SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs VMware NSX comparison

Cancel
You must select at least 2 products to compare!
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager and VMware NSX based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Network Automation solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs. VMware NSX Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"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.""The feature that I really enjoy is the ability to script changes across all of your devices.""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 features we find most valuable is the configuration backup automation, the configuration compliance, the security vulnerability detection and upgrading devices.""The installation is straightforward.""Compared to other vendors, like NetBrain, managing the solution is easy. They made it very user-friendly.""The configuration compliance aspect of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager allows for easy comparison of configuration settings across branches, ensuring adherence to security guidelines and best practices. Automation capabilities have greatly impacted workflows, enabling tasks such as configuration backups, template deployment, and firmware upgrades to be automated, thereby streamlining processes and saving time. Compliance reporting features provide valuable insights into network compliance, offering pre-built security audit reports and customizable options to meet specific requirements.""The most valuable Real-time fault detection is beneficial as it enables the identification of changes made to a device's configuration through the SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager. This makes it easy to pinpoint which configurations were added or removed, potentially causing network issues. Such changes are saved in logs for future reference."

More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager Pros →

"VMware NSX is a very good solution. It's also a scalable solution.""It is a stable solution...The solution's initial setup process was easy.""It operates on a logical level, providing a comprehensive and centralized way to manage your network resources.""I have found VMware NSX to be easy to use.""We secured our organisation with Micro-segmentation.""The initial setup was straightforward. It follows a certain structure and you won't miss a step. It's all on the same level, step by step.""The most valuable feature is the ability to create, develop, and deploy servers in minutes to hours, rather than days.""The most valuable feature of VMware NSX is the high bandwidth."

More VMware NSX Pros →

Cons
"On NCM, reporting could be a bit better. It's completely become just one report. When I try to create a custom report, the solution just commits old server data.""Its customer service response could be faster.""The interface of solar winds could be improved.""The network flow is a problem for this solution.""When we run the SolarWinds NCM jobs at the cellular line, it runs in the morning. They're just not finishing. We're getting false processing.""The Network Configuration Manager needs to improve the access control list compliance.""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.""Releasing a product compatible with operating systems other than Windows would be advantageous."

More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager Cons →

"The engineering team has room for improvement. They should have have more of a Knowledge Base about different case studies and should develop more advanced features. These kinds of improvements will change the way things get done.""Occasionally the licensing is not very clear. They should make it easier to understand.""The price could be better. The non-enterprise version of the product should also be improved. I would like VMware to expand beyond the network and provide some VLAN technologies and more. I think we have one, but it's more on the distribution side because it's more on the upper side of the network. I'm looking forward to that.""Lacks integration with other solutions.""The solution could benefit from improvements in its pricing and scalability.""Some configuration maximums are limiting to the user, especially when it comes to the deployment of very, very large environments.""The feature it can improve is essentially application-based load balancing with intelligent load distribution for applications that require redundancy and high availability.""The solution could improve by having a more streamlined setup."

More VMware NSX Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "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."
  • "You have a base license for 50 devices, and then you can add more licenses as you go."
  • "There is a license for the use of this solution and it is priced well, there is a lot of value for the money."
  • "I have a yearly subscription."
  • "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."
  • "There is a license needed to use SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager."
  • "The price of the solution is high compared to other solutions."
  • "We have to pay additionally for its support and maintenance."
  • More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Pricing and licensing could be improved as we are a government entity. Lower pricing could always help."
  • "We haven't had to hire a dedicated network engineer because NSX handles 90 percent of it. The reduced overhead in terms of managing networks has been the biggest plus."
  • "We have saved man-hours and decreased our security exposure."
  • "We can't go without NSX, so it's invaluable from this perspective."
  • "The solution is very expensive."
  • "The licensing fees are expensive and we pay on a yearly basis."
  • "It is an expensive product, but cheaper than some competing solutions."
  • "The price of this product is too high."
  • More VMware NSX Pricing and Cost Advice →

    report
    Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Automation solutions are best for your needs.
    765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.
    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Its main functionality is highly beneficial as it centralizes the management of configuration items across the network.
    Top Answer:SolarWinds may initially appear cheaper than it is. Additional costs beyond the standard licensing fee are inevitable. Naturally, the greater the number of nodes, the higher the expense. I would rate… more »
    Top Answer:Releasing a product compatible with operating systems other than Windows would be advantageous. Currently, using it on Windows necessitates additional costs, including Windows Server licensing and… more »
    Top Answer:There are some very major differences between both the Products and to name a few -Cisco ACI have physical network gear (9K Switches) where the Code runs in ACI Policy Mode & the UCS server where… more »
    Top Answer:Once you know your way around the Cisco ecosystem, using Cisco ACI is not so difficult. It is a global product, so when you change one interface, changes are automatically reflected on every switch… more »
    Top Answer:The product has valuable features for security and network extension.
    Ranking
    3rd
    out of 22 in Network Automation
    Views
    2,075
    Comparisons
    1,674
    Reviews
    11
    Average Words per Review
    686
    Rating
    8.3
    4th
    out of 22 in Network Automation
    Views
    1,427
    Comparisons
    922
    Reviews
    34
    Average Words per Review
    416
    Rating
    8.0
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    SolarWinds NCM
    VMware Nicira
    Learn More
    Overview
    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.

    VMware NSX is a full-stack network and security virtualization platform that enables the virtual cloud network. NSX provides a software-defined process for networking that expands throughout cloud frameworks, data centers, and application structures. Users can join and secure applications within their container and multi-cloud infrastructure and their data center. With robust automated provisioning, the platform offers dynamic flexibility and scalability without compromising on network speed or agility.

    VMware NSX recreates the whole software network model so that users can create and deliver apps quickly and securely. Users can customize security policies and leverage IDS/IPS to block against lateral threats. These security policies can be managed throughout private and public clouds from one pane of glass, no matter where your applications run. By consolidating networking and security tasks into a unified platform, users can save up to one-third of their budget.

    VMware NSX Use Cases

    VMware NSX brings the operational model of a virtual machine to users’ data center networks and revolutionizes the foundations of network and security operations. There are a number of use cases, including:

    • Containers - Similar to VMs, users can offer unified, full-stack networking and security for microservices and containerized apps. This includes the ability to micro-segment, use container networking for Kubernetes, and offers complete visibility for microservices.
    • App Delivery - Users can deliver infrastructure as code while also accelerating app delivery with blueprints that can automate the management of security and networking resources.
    • Security - With zero-trust security in public and private cloud environments, users can reduce attacks, lock down critical apps, and design a logical DMZ in software.
    • Load Balancing - Users can update their data centers from legacy load balancers to software load balancers and SDN automation, creating savings of over 50%.
    • Multi-Cloud - Expand networking across clouds and streamline multi-cloud operations with multi-cloud use cases, including rapid workload mobility, seamless data center extension, and multi-DC pooling.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Through a policy-driven approach, VMware NSX provides VMware technologies to assist with network and security visualization in a unified solution. Users particularly like the distributed firewall and the management dashboard.

    Kolawole O., a systems engineer at a tech services company, writes, "NSX's stand-out function is the distributed firewall. The firewall system is just top-notch, and I haven't seen another solution like it."

    A head of business development and partners management at a comms service provider notes, "I really like the management dashboard, the tailor-made assurance, the telemetry, and the ease of integration with all other solutions of VMware, such as vSphere."

    Sample Customers
    United Lincolnshire Hospitals, Air Rarotonga, NetSuite, Thai AirAsia, REA Group, 335th Signal Command, Agilisys, Marine Expeditionary Force
    City of Avondale, Lumeta, Kroll Ontrack, Heartland Payment Systems, Baystate Heallth, Exostar, Tribune Media, iGATE, NTT Communications, Synergent, California Natural Resources Agency, Bloomington Public Schools, Columbia Sportswear, Join Experience S.A, Schuberg Philis
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Manufacturing Company25%
    Financial Services Firm13%
    Sports Company13%
    Healthcare Company13%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Government13%
    Computer Software Company12%
    Manufacturing Company9%
    Financial Services Firm9%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company24%
    Financial Services Firm18%
    Retailer10%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Financial Services Firm12%
    Government10%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business48%
    Midsize Enterprise22%
    Large Enterprise30%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business19%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise64%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business26%
    Midsize Enterprise19%
    Large Enterprise55%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business21%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise65%
    Buyer's Guide
    SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs. VMware NSX
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs. VMware NSX and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is ranked 3rd in Network Automation with 21 reviews while VMware NSX is ranked 4th in Network Automation with 93 reviews. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is rated 8.2, while VMware NSX is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager writes "Network configuration is done well; great pricing". On the other hand, the top reviewer of VMware NSX writes "Works well and allows us to do micro-segmentation and create policy rules". SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is most compared with Cisco DNA Center, Cisco Prime, Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform, OpenText Network Node Manager i and Fortinet FortiManager, whereas VMware NSX is most compared with Nutanix Flow Network Security, Cisco ACI, Illumio, Akamai Guardicore Segmentation and Arista Networks Platform. See our SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs. VMware NSX report.

    See our list of best Network Automation vendors.

    We monitor all Network Automation reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.