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BlueCat Integrity vs SolarWinds IPAM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

BlueCat Integrity
Ranking in IP Address Management (IPAM) Tools
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
Managed DNS (5th), DDI (1st)
SolarWinds IPAM
Ranking in IP Address Management (IPAM) Tools
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
8.2
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the IP Address Management (IPAM) Tools category, the mindshare of BlueCat Integrity is 13.7%, up from 12.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds IPAM is 16.2%, down from 27.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IP Address Management (IPAM) Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Ryan Michael Patterson - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides a single pane of glass, a user-friendly GUI, and is extremely reliable
Currently, a significant portion of automation within our infrastructure relies on custom-written scripts. For instance, every time we require automated IP address space updates, we must develop the script ourselves. Looking forward, I would welcome pre-existing scripts readily deployable within our infrastructure to alleviate this burden. BlueCat currently meets our core needs, and we appreciate their service. However, we believe the platform could benefit from significant improvements, particularly in terms of ongoing maintenance and the implementation of new features. One crucial area for development is IPv6 support. As we transition to this newer networking protocol, we lack robust tools and functionalities tailored to IPv6 within BlueCat. Consequently, we'd like to see greater investment from BlueCat in building out their IPv6 feature set.
Hisham Sahid - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable and scalable tool meant for IP address management
I am unsure if SolarWinds IPAM is good for network management. I know that the tool can manage IP addresses. From any improvement perspective, SolarWinds IPAM should consider working on the area where the tool lacks, which is its network management capabilities. SolarWinds IPAM offers the functionalities it has promised to my company. There is nothing much that one can expect from a tool meant to manage IP addresses.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the IPAMs, which provide visibility into all the IP addresses on the network."
"The most valuable features of BlueCat Integrity are the user-friendly UI and the permission management."
"The most valuable piece, which has been a lifesaver, would be the BlueCat DNS resolver. BlueCat Cloud DNS resolver is a tool that takes a look into your cloud's DNS and then reports back everything it finds into BlueCat's DNS Edge solution. The Edge solution has a bunch of nice rules that you can configure to route the DNS traffic. That automation alone is a lifesaver for me for the day-to-day churn of the DNS components that change on an hourly, daily basis."
"One of the key features enabling us to operate at our current scale is robust automation."
"Since implementing BlueCat, we have experienced fewer problems, anomalies, and strange issues."
"The solution includes automatic management of segments."
"It is easy to use. It has an understandable GUI interface. Its deployment is relatively easy."
"I've been impressed by BlueCat's performance and user-friendly GUI."
"SolarWinds IPAM is a simple and user-friendly tool."
"The product is user-friendly and valuable."
"I am impressed with the product's reports."
"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds IPAM is its automated IP address management. Instead of working with Excel sheets, it's automated and saves a lot of time and effort. Additionally, it is adaptable, IT managers enjoy it, and it is high quality."
"I would recommend this solution for all companies that have to deal with a lot of networks."
"Its setup is simple. Its interface is simple. It's very easy to manage."
"The initial setup is straightforward. It takes about half a day, and it can be done by one engineer."
"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
 

Cons

"XHA has some very unusual requirements. If you're running just two BlueCat appliances for a given area of responsibility, then in VMware, if they land on the same VM host, you can run into challenges with XHA, which we are learning."
"One complaint about the interface is BlueCat's handling of subzones."
"The solution is too granular and sometimes complex to configure. We do not always need so many details. Simpler configurations with fewer details would be beneficial."
"Adaptive DNS only supports AWS for network automation and cloud computing and would be improved if it also supported other options like Azure or Google Cloud."
"The technical support is slow and has room for improvement."
"When you replace an appliance, there are many configuration steps, so adding zero-touch provisioning would be helpful. It can be quite tedious and time-consuming to replace a device if it fails or deploy a new one."
"The user interface could be improved, as the implementation of BlueCat can be complicated and requires personnel with expertise in DNS, DHCP, and IP management."
"During our testing phase, we encountered some issues with Active Directory and DNS reverse lookups."
"From any improvement perspective, SolarWinds IPAM should consider working on the area where the tool lacks, which is its network management capabilities."
"My understanding is that IPAM cannot be used for the AWS environment. I might be wrong, but that's what I believe it cannot do. On AWS, SolarWinds IPAM cannot do what it does on the on-prem side. They should explore how to make IPAM capable and scalable on AWS and Azure environments."
"Sometimes we have to wait for screens to load, so faster operations would be better."
"The product needs to improve its support. The response time is long and not very helpful."
"I would like more updates."
"The installation and storage could be improved."
"Some processes are a little bit bumpy. The solution needs a design refresh."
"SolarWinds IPAM offers premium support, but the customer has to pay more money, and then they will have minimal response times."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I am not sure about the exact pricing, but I believe their cost is lower compared to Infoblox."
"BlueCat Integrity meets our expectations and aligns with our budget forecast."
"Overall, it's a decent price for the product. There are other vendors that have support models and costs that are, sometimes, double what Bluecat charges."
"While BlueCat falls on the expensive side, its exceptional customer service and consistent quality justify the cost."
"We paid around $5,000 per year for SolarWinds, and now we pay around $20,000 per year for BlueCat, but we have less downtime and fewer issues with DNS and DHCP."
"BlueCat Integrity is affordable."
"Overall, I would say that it is priced fairly, though perhaps a bit on the high side."
"They're competitive. The way they run their model is good. Could it stand some tweaking? Sure. There are some items there. One of the things I looked at in the recent past was their container solutions. You have to pay for licensing to use their containerized platform, but the licensing doesn't include the container licensing itself. I'd love to be able to have one big package per se."
"I would rate the product's pricing a six out of ten."
"The product is costly."
"The price of SolarWinds IPAM is good. After the second year, you have to pay additional for maintenance, because the first year is included with the license maintenance and support. It's from the second year on, you have to pay about 20% of the list price for maintenance and support."
"It's on the costlier side. It's expensive."
"On a scale of one to five, where one is high and five is good, I would rate this solution as a four."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
10%
Healthcare Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BlueCat Adaptive DNS?
This inherent stability, derived from its Linux-based architecture, provides a well-established and reliable platform.
What needs improvement with BlueCat Adaptive DNS?
The solution is too granular and sometimes complex to configure. We do not always need so many details. Simpler configurations with fewer details would be beneficial. The API aspect could be improv...
What is your primary use case for BlueCat Adaptive DNS?
In the past, we did not have a DDI system, so information was distributed in different places. As our environment became more complicated with on-campus, remote offices, and cloud setups, we wanted...
What do you like most about SolarWinds IPAM?
SolarWinds IPAM is a simple and user-friendly tool.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds IPAM?
The product is costly. It costs around $4000 to $5000 for 25000 IPs. It has options for purchasing either perpetual or subscription based licenses. There are no additional charges involved. For ren...
 

Also Known As

BlueCat Adaptive DNS, BlueCat Automation Manager, BlueCat DDI
SolarWinds IP Address Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Computer Sciences Corporation
Andr. L. Riis AS, Air Rarotonga, REA Group, Air Rarotonga, Open Line, Monroe City Schools, CTV Inc.
Find out what your peers are saying about BlueCat Integrity vs. SolarWinds IPAM and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.