IBM Tivoli NetCool vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager comparison

"The scalability of monitoring, the breadth of supported network components, the scale of the number of monitoring events, and the flexibility in customization make this a well-rounded product."

"The tool had many built-in automation capabilities."

"The feature I have found most valuable with NetCool is how it collaborates all the alarms, and then it does a predictive analysis, providing a consolidated alarm view and management."

"The solution has very good integration capabilities."

"Tivoli NetCool allows us to grasp a lot of data that can be applied toward predictive analytics and auto-remediation."

"NetCool has a huge database that can collect and process about one million alarms a day."

"Support is one of the best aspects of this solution. NetCool is a good product that has good flexibility. There are a lot of documents available online which is one of the best features of IBM Tivoli Suite. Whenever an issue happens, rather than going to technical support, if you find the exact issue in Google, you can get tech notes for that particular issue."

"It's very easy to use."

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

"Configuration pushing, upgrade capabilities, job backup, configuration backup, and real-time configuration change monitoring are highly beneficial features of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager."

"The solution's view is very nice, and they have a great customized dashboard."

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

"It's perfect for network configuration management. It's easy to use."

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

"We push all our configurations to the servers with ease and the logs capture almost all the transactions needed for an internal audit."

"SolarWinds NCM provides updates on the status of your network infrastructure. If any issues arise, such as a link failure or a device going offline, you will receive notifications and alerts. Additionally, if someone unplugs a cable, SolarWinds NCM will detect it. It also features a Topology Mapper that displays the connectivity of your network devices, giving you a visual representation of the network's structure. With SolarWinds NCM, you have a clear understanding of what's happening within your network and can generate comprehensive reports."

"The solution is too expensive."

"The installation could be simplified, and technical support could be faster."

"The installation could be simplified, and technical support could be faster."

"Tivoli NetCool's has medium scalability - there are some problems with its replications not being mature."

"The solution does not have any AI capabilities."

"Tivoli NetCool is based on a Linux platform, it would be beneficial if they moved it to Windows because not everyone is acquainted with Linux."

"The solution is not user-friendly."

"In terms of improvement, I would like to see more AIOps, Artificial Intelligent Operations in the next release. IBM develops new features for Power BI or Cognos Analytics, which is good. As of now, we use Cognos Analytics, we are not using Power BI. They have the Insight concept but we don't like that."

"The network logs could be improved. When the error logs come across with those false positive alarms in the error logs."

"The solution could improve by being more secure."

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

"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."

"The network flow is a problem for this solution."

"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."

"The third-party plugins available in the solution could improve. I have received some issues with the templates."

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

"Customers are required to pay a licensing fee."

"The price of the product is too expensive."

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

"It costs around 100k for every ten servers, which is lower than similar products from other vendors."

"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."

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

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

"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."

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

"Pricing is reasonable and competitive."

"I have a yearly subscription."

"Available at a moderate price"