We monitor five firewalls and five switch stacks in five offices. We also monitor around 30 servers that are both physical and virtual. Most of them run Windows Server 2016.
IT Director at Pattillo, Brown & Hill
Performance history is a valuable feature but it randomly reports falsely that devices are down
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
The data available per device is particularly valuable when trying to determine what caused a problem.
What is most valuable?
- Performance history is the most valuable feature, especially when tracking down a problem.
- Root cause analysis is very valuable to us.
What needs improvement?
Stability is an issue. We have installed SolarWinds (Server 2016) on a dedicated physical server and as a virtual machine in a brand new Hyper-V environment with brand new servers. We only monitor five firewalls and 30 servers. In both installation scenarios, SolarWinds randomly starts reporting falsely that devices are down. We have to bounce the server, and then it behaves for a while. SolarWinds support was no help. So, we are looking for a replacement.
Buyer's Guide
SolarWinds NPM
March 2025

Learn what your peers think about SolarWinds NPM. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.
For how long have I used the solution?
One to three years.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Senior Network Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Previously we were manually retrieving reports but with NPM it's automated.
What is most valuable?
Monitoring and reporting are valuable features.
How has it helped my organization?
Previously with RTGS software we manually retrieved monitoring reports and checked downtime but with SolarWind NPM reporting is automatic and very good with auto email and message features and because of these great features even late at night or on the weekends our network team knows which link is down.
What needs improvement?
I faced a problem with GRE over IPSec tunnel traffic, it was not showing Netflow enabled traffic and without IPSec tunnel traffic Netflow was working fine.
For how long have I used the solution?
2.5 years
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
The latest issues I've encountered was the Netflow traffic issue I mentioned above.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No issues with stability, if we follow the prerequisites properly.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No issues with stability.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
7 out of 10, compared to slow response time from Cisco.
Technical Support:7 out of 10
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
WhatsUP Gold because of the scalability.
How was the initial setup?
It's a little complex for enterprise level installation.
What about the implementation team?
With Vendor team, 8 out of 10.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Around $50,000 to $70,000 as a one time cost. If we add additional features then it will be an additional cost.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Yes, Manage Engine and Lancope StealthWealth.
What other advice do I have?
It's the best solution on the market so far. I recommend adopting all the latest features in latest update.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: My previous company was a SolarWinds Partner.
Buyer's Guide
SolarWinds NPM
March 2025

Learn what your peers think about SolarWinds NPM. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.
CEO at WilCom Systems Ltd
Stable network monitoring solution that is effective in testing the L state of routers and firewalls
Pros and Cons
- "The benefit of this solution is the reporting. We're able to report on and see our network in a graphical form. We are able to detect when a device is added to a network."
- "Being able to detect devices that are trying to connect wirelessly would make using this solution much easier."
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution for checking databases and new devices that are added to the network. We test the L state of routers and firewalls.
What is most valuable?
The benefit of this solution is the reporting. We're able to report on and see our network in a graphical form. We are able to detect when a device is added to a network.
What needs improvement?
Being able to detect devices that are trying to connect wirelessly would make using this solution much easier.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have not experienced any challenges with scalability.
How are customer service and support?
The support for this solution is satisfactory.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not that straightforward and could be made easier. We have approximately 500 devices using this solution. We require only two team members for maintenance.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to other users. I would rate it an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Network/Systems Administrator at TRSP
Provides good monitoring capabilities, generates useful reports that save us time
Pros and Cons
- "The most important feature is reporting. The reports that are generated are useful and they save a lot of time with respect to monitoring."
- "I would like to have a Syslog server module for this product. That would make the solution better."
What is our primary use case?
This product is useful for monitoring our network devices.
It monitors bandwidth utilized on the network and tells us whether particular nodes or particular services are available or not.
How has it helped my organization?
This product is of good caliber and we get better results by using it on our network.
Not many technical people are needed for administration.
What is most valuable?
The most important feature is reporting. The reports that are generated are useful and they save a lot of time with respect to monitoring.
What needs improvement?
I would like to have a Syslog server module for this product. That would make the solution better.
For how long have I used the solution?
We began using SolarWinds NPM a few months ago.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a very stable solution and we use it extensively.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
SolarWinds NPM is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
Up to now, we haven't opened any cases to tech support. Our local support is helping us to deal with the issues and if required, we will contact the vendor for support.
How was the initial setup?
This product is easy to install.
A single technical person can deploy it.
What about the implementation team?
We have a technical team aligned with our support SLA and they are helping us in this regard.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We pay a yearly licensing fee.
What other advice do I have?
In summary, this is a good product and I recommend it.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Works at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
An extensible and scalable solution that suits our expanding network
Pros and Cons
- "It is very extensible with 'SWQL' and APIs to where we are beginning to integrate it with network automation."
- "This solution would benefit from expanding on the capabilities within the API."
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution for network node monitoring and alerting.
How has it helped my organization?
This solution has scaled as we have grown.
What is most valuable?
It is very extensible with 'SWQL' and APIs to where we are beginning to integrate it with network automation.
This solution has a very large and active user community.
What needs improvement?
This solution would benefit from expanding on the capabilities within the API.
Network automation is a hot topic now, and SolarWinds needs to be focused on developing the product with that in mind.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for two years, but it has been in my company for much longer.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We are a larger and dispersed company so there are many, many network nodes monitored by NPM. It has been able to expand and scale to manage that well.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Managing Director at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
Scalable, traditional brand; multitenancy needs improvement
Pros and Cons
- "What I've found most valuable about the solution is that it's scalable."
- "The solution is not always good with new features, so it's take a long time."
What is most valuable?
What I've found most valuable about the solution is that it's scalable.
What needs improvement?
An area of the solution that needs improvement is the multitenancy. I'd like to see more features that deal with multitenancy in the next release.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for a couple of years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
There are issues with newer features so it can take a long time to adjust. The solution is in bad shape because of software hacks.
How was the initial setup?
The installation takes about one day. However, it can take more than a couple of days to work with SolarWinds NPM or other products. The integration is part of the project.
What about the implementation team?
We have specialists that take care of the installation. Usually you need two or three technicians to implement, depending on the company's experience. The main part is integrating the customization.
What was our ROI?
To get the positive business case within ROI, return on investment, sometimes also use the NCV, the net constant value.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There's standard licensing, and then it depends on the size of the customer. I have customers that pay anywhere from 25K up to 200K, depending on the subscription model.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
The competitors can be PRTG in combination with, for example, log monitoring features. There are lots in that space.
If you look at SolarWinds, it's a very traditional brand, and there are a couple of competitors who are far more modern, also in the layout. Some of the competitors have better visibility, and also have licenses more suitable for some customers.
What other advice do I have?
We have a couple hundred customers using this solution.
Whether the solution is right depends on the customer's needs. What does he want? What is the company's strategy? What expertise does he have? Does the company have its own technicians? Does higher management have the strategy to help their specialists or not?
I would rate the solution a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Solution Architect at Accenture
Good technical support and comparatively cheaper than other solutions
Pros and Cons
- "It is considerably cheaper compared to other tools."
- "The scalability can be better."
What needs improvement?
There are modules in SolarWinds NPM which are better than other competitive tools. However, some areas require new releases or updates. For example, there have not been many updates to cloud monitoring, containerization or serverless environments. In that regard, SolarWinds NPM is not as good as other solutions in the market.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution, and rate the stability a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability can be better.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support has been a good experience.
What was our ROI?
The ROI has been good.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is considerably cheaper compared to other tools and available technologies in terms of LMS or EMS.
What other advice do I have?
I rate this solution a seven out of ten. Regarding advice, I would recommend concentrating on gaining some expertise. A foundational or intermediate understanding of different network protocols and technologies would be helpful when using SolarWinds. In addition, understanding the underlying technology that will eventually be monitored or managed will be good.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Implementation & Support Specialist at 360Factors
Helpful support, good alerting and reporting facilitate troubleshooting of network problems
Pros and Cons
- "We have configured multiple alerts for our network devices, including routers and switches, so that we are notified if any interface goes down."
- "Fortigate firewalls are one example of a product that we are unable to monitor properly via SolarWinds NPM."
What is our primary use case?
We have been using this tool to monitor our multiple network devices, interfaces, physical and virtual memory, application servers, databases, and applications to keep a track of what is causing an issue that we are having.
Either it is the network, or it is the application, or it is the database queries that are causing our users to experience slowdowns. Due to alerting mechanism, we get notified if anything is responding slowly or if anything goes down so that we can resolve the issue as quickly as possible and keep providing best services to our customers.
How has it helped my organization?
We had been having some issues recently with network choking at a specific time, and we had been working on multiple things to identify the root cause. Using those methods, we were unable to trace it.
We decided to install a tool that would show us where the issue is being produced, and we can monitor our internal and external network traffic. We are able to determine whether the issue is being caused at the ISP end or our internal network, and with the help of SolarWinds NPM, we were able to track down the root cause of the issue.
What is most valuable?
We have configured multiple alerts for our network devices, including routers and switches, so that we are notified if any interface goes down.
In the event an interface goes down, we have multiple reports that include availability monitoring, network uptime monitoring, and network downtime monitoring. These reports are on multiple schedules such as the end of the day, end of the last business day of the week, monthly, and quarterly. This gives us the ability to provide reports to our management and let them know the performance of our network.
What needs improvement?
Even though SolarWinds NPM provides monitoring for a vast number of vendors and products, they do not support all of them. They should keep in mind that due to ongoing threats and daily malware attacks, companies have deployed network security and hired security professionals who are doing penetration testing. Certain devices provide ongoing security features, which can keep our network secure.
Fortigate firewalls are one example of a product that we are unable to monitor properly via SolarWinds NPM.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using SolarWinds NPM for more than two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of SolarWinds NPM is very good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability-wise, it is very good.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support from SolarWinds is the best.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used ManageEngineOpManager, but we switched because it did not have enough features.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was pretty straightforward. We had to do some customizations, which was great to provide better visibility of our entire network.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented it through a vendor and their level of expertise made us choose this tool. They gave such a great demo that we didn't even have to consider other options.
What was our ROI?
We achieved ROI within six months.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licensing is based on the number of nodes, interfaces, and volumes.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We were recommended SolarWinds by a friend so we tried it and purchased it. We did not evaluate other options.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Buyer's Guide
Download our free SolarWinds NPM Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2025
Product Categories
Network Monitoring Software IT Infrastructure Monitoring Cloud Monitoring SoftwarePopular Comparisons
Datadog
Zabbix
New Relic
PRTG Network Monitor
Cisco DNA Center
ThousandEyes
Cisco Secure Network Analytics
Nagios XI
LogicMonitor
Centreon
Nagios Core
Auvik Network Management (ANM)
Checkmk
ScienceLogic
Buyer's Guide
Download our free SolarWinds NPM Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Quick Links
Learn More: Questions:
- PRTG vs. SolarWinds: Which is a better Network Monitoring Tool?
- Which is the best network monitoring tool: Zabbix or Solarwinds? Pros and Cons?
- Can SolarWinds NPM be used by network solution providers? What needs to be taken into consideration?
- What Is The Biggest Difference Between NETSCOUT and SolarWinds?
- What SolarWinds NPM alternatives do you recommend?
- SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor compared to alternative solutions
- Is Zabbix or SolarWinds NPM better for infrastructure monitoring?
- How does Solarwinds NPM compare with Dynatrace?
- What is the main difference between SolarWinds NPM and Riverbed NetIM?
- When evaluating Network Performance Monitoring, what aspect do you think is the most important to look for?