IBM Tivoli NetCool vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager comparison

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

"The solution has very good integration capabilities."

"It's very easy to use."

"The tool is much easier to manage than running scripts and figuring out how many endpoints have been exceeded."

"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."

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

"Anything is possible with Tivoli. It's quite a robust system."

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

"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."

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

"Configuration refers to the specific settings and options that determine how a device or system behaves. It can include things, such as network settings, security settings, and other options that are specific to the device or system in question. One of the most valuable features of the solution was its ability to track and monitor changes to the configuration of devices on a network. This can be useful for troubleshooting and identifying potential issues. By keeping track of who made changes to the configuration and when it can be easier to determine the cause of any problems that may arise."

"It is a stable solution."

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

"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."

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

"The solution is not user-friendly."

"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."

"Customization and integration that you need to do to make the product fit your needs is very complex. It is not a product that somebody could easily pick up without any prior training or experience."

"The solution does not have any AI capabilities."

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

"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."

"UI is outdated, very old legacy."

"The solution could improve by being more secure."

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

"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."

"The AI features do not work well."

"For each device, when you open the network performance monitor, it will give you all of the information about the device, but many of the natural configuration management features are not on that page."

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

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

"Customers are required to pay a licensing fee."

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

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

"The price of the product is too expensive."

"I have a yearly subscription."

"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."

"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."

"We have to pay additionally for its support and maintenance."

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

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

"Available at a moderate price"

"Pricing is reasonable and competitive."