ExtremeCloud IQ vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager comparison

"It excels in Wi-Fi and switch management, as well as other internal management aspects, offering speed and efficiency that surpass what other competitors provide."

"The technical support for this solution is good."

"Everything can be seen from the dashboard."

"The Client 360 feature provides a comprehensive view of your clients and their activities, including the devices they use. Additionally, a feature called Network 360 offers a 360-degree view of the network, like data usage (in GB), the status of ports and AP, and other details. You can drill down on granular-level drills to gain insights into specific applications and usage patterns like application level and fee, where your data is being wasted or what your clients are doing with the Internet data, what kind of applications they are using, etc."

"What I like best about ExtremeCloud IQ is its ease of use. Flexibility is another pro of ExtremeCloud IQ. I also find ExtremeCloud IQ feature-rich."

"a true controller-less approach, where each Access Point is 100% independent from the management system."

"The HiveManager integration with the VPN Gateway is awesome."

"Extreme is transitioning to 802.11ax facilities running the 2G and the 5G cloud, allowing for higher density in education use cases, and ExtremeCloud IQ provides you with novel ways to manage everything. In the old days, you used to have a controller on-site for your access points, but everything is easier now."

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

"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."

"The network performance monitoring of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is a vital feature"

"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."

"Its main functionality is highly beneficial as it centralizes the management of configuration items across the network."

"The feature that I really enjoy is the ability to script changes across all of your devices."

"Compared to other vendors, like NetBrain, managing the solution is easy. They made it very user-friendly."

"The tool is useful for security purposes."

"The certification costs from suppliers are getting out of control, and it's not just Extreme. We have the same problem with Cisco and Huawei."

"They can improve just the onboarding process. More user information about the introduction to the product would be helpful. It would be good if they have a better user introduction to the new product because it is different than the prior version."

"A room for improvement in ExtremeCloud IQ is roaming. My team is facing roaming issues with the solution, particularly when using VoIP over WiFi. For example, VoIP sometimes breaks when you walk around the customer site. In terms of what I'd like to see in the next release of the solution, right now, the inventory for ExtremeCloud IQ is awful. There's no stock, and you must wait a year and a half for new stocks. It's awful."

"Need port aggregation on the 2384 switches to take full advantage of ac on the APs. I understand that is on their product road map."

"Integrating the network access control solution can be complex, as it essentially combines two separate products."

"Pricing is a bit expensive."

"There can be an improvement by incorporating two-factor authentication or multi-factor authentication for security. Advanced network access control features and application control features should be added to manage applications. Many customers are interested in managing data, such as setting data quotas for individual users."

"I would like to see a remote phone application for monitoring APs when on the road."

"Its customer service response could be faster."

"The only thing that requires some experience, and training doesn't fix, is how to set up your custom policy-based reports to check compliance."

"There is room for improvement in automation."

"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."

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

"The solution could improve by being more secure."

"There are certain limitations of node-related monitoring"

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

"It is easy for customers to use this product because they are able to interchange the license depending on their usage rather than having to buy individual licenses for each asset."

"Previously, ExtremeCloudIQ provided free licensing for all the basic requirements of their customers. An advanced cloud user had to purchase advanced licenses for automation and advanced country features at the enterprise level. They have restricted the licensing, allowing only up to ten units for testing, which is challenging. This limitation becomes problematic, especially in countries like Sri Lanka or other Asian countries, where customers face economic challenges and have limited budgets. The previous free option was beneficial, but it has become tougher to manage with these new changes. They should revise their pricing structure, offering the basic features free of charge for up to 50 AP. Larger entities with more than 50 APs have the budget to support them. Still, it becomes more difficult for small and medium-sized businesses with less than 50 APs to allocate a significant budget for control and management features."

"Price-wise, it is a reasonable tool."

"Start small and grow big. You can choose the basic Aerohive Connect free subscription solution and, later, if needed (in terms of functionality) you can upgrade to Aerohive Select."

"Extreme is twice as cheap compared to Cisco due to the currency exchange. Normally, I think Cisco would be a little bit more expensive, but there wouldn't be that much of a difference."

"The price was okay."

"Although the pricing is a bit high, I consider Aerohive to be well worth the money."

"Bring the cost down."

"The price of the solution is high compared to other solutions."

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

"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."

"I have a yearly subscription."

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

"The pricing is good."

"Pricing is reasonable and competitive."