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Meraki Dashboard vs SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer 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

Meraki Dashboard
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (20th)
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic ...
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Network Management solutions, they serve different purposes. Meraki Dashboard is designed for Network Monitoring Software and holds a mindshare of 1.4%, down 2.1% compared to last year.
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer, on the other hand, focuses on Network Traffic Analysis (NTA), holds 5.6% mindshare, down 7.1% since last year.
Network Monitoring Software
Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)
 

Featured Reviews

Bilal-Ahmed - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamless connectivity and comprehensive control over network devices
All of the features we are looking for are already in control. I think those features, which we are not currently utilizing, are already there. For example, the control for the cameras and everything else. The cameras are not connected through Meraki, but all other devices are on Meraki networks.
DeepakVyas - PeerSpot reviewer
Utilization alerts enhance monitoring with good alerts
The tool itself is very complicated, so training is required to handle it effectively. Configuration and the streamlining process are very complex. In my view, it is a good product if properly configured and streamlined according to your IT infrastructure. For enterprise-level organizations, SolarWinds is more appropriate than for small and medium enterprises. I would rate the solution eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's a scalable solution."
"An excellent dashboard that is currently unique in covering both SD-WAN and SD-LAN with built-in security."
"The ease-of-use and the analytics are really effective tools."
"We have found the client dashboard to be very simple to use, especially in our Meraki environment."
"Easy to configure with great troubleshooting feature."
"Meraki dashboard deserves an Oscar."
"Some of the features I have found valuable are the ease of access, simple configuration, and monitoring."
"The overall product rating is ten out of ten."
"I find this tool very helpful in identifying the top traffic paths from source to destination, and determining which routes are consuming the most resources."
"The initial setup was straightforward."
"The solution helps manage networks."
"The most helpful feature of SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is bandwidth analysis, which lets you see who's hogging your network."
"The performance analysis is a valuable feature. With the performance analyzer, we can see the realtime monitoring, the realtime performance, and historical performance on specific components like virtualization storage, CPU, servers and network equipment."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its traffic analysis."
"The most valuable feature is the alarm that is set up to trigger based on bandwidth utilization."
"They have instructional videos and other information available on the site to assist you with learning it."
 

Cons

"Meraki Dashboard could improve integration with non-Cisco platforms."
"I’d like the product to allow for other solutions to be integrated with the dashboard as well."
"More integration would be an improvement."
"The product is missing a VPN and it is a major issue when it comes to deployment."
"If I am a user and I have a seat on the fourth floor, if I move across the building, the system should be able to track me and should be able to figure out my whereabouts or my position within the building if I'm connected to the wireless. That would make the administrator's life easier in terms of reachability."
"Something that needs to be improved, is the fact that you if you don't renew the subscription license, it stops working. I would also like to see SSL BPM support for anything else."
"It is not appropriate for large, enterprise businesses."
"I am concerned about the fact that once your licensing expires the devices stop working and become a brick."
"It's scalable, but it could be simplified because it's not completely easy."
"An area for improvement in SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is the dashboarding. The user interface also has room for improvement because it's currently clunky."
"The licensing should be more realistic so that we can adjust the number of nodes according to my needs, rather than in fixed increments."
"SolarWinds' technical support is ok, but it could be faster and more knowledgeable."
"It does not flow. It cannot do our metric performance monitoring. So it is very limited. They can do it but in a very limited fashion. It is only good for SNMP-based alerts."
"The Atlas module that is used for building the network map is very bad."
"As people always complain about the pricing for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer, it's an area for improvement in the solution. People find it expensive. Another area for improvement in SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is support, as it could be better."
"I would like to see more artificial intelligence capabilities."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The Meraki Dashboard has more competitive pricing."
"Meraki Dashboard is a utility and portal that's part of the Meraki solution."
"It is said to be expensive."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"My view is that it's expensive, but it's the best."
"The solution is currently the most expensive on the market."
"The pricing of the tool is relatively high compared to other solutions. It comes with a premium that exceeds that of its competitors by approximately 25 percent."
"Typically, the license model is for one, three, and five years. They can just be a bit more flexible around it and look into providing an option for 24 months."
"We pay yearly, and we are happy with its price."
"SolarWinds' pricing structure is the primary reason why some customers opt for another solution such as ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer. In NTA, you are charged per port, meaning that if you have a 24-port switch you will be charged for 24 individual nodes. ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer, on the other hand, charges per switch, such that if you add a switch, the entire switch will count as one single node."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"I don't have information on the licensing cost for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer because it's bundled with another SolarWinds solution. My organization has seven different models and pays for the license yearly. My organization also had to deploy additional pollers, but the cost wasn't very expensive, though I can't give the exact numbers."
"Pricing for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is very high. I have a customer that needs the solution but doesn't have the budget for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer because the problem is that you can't use the solution only. You have to buy requirements such as the SolarWinds NPM first, and some companies don't have the budget for all the required components and modules. SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer can cost up to $10,000, and some customers don't have that budget. Another product has all the modules that SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer has, with a very low price, that can be a replacement, which is ManageEngine NetFlow Analyzer. PRTG is another solution that can replace SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer."
"While the pricing is fair, it could be better."
"NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is reasonably priced."
"The price of this solution is exceptional."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
22%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
6%
Educational Organization
71%
Computer Software Company
4%
Financial Services Firm
4%
Manufacturing Company
3%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Meraki Dashboard?
We greatly utilize the network because we can plug it into the DNS, VPN, or equipment. It's very good. Meraki Dashboard enhances wireless network management. We appreciate its flexibility, as it al...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki Dashboard?
The cost of the Meraki solution is high, which may not be affordable for smaller companies, especially in developing countries.
What needs improvement with Meraki Dashboard?
There is a need for price reductions in developing countries, as the cost of Meraki is quite high. Additionally, it would be beneficial if Meraki Dashboard could integrate more Cisco devices such a...
What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?
I have worked from 1973 with all kind of systems in large enterprises across the world. And have experience with all kind of software in monitoring from infra to end to end, it depends on the funct...
What needs improvement with SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer?
The plotting of the device on the map is not appropriate. It should be like a Meraki cloud, where if you are familiar with Meraki devices, you can locate any device directly on the world map.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Netflow Traffic Analyzer
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Coop eG, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Priefert Manufacturing, Century Care Management, Clifton College, Zürs Ski Resort, Capital FM Arena, MAXI Autohöfe
Oceaneering International, Asia Pacific Network Information Centre, 335th Signal Command, Immofori
Find out what your peers are saying about Meraki Dashboard vs. SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer and other solutions. Updated: September 2020.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.