SolarWinds NPM is a network monitoring solution that enables you to detect, diagnose, and resolve network performance issues and outages quickly and efficiently. The solution is a powerful tool that can help you increase service levels, reduce downtime with multi vendor network monitoring, simplify the management of complex network devices, improve operational efficiency, and much more.
The most valuable features of SolarWinds NPM, according to the reviews, include the ability to quickly identify downtime and monitor devices on a map, the user-friendly interface, the customized application monitoring and script customization, the network and server application monitoring features, the ability to customize views and dashboards, the application health monitoring system, the ability to access data via the API, the network search and diagnostic tools, the fast dashboard and user-friendly interface, and the reporting capabilities.
Users like the NetPath feature for visualizing network performance, the alerting system, the ability to receive detailed data for troubleshooting, the performance monitoring for memory and CPU utilization, the tracking feature for devices, the strong tool for monitoring network devices, switches, and routers, the easy-to-use nature of the solution, the reporting tools and ability to create customized reports, the efficient support team, the scalability, the language support and technical support.
They also appreciated the way it monitors the environment and the user-friendly console, the ability to put systems in maintenance mode and obtain disk space statistics, the monitoring capabilities, the stability and functionality of the tool, the collection and investigation of net flow information, the customizability and ease of deployment, and the capability to tune alarms.
Improvements that can be made to SolarWinds NPM based on the reviews include better integration with video apps, lower pricing, coverage of endpoint monitoring, and improved security for ADR.
Users also expressed a need for more automation, clearer problem identification, a longer data retention period, a more mature database, and enhanced customization options for groups.
Other areas for improvement include better correlation and combination of KPIs in reports, thorough testing of patches before release, expanded support for a broader range of devices including firewalls and software-defined network platforms, increased capacity for polling engines, integration with additional SDN technologies, longer evaluation time for large corporations, improved test capabilities, enhanced dashboards for clearer network view, improved IPAM component, better integration with APIs and web servers, deeper inspection and performance networking capabilities, and more frequent time monitoring.
The users have found that SolarWinds NPM has provided a good return on investment. The solution has been helpful in maintaining a healthy environment and being proactive in network management.
The pricing for SolarWinds NPM varies, although it is considered reasonable and affordable. Some reviewers mentioned that the pricing is decent and reasonable compared to other tools in the market. However, there were also mentions of the licensing costs being high and somewhat costly.
SolarWinds NPM is used for monitoring network devices, servers, and applications in various industries such as banking, mining, and corporate IT infrastructure management. It is utilized for network health, bandwidth utilization, uptime monitoring, and performance analysis.
The solution is suitable for mid-sized or enterprise-scale companies, but can also be used by small businesses due to its affordability. SolarWinds NPM is deployed on-premises in certain industries, particularly for security reasons. It provides real-time notifications, easy-to-use dashboards, and comprehensive reporting features.
Many reviewers have rated the support as good, excellent, or very good. They appreciate the responsiveness of the support team and the fact that they can reach a live person when they need assistance. Some reviewers have mentioned that the support team is knowledgeable and helpful in resolving their concerns.
However, there are a few reviewers who have had mixed experiences. Some have mentioned delays in support due to time differences or issues with the quality of support depending on who picks up the phone. There have also been cases where support was not as attentive to evaluation version users.
The initial setup for SolarWinds NPM varied in complexity and duration. Some users found it straightforward and easy, with one person able to handle it in a relatively short amount of time.
Others mentioned that it required specific knowledge and experience with network monitoring systems.
In some cases, a third party was involved in the setup process. The deployment time ranged from a few hours to a couple of weeks, depending on the size and complexity of the network. The setup involved tasks such as setting up databases, ensuring proper security access, and manually adding devices.
SolarWinds NPM is highly scalable. Multiple users mentioned that they have plans to increase usage, and there is room to add additional servers to accommodate thousands or even tens of thousands of nodes. Users mentioned that the solution is easy to scale and can be expanded quickly to include new equipment or buildings. However, there were a few mentions of limitations or bottlenecks on certain features, such as the scale of NetFlow or the use of the Microsoft SQL database.
Users have consistently praised the stability of SolarWinds NPM. It is described as very stable, reliable, and not prone to crashing or freezing. There are no reported bugs or glitches, and it has been used extensively for many years without major outages. There was a notable hack incident in the past, however, the solution has since been stabilized.
SolarWinds NPM Features
SolarWinds NPM has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:
SolarWinds NPM Benefits
There are several benefits to implementing SolarWinds NPM. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:
Reviews from Real Users
Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by PeerSpot users currently using the SolarWinds NPM solution.
PeerSpot user Andrew N., Senior Network Engineer at Element Critical, says, “The "Performance Analyzer" feature is the solution's most valuable aspect. It's able to do the bounded graphs of all the interface stats, from errors to broadcasts and to current traffic. With a click of a button you're able to, in one interface, look at historical data for those items.” He also adds, “From the troubleshooting point of view, just having that peace of mind is great. And, The solution is extremely stable. We haven't had any issues in that regard. We haven't had issues with bugs, glitches, or crashes."
Daniel S., Systems and Data Warehouse Supervisor at MMSD, mentions, “The alerting and usage tracking is a valuable feature because it alerts us when we're getting near capacity on disk space, network utilization or processor utilization. It helps us manage our capacity and enables us to be proactive.”
A Senior Vice President and CIO at a financial services firm explains, “As we look to add more servers to our virtual environment and to understand the impact, the solution allows us to dig into the historical charts related to capacity planning. It also gives us visibility of spikes and allows us to track down the reasons for their occurrences. So too, it makes room for potential processes that have gotten hung or runaway and to know when it's time to reboot a server or service.”
Dinesh N., Digital Innovation at Bobcat Company, states, “The best part of the solution is the sharing display. It gives a general public ID wherein everyone can link to a public display. That's a good feature.”
Fazal A., Implementation & Support Specialist at 360Factors, comments, “We have configured multiple alerts for our network devices, including routers and switches, so that we are notified if any interface goes down. In the event an interface goes down, we have multiple reports that include availability monitoring, network uptime monitoring, and network downtime monitoring. These reports are on multiple schedules such as the end of the day, end of the last business day of the week, monthly, and quarterly. This gives us the ability to provide reports to our management and let them know the performance of our network.”
SolarWinds NPM was previously known as Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor, SolarWinds Network Bandwidth Analyzer.
Microsoft, Federal Express, Hewlett-Packard, and MasterCard
