Cisco Prime [EOL] vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager comparison

"As a large organization, it is difficult to individually monitor every device. Instead, we use Cisco Prime to keep an eye on the network and services. We do not use it as a node tool, as we have other tools for network operation centers. When services go down, it can cause issues, we rely on Cisco Prime to monitor and notify us of any service disruptions. We mainly use Cisco Prime Infrastructure for configuration-level tasks."

"The interfaces are a valuable feature."

"The technical support team is very good."

"It gives you the ability to upgrade switches remotely, schedule the upgrade time, perform backups, and monitor the health of all networks."

"We use this solution to troubleshoot our wireless systems, specifically regarding signal strength."

"The dashboard is a valuable feature. It's very clear, and the metrics make it easy to see the current network situation."

"The hardware Cisco provides is excellent. It's a well-made product."

"Cisco Prime allows us to do a lot of functions with the users and it is flexible."

"It allows us to manage backups in big companies. It is also useful in managing the configuration changes."

"NCM also helps with vulnerability assessment and remediation."

"I use it for monitoring the entire network for the company. We oversee nodes down, we oversee devices heading up to crossing the threshold for CPU usage. We oversee power so power backups on the switches, we oversee if they're down or if they're failing. We oversee any node down or any router from any vendor."

"It is a stable solution."

"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."

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

"The tool is useful for security purposes."

"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 user interface of Cisco Prime could be more user-friendly and increase its performance."

"The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive."

"The onboarding process could be improved and developed to enhance compatibility for non-Cisco devices."

"The solution needs to include centralized management that aligns with the Greenfield network and its focus on real-time, scenario-based applications."

"This solution could be improved if it could monitor configuration changes."

"Cisco Prime needs to have lower prices and more customization options."

"I rate Cisco Prime seven out of 10 for affordability. All Cisco solutions are expensive."

"The overall management capabilities of Prime need to be improved."

"There are certain limitations of node-related monitoring"

"I would like to see more integration tools. Something like dialysis, for example."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"I'd like to see additional features like support for devices that don't use CLI for configuration backups, expanded inventory support for other vendors beyond Cisco, and compatibility with newer SD WAN devices. These enhancements would further improve the product's versatility and utility for users. we hope for future enhancements, especially in supporting security devices that lack CLI backup options."

"Our experience has shown that most of the problems we've had with SolarWinds NCM are related to software issues."

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

"The product is expensive compared to other vendors in the market."

"Cisco Prime is an expensive solution."

"The cost is quite high."

"The solution is not inexpensive but is worth it for large-scale environments."

"We update the license every five years."

"You need to get special quotes from the company for each order."

"The price of Cisco Prime was reasonable because we purchased it as part of a Cisco One package. The package was a bundle of Cisco solutions together, such as Cisco ISE and CMX. The price is reasonable com compared to other solutions."

"The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive."

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

"The pricing is good."

"Additional costs beyond the standard licensing fee are inevitable."

"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."

"Pricing is reasonable and competitive."

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

"You have a base license for 50 devices, and then you can add more licenses as you go."