagging of user data and other things like that."

"There is room for improvement in server patch management and allowing direct uploads of EXE applications instead of needing to convert them to Intune format, which would save time."

"Intune lags all of its competitors in terms of report generation."

"Microsoft needs to enhance device-level security, as sometimes when using Microsoft Intune, the device's operating system becomes stuck and requires a full uninstall to remove the Intune bug."

"It would be interesting to integrate the server side of Intune. Some group policy updates we have on the Windows Server side and possibly some on the client side could also be included."

"While Intune works perfectly well, the only potential downside is that the deployment could be a bit complex for some users."

"There is still a gap between SCCM and Intune, especially in the reporting, inventory, and software deployment areas."

More Microsoft Intune cons

"Clients with less technical expertise may find Puppet complex to configure. Our team may struggle if technical team members leave the organization, leaving others uncertain about using the tool."

"Puppet Enterprise should improve the general extensibility for places where they can't install it."

"At the beginning the initial setup was kind of complex."

"We would like Puppet to add more integration for applications."

"Puppet Enterprise is more complex and difficult to configure."

"There's a lot of scope for enhancement on the DevSecOps side. They should definitely include features for compliance, for both the Linux and Windows side of the devices, as well as for network devices. Compliance is something they need to work on."

"It's a bit of a pain point to make sure that everything works once we've upgraded it because Puppet has been evolving pretty fast."

"The solution has really complex code, you have to understand the Ruby language. However, once you know the code then you can move ahead without any problems."

"When it comes to the way of managing the network devices, SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager should provide the simplest way that devices can relate to the server. For example, when we want to get the devices on board, we go by SSH to make the SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager create the connectivity with the device. After that, we pull the configuration. It would be helpful if they could combine both so that everything will be done in one step."

"The AI features do not work well."

"The interface of solar winds could be improved."

"The solution could have better integration."

"Its customer service response could be faster."

"The Network Configuration Manager needs to improve the access control list compliance."

"We want to be able to store it in a data warehouse format and integrate it with Google single sign-on."

"Its look and feel can be improved. They can also put in more effort into building the THWACK community and use the information about various customer issues and requests to build the new releases."

More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a license needed for this solution and it is either included in one of the enterprise license agreements. Microsoft licensing is a mathematical institute, it could be quite complex. We tend to ask specialized organizations to research what the most profitable way it would be for us to use licenses in the organizations."

"The pricing needs improvement."

"The price for Intune is fair."

"The licensing costs we leave up to the customer and these vary from one to another."

"Its price is quite okay. I wish they provide certain additional features with the same license."

"We use Defender ATP and E5 licenses."

"Any bundle package, such as Security E3, covers multiple things, such as AAP, BitLocker, etc. If you go for them individually, they would be more expensive. Bundling makes the price more attractive and competitive."

"It is not a cheap solution. The price for a device when you start using it at a large scale can be improved. It is covered under our enterprise agreement. We pay once a year. I am not aware of any additional costs."

More Microsoft Intune pricing and cost advice

"Depending on the size of the organization there is a point when the price of Puppet Enterprise should be lower. However, they provide really good functionality, features, and capabilities."

"Puppet Enterprise can be an expensive solution for smaller businesses."

"Puppet Enterprise’s pricing is competitive."

"The main thing that we noticed when we switched from the enterprise version to the community version was the difference in cost — the infrastructure is pretty expensive."

"The price of the solution is high compared to other solutions."

"The pricing is good."

"There is a license for the use of this solution and it is priced well, there is a lot of value for the money."

"There is a license needed to use SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager."

"With a minimal bundle, we pay about $3000 a year in licensing costs. If you have multiple devices in your network, you must buy the bundle, which is 100% identical for your infrastructure. If you have 15 devices, you need 15 licenses, for example. That's one bundle. You don't pay for anything over and above that."

"In Africa, the cost is a major factor in decision-making for many companies. As a result, some companies may choose cheaper solutions, even if they are open-source, over more expensive ones, such as SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager. However, as an engineer, I believe that the functionalities and services offered by SolarWinds justify the cost. Nonetheless, many companies in Africa may still view the prices as unaffordable."

"Pricing is reasonable and competitive."

"I have a yearly subscription."

More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager pricing and cost advice

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849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

20%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

47%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

Government

12%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

How does Microsoft Intune compare with VMware Workspace One?

Microsoft Intune is a great tool for managing a mobile device fleet while keeping access control. The solution makes ...

What are the pros and cons of Microsoft Intune?

Microsoft Intune is a great configuration management tool and has a lot of good things going for it. Here are some of...

How does Google Cloud Identity compare with Microsoft Intune?

Microsoft Intune offers not only an easy-to-deploy data protection and productivity management solution, but also ...

What do you like most about Puppet Enterprise?

Puppet Enterprise is a stable solution.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Puppet Enterprise?

Puppet is not cheap. I would rate its affordability as seven or eight out of ten.

What needs improvement with Puppet Enterprise?

Clients with less technical expertise may find Puppet complex to configure. Our team may struggle if technical team m...

What do you like most about SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?

The configuration compliance aspect of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager allows for easy comparison of configu...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?

The licensing costs of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager are expensive, but considering its reliability, featu...

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?

Further improvements in automation are needed. Currently, there are limitations in performing tasks without logging i...

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Comparisons

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Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 8% of the time

ManageEngine Endpoint Central vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 6% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 5% of the time

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AWS Systems Manager vs Perforce Puppet

Compared 40% of the time

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs Perforce Puppet

Compared 34% of the time

Red Hat Satellite vs Perforce Puppet

Compared 26% of the time

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Cisco DNA Center vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Compared 27% of the time

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Compared 10% of the time

ManageEngine Network Configuration Management vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Compared 7% of the time

NetBrain vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Compared 6% of the time

IBM Tivoli NetCool vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Microsoft Intune

Download Microsoft Intune product report

Perforce Puppet

Download Perforce Puppet product report

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Download SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager product report

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager report

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager

Puppet

SolarWinds NCM

Overview

Microsoft Intune provides centralized management of mobile devices and applications, ensuring security, compliance, and productivity through integration with Microsoft services like Microsoft 365 and Azure Active Directory.

Organizations use Intune for managing mobile devices and applications, enhancing security and compliance across platforms. With features like single sign-on, conditional access, and zero-touch deployment via Autopilot, it facilitates efficient operations. Intune's scalability, easy enrollment, and capabilities such as remote wipe support diverse device management, offering robust data protection and efficient operation. Despite its features, improvement areas include reporting, compatibility with non-Microsoft devices, and better support for macOS and Linux devices.

What are the key features of Microsoft Intune?

Seamless Integration: Works with Microsoft 365, Azure Active Directory, and System Center for streamlined management.
Conditional Access: Enhances security with policies that restrict access based on conditions.
Autopilot: Provides zero-touch deployment for setting up new devices efficiently.
Mobile Device Management: Enables control over both personal and corporate devices.
Application Deployment: Facilitates app delivery across a range of devices.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Centralized Management: Reduces complexity by managing devices and applications in one place.
Security Enhancement: Protects data with features like remote wipe and compliance monitoring.
Improved Productivity: Enhances efficiency with seamless integration and automation features.
Device Scalability: Supports diverse device management for growing business needs.

In industries such as finance, healthcare, and education, Microsoft Intune is implemented to ensure secure and compliant device management. Companies leverage its capabilities to deploy security policies and manage both corporate-owned and BYOD environments, facilitating a unified approach to data protection and compliance.

Microsoft

Perforce Puppet provides robust features for configuration management, compatible with Linux, Windows, and UNIX. It simplifies infrastructure management with automation and role-based access control, though it requires mastering command-line operations due to limited GUI.

Perforce Puppet utilizes a hub-spoke architecture to enhance automation across production environments, excelling in provisioning and configuration management for on-prem servers. Its infrastructure as code approach eases deployment and maintenance, supported by community resources for stabilization. Support for diverse devices makes it adaptable for complex configurations, but pricing and integration gaps, especially with Infosec tools, pose challenges for some.

What are the key features of Perforce Puppet?

Remote Package Installation: Centralized server management for remote installations
File Management: Streamlined file operations from a single point
Infrastructure as Code: Simplifies infrastructure maintenance
Scalability: Grows with organizational demands
Role-Based Access Control: Ensures secure user management
Device State Control: Efficient device integration and configuration

What benefits should users expect?

Automation Efficiency: Reduces manual tasks with hub-spoke architecture
Versatility: Supports multiple operating systems
Community Support: Backed by a stable and organized community
Configuration Simplicity: Simplifies and streamlines setup processes

Puppet is implemented across industries for managing production servers, especially in regulated environments. Its security compliance checks ensure adherence to required standards, while public configurations assist in device network integration. Industries benefit from its ability to streamline Linux server automation and explore expansion into Windows systems to meet cross-platform requirements.

Perforce

Before you monitor your network, configure it! A reliable and secure network starts with carefully planned, executed, and monitored network configuration and change management. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) saves time and improves network reliability and security by managing configurations, changes, and compliance for routers, switches, and other network devices from Cisco, Juniper, HP, Dell, Brocade, Aruba, Rukus, and more.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway

Los Alamos National Laboratory, GitHub, IP Commerce, Cedexis, Spiceworks, Server Density, Swisstopo, Chockstone, Constant Contact, NICS, Citrix

United Lincolnshire Hospitals, Air Rarotonga, NetSuite, Thai AirAsia, REA Group, 335th Signal Command, Agilisys, Marine Expeditionary Force

Perforce Puppet vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager