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Apstra Operating System vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager 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

Apstra Operating System
Ranking in Network Automation
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SolarWinds Network Configur...
Ranking in Network Automation
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Network Automation category, the mindshare of Apstra Operating System is 2.1%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is 7.1%, down from 9.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Automation Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager7.1%
Apstra Operating System2.1%
Other90.8%
Network Automation
 

Featured Reviews

HF
Works at wolterskluwer
Highly secure, useful AB test, and stable
I am using Apstra Operating System for some classes and for my personal use Apstra Operating System's most important features are the security and AB test to define what approach we need to take in my company. Additionally, the solution does not take a lot of maintenance. The report data could…
reviewer1327239 - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I find Apstra Operating System very good to use and would recommend this solution to others."
"Apstra Operating System's most important features are the security and AB test to define what approach we need to take in my company. Additionally, the solution does not take a lot of maintenance."
"The most valuable features the solution offers are compliance, reliability, and information about reliability."
"Compared to other vendors, like NetBrain, managing the solution is easy. They made it very user-friendly."
"The solution's view is very nice, and they have a great customized dashboard."
"It's perfect for network configuration management, and it's easy to use."
"It is pretty straightforward to set up."
"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."
"What's nice with NCM is you can set up policies that you can then check against the configs to ensure that your device configs adhere to a baseline or standard that you've set in place."
"The tool is useful for security purposes."
 

Cons

"The report data could improve in Apstra Operating System."
"We want to be able to store it in a data warehouse format and integrate it with Google single sign-on."
"The network logs could be improved. When the error logs come across with those false positive alarms in the error logs."
"We do health checkups for the network devices. However, compared to NetBrain, the NCM health checkup is getting very bad."
"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."
"Our experience has shown that most of the problems we've had with SolarWinds NCM are related to software issues."
"The Network Configuration Manager needs to improve the access control list compliance."
"Releasing a product compatible with operating systems other than Windows would be advantageous."
"There is room for improvement in automation."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution is competitive."
"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 price of the solution is high compared to other solutions."
"I have a yearly subscription."
"There is a license needed to use SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager."
"We have to pay additionally for its support and maintenance."
"Additional costs beyond the standard licensing fee are inevitable."
"Available at a moderate price"
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
7%
Computer Software Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise9
 

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...
What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?
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...
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...
 

Also Known As

Apstra OS, AOS
SolarWinds NCM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bloomberg Television, Energy Corporation, A mid-sized financial services company
United Lincolnshire Hospitals, Air Rarotonga, NetSuite, Thai AirAsia, REA Group, 335th Signal Command, Agilisys, Marine Expeditionary Force
Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat, Cisco, SolarWinds and others in Network Automation. Updated: June 2026.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.