SolarWinds NPM Reviews

The most valuable features are ease of implementation, strong out-of-the-box reporting, and the ability to customize the GUI.

From a platform standpoint, the integration of NPM with the other SolarWinds modules is very strong, seamless, and valuable in presenting a single pane of glass for network, application, and database performance and availability.

We're a small enough company that it would be difficult for a single person, or even a small team, to attempt to tie data together from different software products in the way that SolarWinds does.

We no longer have to ask questions about who is using bandwidth/CPU, what application is driving that usage, and how our databases perform as a result of that usage. We have completely eliminated any blind spots in the operation of our core networks, applications, and platforms.

I would like to see stronger integration with SolarWinds LEM. This would be a nice-to-have integration at this point. This is really the only product with which it is not integrated.

When one looks at the entire suite of SolarWinds products, what we've seen
over the past several years is an ongoing theme of integration - as
modules like SAM, NCM, IPAM, VMAN, DPA, and others benefit full integration
into the base NPM product - allowing a user to leverage
application/database-specific performance metrics into views, reports, and
alerts.

When I say that LEM would be a nice addition, that's precisely what I mean is
- right now, there is no method for view integration, correlation, or cross-platform data sharing between the LEM appliance and our NPM
installation.

In other words, say I'm looking at the Node Details view on one of my domain controllers. It would be excellent to have one of the
widgets in that node details page pull in the last XX events LEM has on
the node in question.

I have used NPM since 2004 and have leveraged it at multiple workplaces since.

We have not had any stability issues. It's been a predictably solid platform across software revisions, even with the jump from 11.x to 12.x. That upgrade also included a complete graphical update for the console.

We did not have any scalability issues. We're monitoring thousands of elements across three continents with one poller and we have had no scalability issues.

I would give technical support a rating of 7 out of 10. When I get on the phone with a support engineer, I'm usually impressed with their level of knowledge in providing a timely resolution to customer issues. The secret is to get on the phone first if you need something solved the same day.

I've used HPE OpenView and PRTG in the past. My reason for switching was a combination of ease of use, customizability, and integration between network/application/DB monitoring and measurement.

The setup is straightforward almost to a fault. If you can follow directions, you can set this platform up in a day and start getting usable information.

It's not as cheap as some solutions, but the value you get is excellent. Licensing increases are largely painless and are easy to accomplish.

Identify the business/organizational problems you're looking to solve. Build your graphs and reports with an eye toward those problems. This creates business value almost immediately.

We use SolarWinds NPM for network monitoring.

The most valuable features of the solution are its graphical interface and reports.

The solution's customer service is not very good because the support takes too long. The solution needs to provide better training videos, especially on creating individual reports. It would be good if reporting were made easier with SolarWinds NPM.

I have been using SolarWinds NPM for five years.

SolarWinds NPM is a very stable solution.

I rate the solution ten out of ten for stability.

I am the main user of SolarWinds NPM in our organization.

I rate the solution a five out of ten for scalability.

The solution’s customer support is not very good.

Negative

The solution’s initial setup is easy.

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

The solution’s maintenance is easy. The solution can be easily integrated with other services like Cisco. There are issues with the solution's updates, and our security team has not approved them. So, we are waiting for the new version to be approved.

Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

What I like about SolarWinds is the application health monitoring system. It's a very good system, and I recommend it to big companies in the pharmaceutical or the banking industries, for example, with large networks and very critical servers. 

The other valuable system is the DSS (decision support system). If there's a fault in the network, SolarWinds is basically capable of rectifying and resolving that problem on its own without any intervention from an IP assistant or administrator.

The evaluation time for the product is too short especially for large corporations.

I have approximately seven years of experience.

We have a hybrid cloud type of deployment.

SolarWinds is a stable product.

It's a very scalable solution because you can install different pollers.

I have not had a good experience with technical support because most of the time when I contact them, they first want to know whether you have a license. If you do, then they support you. However, if you are working on the evaluation version they do not take your queries very seriously. There is some level of support, but it's not at a high level. So, I'd rate them at six on a scale from one to ten.

Neutral

The initial setup process requires specific knowledge of the product, and if the implementation manager has the appropriate knowledge, it will not be that difficult to set it up.

The deployment can take up to two weeks depending on the size and complexity of the network.

When I compare the cost of CA Spectrum to that of SolarWinds NPM, the cost of CA Spectrum is way too high, and the cost of SolarWinds NPM is pretty low.

I mostly recommend SolarWinds, especially to companies with a low budget or to those that are not ready to spend a good amount on network management and network tools.

On a scale from one to ten, I would rate SolarWinds at eight.

There are modules in SolarWinds NPM which are better than other competitive tools. However, some areas require new releases or updates. For example, there have not been many updates to cloud monitoring, containerization or serverless environments. In that regard, SolarWinds NPM is not as good as other solutions in the market.

It is a stable solution, and rate the stability a nine out of ten.

The scalability can be better.

The technical support has been a good experience.

The ROI has been good.

It is considerably cheaper compared to other tools and available technologies in terms of LMS or EMS.

I rate this solution a seven out of ten. Regarding advice, I would recommend concentrating on gaining some expertise. A foundational or intermediate understanding of different network protocols and technologies would be helpful when using SolarWinds. In addition, understanding the underlying technology that will eventually be monitored or managed will be good.

Our clients are using Solar Winds NPM to monitor their network product. Solar Winds NPM is straightforward and you can monitor it very easily.

I think Solar Winds NPM needs to create a profile with documentation responsibility.

I have been using Solar Winds NPM for about three years.

The product is very stable and we have been using the product for around ten years.

Technical support is very helpful with our upgrades. I would rate them about an eight or a nine.

Positive

The setup is straightforward and takes about a week.

I would rate this Solar Winds NPM an eight out of ten.

SolarWinds NPM is generally used for network monitoring for all of the switches, networking equipment, as well as physical and virtual servers in the environment.

We use the top 10 dashboards on a frequent basis, as well as the ability to put systems in maintenance mode when we need to perform patching or other maintenance.

Being able to easily, and quickly obtain disk space statistics from servers and volumes.

The interface can be a bit cumbersome at times. There is a steep learning curve if you wanted to get into it in any depth. 

I would say that both the installation and use of it can be complicated initially. It isn't for someone who doesn't have a lot of expertise or knowledge.  It does have a significant learning curve.

After the initial installation, the configuration is where more knowledge is required.

The reporting could be improved. 

I would like to see some enhancement on the reporting side, such as making it easier to create reports or have a larger assortment of canned reports.

I have been working with SolarWinds NPM for eight years. Most recently version 2020.

SolarWinds NPM seems to be stable.

In our environment, scalability wasn't really a factor. The environment we had, and the method we used for the initial install were sufficient.

In our organization, we had about 20 users consistingn of IT server and network engineers as well as business analysts.

This is a tool that we utilize on a regular basis.

Although technical support is adequate, it could be better, but that appears to be the situation in the majority of businesses nowadays.

I would rate them seven out of ten.

The initial setup was somewhere in middle.

This solution is maintained, deployed, and updated by a team of six people, and it is also automated for operating system upgrades. We have one or two server admins that are responsible for actual application upgrades.

I would recommend having a review with a SolarWinds tech first to make sure you understand the system requirements. It would be helpful to work with them also in regards to unique configurations. 

I would rate SolarWinds NPM an eight out of ten.

We used SolarWinds for network switches, routers, firewalls, and servers, and to collect performance data for items on a global scale. We have 1,000 to 1,500 users.

The ability to customize the views and dashboards is nice. SolarWinds also allows us to access the data via the API. That's probably the feature I liked the most.

It would be nice to have a test to check if you can access a particular device via API without installing it and waiting for a poll cycle. You should have the capacity to initiate a test to see if it was reachable and get the results almost immediately.

I have been using SolarWinds NPM for four or five years.

SolarWinds was pretty stable.

SolarWinds NPM is scalable.

SolarWinds provides good support.

Setting up SolarWinds NPM was relatively straightforward. There is always some complexity, but it's usually pretty straightforward. Two technicians were able to set it up.

We set up SolarWinds NPM in-house. 

I rate SolarWinds NPM eight out of 10. I recommend taking advantage of the online training that's available. Get an account on THWACK, the online user group. It's good for getting help.

One of my clients is a bank. SolarWinds is primarily used in banking to limit network downtime to less than one or two minutes. All the ATMs are connected with SolarWinds, so the bank can respond quickly when the network is down. You only need about three or four people monitoring this software at a time. SolarWinds is deployed on-premises for security reasons. Banks do not allow cloud solutions for this purpose. 

Network performance is the main issue clients are facing. SolarWinds checks if a node is down, and we can set thresholds for performance metrics. For example, we set it up to get an alert automatically if a value is over 80 percent. It has a full dashboard that covers CP, hard disk, and node monitoring.

Each model has different features, so clients need to purchase a separate model for SQL monitoring, database monitoring, network traffic analyzer, HTTP traffic, etc. So each feature they need is in a different model, but customers would prefer an all-in-one solution.

I have been working with SolarWinds NPM for two years.

SolarWinds is stable. We sometimes have crashes here and there because we are monitoring so many features and routers.

SolarWinds is easy to scale.

We don't use technical support because we handle everything in-house. We already make customized dashboards, reports, notes, etc. ourselves.

I used PRTG, but it's not used in any banks. About 80 percent of banks I know use SolarWinds. PRTG is mostly popular in manufacturing companies. It's cheaper, so manufacturers can easily afford it. 

Setting up SolarWinds is somewhat complex because the data is encrypted and banks require so many policies. The reporting and dashboards are also complex. 

SolarWinds is expensive. That's why it's primarily banks using the solution. Small businesses can't afford it. Due to its pricing, most smaller enterprises like manufacturing companies are not interested. For example, we have a client who is also interested in traffic monitoring, but they are not purchasing SolarWinds because of the cost. 

I rate SolarWinds NPM seven out of 10.