AirCheck G3 vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager comparison

The compared NetAlly and SolarWinds solutions aren't in the same category. NetAlly is ranked #9 in NT , and holds a 6.4% mindshare in the category. SolarWinds is ranked #12 in CM , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 3.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of NetAlly users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

AirCheck G3

Read 13 AirCheck G3 reviews

1,646 Views
1,465 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Network Configur...

Read 28 SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager reviews

4,233 Views
1,820 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

AirCheck G3

SolarWinds Network Configur...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between AirCheck G3 and SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Auvik, Wireshark, NetAlly and others in Network Troubleshooting.

To learn more, read our detailed Network Troubleshooting Report (Updated: June 2026).

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Network Troubleshooting

June 2026

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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

AirCheck G3

Average Rating

8.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Troubleshooting (9th)

SolarWinds Network Configur...

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Configuration Management (12th), Network Automation (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Network Management solutions, they serve different purposes. AirCheck G3 is designed for Network Troubleshooting and holds a mindshare of 6.4%, down 8.2% compared to last year.
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager, on the other hand, focuses on Configuration Management, holds 3.1% mindshare, up 1.5% since last year.

Network Troubleshooting Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
AirCheck G3	6.4%
Wireshark	18.4%
AirMagnet Survey PRO	9.1%
Other	66.1%

Network Troubleshooting

Configuration Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager	3.1%
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform	10.3%
Microsoft Configuration Manager	7.4%
Other	79.2%

Configuration Management

Featured Reviews

David-Prusynski

Senior Network Engineer at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees

A portable, rugged device that reduces resolution time and saves thousands of dollars

It would be nice if I could import an AP list with a MAC address. When it looks at access points, it should tell me the AP name instead of the MAC address. When you get a MAC address, you can eventually find out where you want to go. However, a lot of times, if I just have an AP name, I know that's in this area or that's over there. I would like that function because AirMagnet, which is the precursor of this, had that ability where you could basically import a list of APs and MAC addresses, and then it could display those instead of just a MAC address. That'd be a nice function. We should be able to put an AP to MAC address in Excel and export it as a CSV file and then import it. That'd be nice to have because I have that information for all my hospitals. The one I'm doing this weekend has got 550 access points. It is much easier for me to look at an AP name than to get a MAC address. Currently, I have to go to a different spreadsheet and try to find that MAC address. If I had the AP name, it would be like, "Okay. Yep. See it. Done." They are doing spectrum analysis in G3, which I would love to have in G2. That's a nice tool to have, and from what I heard, that's the same price. I'd like to have that. The other function I would love to see is the ability to test fiber. I know the $10,000 version has the ability to test fiber, but I would love this lower-cost device to be able to test fiber.

Read full review

reviewer1327239

Software Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

Automated configuration management has improved monitoring, backups, and policy control

I do not think there is anything I would like to improve at this point in time because SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager compares almost perfectly to what it is supposed to do. I think it is one of the best products in its category. Regarding the automation capabilities of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager, I think that is an area they will need to explore in making it more autonomous. Discovery happens through IP address scanning, but building out automation is something they need to focus on. I absolutely believe in providing automation for SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager. It is essential to address how to deploy, discover, and remediate wherever possible. I think that is something they should already be looking at because AAFS is currently something everybody is focused on, and storage also needs to consider it.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like the cloud functionality. That's very useful because somebody can go onsite, someone who is not really skilled, and I can see the test results from the office."

"The ability to push data to Link-Live is really important. On the main screen, you can see all the system parameters, and then you can also go and see all the current systems that are operating. They all have different SSIDs or system identifiers, and you can see all SSIDs that are operating in a certain area. Being able to see that and being able to dive into each one and figure out what frequency it is operating under is valuable."

"AirCheck G2 gives me an overview of which channels are used by the access points or who delivers the Wi-Fi, which gives me a clear picture of what's going on."

"AirCheck made a lot of children and caregivers quite happy. While I might not have resolved everything, I have reduced the problems that we had every night. During the day, they would do visible checks and not always rely on the monitors, but every night, they had at least three or four of those alarms. I was able to reduce it to once or twice a week since those appliances are still limited in their wireless capability."

"Therefore, AirCheck G2 is the best of both worlds; it's an affordable product with many useful features."

"It has made our networking staff more productive. We spend less time because the device helps us by identifying the issue and providing a solution for the customer. Prior to not having this device, we would have to guess when an issue arose. Now, we don't have to guess. This can easily save us hours per call."

"Compared to the old AirCheck it is a massive step forward."

"The airCheck is the real-time spectrum analyzer to see clients that could be connecting to our network, not just rogue networks out there, but rogue clients and other interference in that particular spectrum."

More AirCheck G3 pros

"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."

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

"SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager improves the mean time to repair significantly, bringing measurable benefits to customers."

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

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

"The most valuable features the solution offers are compliance, reliability, and information about reliability."

"It's a helpful tool and I really like it."

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

More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager pros

Cons

"I would like them to modify the interface. The button to change profiles is fairly small. When you have interventions, it is not always possible to have a ballpoint pen or perfect precision touch with it, since sometimes you need to touch it quite a lot when your hands are very dirty. I would like a special pen that is compatible with that responsive screen. That would make it easier."

"NetAlly has been behind the curve on visualization, Wi-Fi design, and heat maps for a little while now."

"It was hard to determine which AP was which because it only shows the MAC address. It'll also display the MAC address of the BSSID, so it looked like I had 12 APs in my house. If I have three access points and each is a dual-band with an SSID or BSSID for each radio, it comes out to about 12 APs. That's one of the bugs fixed in the latest firmware update, but it's only available if you have a NetAlly support contract."

"The only thing that would be an improvement would be the ability to do MPO/MPT testing, which is another mode of fiber, along with more options on the SFP to do that testing."

"My biggest complaint about it is that I wish it was cheaper."

"It is a bit expensive, to be honest. For a small firms, like a wireless consultant or small IT support company, it is hugely expensive and that's a shame because it is a fantastic tool."

"We use these out in the field, and because they're not allowed on our network, we usually have to have the person take them home and provide backhaul to them. In other words, they are not allowed through our firewalls to dump the data. So, we have to have them go to a separate wired network to dump the data. There could be an option to put an LTE and have a phone engine in it so that you can buy a SIM card for it and have it use cellular to download the data. That is something that would be nice to have. That's a little kink in this system right now. Other than using the Ethernet port to download data, it'd be nice if we could use either LTE or some other way to get the data that was collected by AirCheck G2 to our Link-Live portal."

"I would like them to modify the interface. The button to change profiles is fairly small."

More AirCheck G3 cons

"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."

"I will email them and I won't see the response for another two or three hours. I have to give them a call and it's a pain, it's a nightmare."

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

"Further improvements in automation are needed. Currently, there are limitations in performing tasks without logging into routers directly, and we expect more comprehensive device control."

"Improvements are needed in the automatic network mapping function."

"We had issues with the FailOver Engine module installation, due to the resources of each SolarWinds server."

"The AI features do not work well."

More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is definitely well worth the price. It is approximately $2,500. It pays for itself since it eliminates troubleshooting costs and labor due to all the money you would spend kind of troubleshooting the device if you didn't have any of these tools with you."

"If you find a feature you need, you have to call them and add it, but you should be able to use the product. You spend money on and invested in multiple devices and can't even use half of the features. They should negotiate with large enterprises who buy large numbers of units to provide NetAlly support for all of them at a nominal fee."

"The upfront cost of the solution is around $4,000."

"It costs $3,000. It would be nice if its cost was less. I could then buy more. Currently, when we buy one, we make sure that where we need it is big enough, or if it is too small, when a person has a job, they have to get a temporary one mailed to them to use, which becomes a little less convenient."

"Pricing is on par with the rest of the industry and the licensing is decent."

"The product has a pretty good price."

"The price is fairly expensive, if you are a single individual. For me, it's well worth the cost of the unit. Depending on the nature of the work that you're doing, the upfront costs can be expensive. Typically, what happens in an environment is a department might have one device as opposed to technicians having them individually."

"The overall cost of the solution, compared to the time saved—the number of man-hours devoted to other means of troubleshooting—is incomparable."

More AirCheck G3 pricing and cost advice

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

"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."

"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."

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

"Pricing is reasonable and competitive."

"Available at a moderate price"

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

More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

University

Government

Construction Company

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Construction Company

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	1
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	11

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	9

Questions from the Community

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?

On pricing, I would rate SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager as one of the best in its segment among leading products and competitors. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is positioned as...

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What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?

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What is your primary use case for SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is used for managing a large number of IPs, distributing them within my enterprise, and addressing issues related to them. People typically manage this thro...

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Comparisons

NetAlly EtherScope nXG vs AirCheck G3

Compared 22% of the time

AirMagnet Survey PRO vs AirCheck G3

Compared 17% of the time

OneTouch AT Network Assistant vs AirCheck G3

Compared 10% of the time

LinkRunner vs AirCheck G3

Compared 10% of the time

Observer GigaStor vs AirCheck G3

Compared 2% of the time

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Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Compared 10% of the time

Cisco DNA Center vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Compared 8% of the time

HashiCorp Terraform vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Compared 6% of the time

ManageEngine Network Configuration Management vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Compared 4% of the time

AWS CloudFormation vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Compared 4% of the time

More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

AirCheck G3

June 2026

Download AirCheck G3 product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

May 2026

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager report

Download SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager product report

Also Known As

AirCheck G2, AirCheck

SolarWinds NCM

Overview

AirCheck G3 provides rapid Wi-Fi environment assessments with AutoTest. It features cloud capabilities for remote data sharing and visualization tools like packet capture to address connectivity issues, making it ideal for IT teams.

AirCheck G3 is designed to offer actionable insights into Wi-Fi infrastructures. Its key features include AutoTest for swift diagnostics, cloud integration through Link-Live for efficient data management, and advanced functionalities such as packet capture and heat map creation. With AirMapper, site survey data is easily visualized and collected. Built for portability and durability, AirCheck G3 effectively identifies connectivity problems, rogue devices, and interference. Users note potential enhancements in device emulation and AI-driven analysis. Improvements in battery life, API support, and LTE connectivity are also desired.

What are the standout features of AirCheck G3?

AutoTest: Quickly troubleshoots Wi-Fi environments.
Cloud Functionality: Enables remote data access via Link-Live.
Packet Capture: Provides deep network analysis capabilities.
Heat Map Creation: Visualizes network performance spatially.
AirMapper: Simplifies site survey data collection.
Portability and Durability: Designed for field use, making it versatile for IT teams.

Which benefits should users consider in reviews?

Efficiency in Troubleshooting: Reduces time in identifying and solving network issues.
Data Shareability: Facilitates data distribution and collaboration through cloud integration.
Insightful Analytics: Delivers comprehensive analytic tools for network performance assessment.
Versatile Use: Portable design supports numerous environments and scenarios.

In healthcare, AirCheck G3 is crucial for ensuring reliable Wi-Fi connections, aiding staff in locating access points or issues. Technicians rely on it for data collection and cloud reporting, enhancing their understanding of network infrastructure. Businesses utilize it to improve troubleshooting efficiency, addressing network issues promptly and effectively.

NetAlly

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager provides essential tools for network performance monitoring, configuration compliance, and vulnerability management, ensuring streamlined operations for network administrators with real-time change detection and backup automation capabilities.

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager offers extensive features that empower network management through integration with platforms like Microsoft Teams and ServiceNow. It manages network devices effectively, automating backups and streamlining configuration compliance. Users find it flexible and reliable for network configuration and security management, including support for IP SLA management, which enhances device health checks. The solution facilitates remote network configuration, mass changes across devices, and efficient backup and restore procedures for disaster recovery. While improvements in node-related limitations, AI features, and integrations are noted, the tool remains critical for aligning configurations with enterprise standards and ensuring network visibility.

What are the key features?

Network Performance Monitoring: Provides insights into network health and potential issues.
Configuration Compliance: Ensures all network configurations align with internal policies.
Real-Time Change Detection: Alerts users immediately about configuration changes.
Backup Automation: Simplifies backup processes for network configurations.
Vulnerability Management: Identifies and manages security vulnerabilities effectively.
IP SLA Management: Enhances device health checks through service level agreements.
Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Teams, ServiceNow, and more.

What benefits should users consider?

Enhanced Security: Protects networks with robust vulnerability management.
Streamlined Operations: Automates routine tasks to save time and resources.
Improved Compliance: Ensures adherence to configuration policies and standards.
Comprehensive Network Visibility: Offers a clear view of network performance and issues.
Disaster Recovery Support: Facilitates quick recovery from network failures with efficient backups.

In industries such as telecommunications, finance, and healthcare, SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is implemented to manage complex network infrastructures, optimize performance, and maintain security compliance. These sectors rely on the tool's ability to conduct mass device configurations and ensure continuous network monitoring, which is crucial for operations that require consistent uptime and quick response to potential security threats.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

United Lincolnshire Hospitals, Air Rarotonga, NetSuite, Thai AirAsia, REA Group, 335th Signal Command, Agilisys, Marine Expeditionary Force

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June 2026

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