Cisco UCS Manager vs SolarWinds NPM comparison

Cisco and SolarWinds are both solutions in the IT Infrastructure Monitoring category. Cisco is ranked #32 with an average rating of 8.8, while SolarWinds is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.5. Cisco holds a 1.2% mindshare in IM, compared to SolarWinds’s 3.4% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

Cisco UCS Manager

Read 27 Cisco UCS Manager reviews

3,317 Views
3,085 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

SolarWinds NPM

Read 160 SolarWinds NPM reviews

18,343 Views
9,355 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Cisco UCS Manager

SolarWinds NPM

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

SolarWinds NPM and Cisco UCS Manager compete in the IT management software category, focusing on network and server management respectively. Cisco UCS Manager appears to have an edge in centralized management and adaptability to different configurations, particularly in large server environments.

Features: SolarWinds NPM is renowned for its SNMP monitoring, customizable alerts, and seamless integration with multiple vendors, providing comprehensive network visibility. Cisco UCS Manager excels in server management with features like ease in server maintenance, centralized management, and flexibility for diverse configurations.

Room for Improvement: SolarWinds NPM needs enhancements in network discovery, accuracy in network mapping, and bulk node management. Its licensing model complicates adoption, requiring better integration with other products. Cisco UCS Manager could improve its interface complexity, firmware upgrade processes, and reduce costs for maintenance and licenses.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SolarWinds NPM offers versatile deployments from on-premises to hybrid clouds but faces criticism for response times and sales tactics despite generally positive customer service. Cisco UCS Manager, commonly used on-premises, is commended for reliable customer service and technical support.

Pricing and ROI: SolarWinds NPM has competitive pricing; however, its complex licensing might deter smaller companies. Users find value in its network management efficiency. Cisco UCS Manager is pricey compared to competitors like Dell and HP, yet offers stability and reliability justifying the cost. ROI is generally favorable, correlating with deployment scale and organizational needs.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco UCS Manager vs. SolarWinds NPM Report (Updated: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS Manager vs. SolarWinds NPM

April 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:

ROI

Sentiment score

5.1

Cisco UCS Manager enhances ROI by minimizing hardware failures, downtime, and maintenance, simplifying management, and integrating efficiently with other tools.

Sentiment score

7.0

SolarWinds NPM enhances network management and cost efficiency, providing superior monitoring, fast issue resolution, and significant ROI.

I can manage all LAN uplinks and fiber channel storage uplinks directly from UCS Manager.

Sidi Abdul

CTO at Next Technologies Ltd

Cisco UCS Manager provides cost savings by reducing the time support staff spend on long deployments.

Humphrey Hlatshwayo

Systems Engineer at First Rand Bank Ltd.

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco UCS Manager report

The return on investment is significant as the solution effectively reduces costs while being worth its expense.

Wahyu Krisnamukti

Network Administrator at PT Bni Life Insurance

For more quotes and insights, download the SolarWinds NPM report

Customer Service

Sentiment score

8.2

Cisco UCS Manager support is praised for expertise and responsiveness, though European support and urgent issues may vary.

Sentiment score

6.9

SolarWinds NPM support is knowledgeable and helpful but faces criticism for slow responses and aggressive sales tactics.

With Intersight, service requests are automatically generated, enhancing the user experience and providing timely resolutions.

Humphrey Hlatshwayo

Systems Engineer at First Rand Bank Ltd.

For a severity one case, a call ensures immediate assistance and resolution of the matter.

Sidi Abdul

CTO at Next Technologies Ltd

Regarding Cisco tech, they are pretty good.

Rob-Croxford

Consultant at rcnss

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco UCS Manager report

If there is no timely response, getting a resolution is more difficult.

SJ6

Network Security Engineer at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees

We had contact with SolarWinds regarding the implementation, and they were helpful.

Wahyu Krisnamukti

Network Administrator at PT Bni Life Insurance

They have good technical support.

Tochukwu Uzomba

Solutions Architect at Boch Systems Company Limited

For more quotes and insights, download the SolarWinds NPM report

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

7.8

Cisco UCS Manager offers scalable infrastructure solutions, though constrained by chassis limits, with largely positive user feedback.

Sentiment score

6.9

SolarWinds NPM offers scalable solutions for various environments, with possible increased costs and challenges on virtual platforms.

I can install the hypervisor, such as VMware, and add the servers into the cluster seamlessly.

Sidi Abdul

CTO at Next Technologies Ltd

I would rate the scalability at nine out of ten, probably.

Rob-Croxford

Consultant at rcnss

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco UCS Manager report

SolarWinds NPM is scalable and effective in handling large network infrastructures.

Tochukwu Uzomba

Solutions Architect at Boch Systems Company Limited

For more quotes and insights, download the SolarWinds NPM report

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

7.6

Cisco UCS Manager is praised for its stability, reliability, and prompt support, often outperforming competitors in overall robustness.

Sentiment score

7.5

SolarWinds NPM is stable, with issues arising during upgrades; regular updates and support enhance its performance.

If there's a really complex problem, I would probably give it a ten since it gets escalated quickly.

Rob-Croxford

Consultant at rcnss

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco UCS Manager report

The NPM product is stable, particularly when used for simple network monitoring.

SJ6

Network Security Engineer at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the SolarWinds NPM report

Room For Improvement

Cisco UCS Manager needs a streamlined interface, enhanced support, simpler updates, better integration, affordability, and improved monitoring.

SolarWinds NPM users seek improvements in network discovery, interface, integration, resource usage, cloud support, security, and pricing adjustments.

We would benefit from advancements in AI that offer firmware recommendations automatically, reducing the need for human intervention and vendor communication.

Humphrey Hlatshwayo

Systems Engineer at First Rand Bank Ltd.

It doesn't work straight out of the UCS, so someone who knows what they're doing is needed immediately, and it can be quite confusing.

Rob-Croxford

Consultant at rcnss

While it has been improved from using Java to HTML, simplifying the tabs would enhance user experience.

Sidi Abdul

CTO at Next Technologies Ltd

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco UCS Manager report

Customers have given feedback about the delayed response times from the technical team.

SJ6

Network Security Engineer at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees

SolarWinds needs to upscale on observability and add full-fledged observability features, including security features.

Tochukwu Uzomba

Solutions Architect at Boch Systems Company Limited

I would need a feature in SolarWinds in the future for some kind of malfunctioning detection, such as malware attacks or that type of environment.

Vivek Jaiswal

Manager IT at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the SolarWinds NPM report

Setup Cost

Cisco UCS Manager is seen as expensive but offers competitive value with bundled discounts, quality, and reliability.

SolarWinds NPM pricing is competitive yet complex, appealing to some while being costly for smaller enterprises or multi-module needs.

Recently, we acquired an excellent bundle with significant discounts, with offers like buying three servers and getting one free, along with UCSC and fabric included for free.

Sidi Abdul

CTO at Next Technologies Ltd

As long as they can afford it, there is a setup cost involved.

Rob-Croxford

Consultant at rcnss

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco UCS Manager report

It is not too pricey and is adequate.

Vivek Jaiswal

Manager IT at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

PRTG's package offers all features in one bundle, which is cost-effective.

Tochukwu Uzomba

Solutions Architect at Boch Systems Company Limited

The solution is considered expensive.

Wahyu Krisnamukti

Network Administrator at PT Bni Life Insurance

For more quotes and insights, download the SolarWinds NPM report

Valuable Features

Cisco UCS Manager offers unified management, easy deployment, flexible configurations, high availability, and cross-infrastructure security compatibility.

SolarWinds NPM offers easy deployment, strong monitoring, and seamless integration, enhancing network management with intuitive dashboards and real-time insights.

It supports ease of deployment, allowing for quick mass deployments in the data center, saving time and resources by doing so from a remote location.

Humphrey Hlatshwayo

Systems Engineer at First Rand Bank Ltd.

Whenever there's a failure of any component, it's very easy to swap because you just disassociate that profile, remove the faulty blade, connect the new blade, and associate that profile, maintaining the same MAC address and worldwide port name.

Sidi Abdul

CTO at Next Technologies Ltd

One of the valuable features is the user interface base, specifically the C user interface.

Rob-Croxford

Consultant at rcnss

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco UCS Manager report

Whenever any node is down in our network, whether it is a server or any network device, we receive information through email that the device is down.

Vivek Jaiswal

Manager IT at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

It provides a detailed overview of the network, which is valuable.

SJ6

Network Security Engineer at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees

SolarWinds NPM has specific modules for monitoring different network capabilities, which provides rich features for carrying out specific tasks.

Tochukwu Uzomba

Solutions Architect at Boch Systems Company Limited

For more quotes and insights, download the SolarWinds NPM report

Categories and Ranking

Cisco UCS Manager

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

32nd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SolarWinds NPM

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

5th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

160

Ranking in other categories

Network Monitoring Software (3rd), Cloud Monitoring Software (8th)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the IT Infrastructure Monitoring category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS Manager is 1.2%, down from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds NPM is 3.4%, down from 3.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

IT Infrastructure Monitoring Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
SolarWinds NPM	3.4%
Cisco UCS Manager	1.2%
Other	95.4%

IT Infrastructure Monitoring

Featured Reviews

Rob-Croxford

Consultant at rcnss

A market leader with an enhanced user interface for seamless experience

There is room for improvement in terms of cost and complexity to set up. It doesn't work straight out of the UCS, so someone who knows what they're doing is needed immediately, and it can be quite confusing. Some settings are still fairly well hidden, even the basic ones. Companies don't really understand how long it takes to set up. Also, when changes are pushed, it can take their phone line off the system for twenty minutes to half an hour. Out-of-the-box functionality is an issue, too. I know that my company is different, however, the basics are always the same. You do your tap lines, zip lines, and stuff like that, then you get your internal phone line system. That can all be automated and scripted, and it's probably part of the automation process. However, I haven't really seen it.

Read full review

Vivek Jaiswal

Manager IT at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Central monitoring has improved outage alerts and now needs smarter detection and modern dashboards

Regarding the automated network topology and mapping feature in SolarWinds NPM, I am not satisfied with it. For static monitoring, it is acceptable. However, if it is possible, I would need a feature in SolarWinds in the future for some kind of malfunctioning detection, such as malware attacks or that type of environment. We did not have any facility to detect that in SolarWinds. I think it would be better to incorporate those types of features. Regarding customization options in SolarWinds, the ability to customize the dashboard has room for improvement. The dashboard is quite old, and we need some improvement in it. Nowadays, we have multiple tools with AI-based monitoring and web-based dashboards. SolarWinds also has a web-based dashboard, but I think there is scope for improvement in the UI. There may be other areas I would like to improve in SolarWinds NPM.

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Comparison Review

it_user174738

IT Developer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

May 31, 2015

Nagios vs. Zabbix vs. PRTG vs. Spiceworks vs. Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor

I have researched a quite a few network monitoring tools which can be used for various monitoring purposes of not only the servers, but the intermediate routers as well. There are majorly three types of these softwares. Ones which are completely open-source, you can do almost anything you want…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	18

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	59
Midsize Enterprise	33
Large Enterprise	85

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco UCS Manager?

My experience with the pricing of Cisco UCS Manager ( /products/cisco-ucs-manager-reviews ) is that it is reasonable. Recently, we acquired an excellent bundle with significant discounts, with offe...

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What needs improvement with Cisco UCS Manager?

For improvements, while the current graphical user interface is satisfactory, it could be further simplified for different tasks. While it has been improved from using Java to HTML, simplifying the...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Cisco UCS Manager?

Our primary use case involves working with Cisco UCS B-Series ( /products/cisco-ucs-b-series-reviews ), specifically the UCS X modular deployment. We are setting up a new deployment shortly.

See all answers

What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

It actually depends on the exact purpose or kind of devices (network devices, servers, something else). Some tools are better for only network devices while others are better for a cloud monitoring...

See all answers

What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

From my point of view, SolarWind is the best tool.

See all answers

What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

We are partners with SolarWinds and we sell a lot of Network management to large enterprises also because of scalability, products like Network Performance Monitor & Netflow Traffic Analyzer ar...

See all answers

Comparisons

Cisco Intersight vs Cisco UCS Manager

Compared 56% of the time

Nutanix Prism vs Cisco UCS Manager

Compared 5% of the time

HPE OneView vs Cisco UCS Manager

Compared 4% of the time

Splunk Observability Cloud vs Cisco UCS Manager

Compared 4% of the time

Datadog vs Cisco UCS Manager

Compared 3% of the time

More Cisco UCS Manager Competitors

ManageEngine OpManager vs SolarWinds NPM

Compared 4% of the time

Nagios XI vs SolarWinds NPM

Compared 3% of the time

DX Spectrum vs SolarWinds NPM

Compared 3% of the time

Zabbix vs SolarWinds NPM

Compared 3% of the time

Entuity vs SolarWinds NPM

Compared 2% of the time

More SolarWinds NPM Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS Manager

May 2026

Download Cisco UCS Manager product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds NPM

April 2026

Download SolarWinds NPM product report

Also Known As

No data available

Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor, SolarWinds Network Bandwidth Analyzer

Overview

Cisco UCS Manager enables streamlined operations through unified storage, networking, and computing management, offering enhanced reliability and flexibility.

Cisco UCS Manager provides enhanced management capabilities for infrastructures, simplifying server deployment and operations. Its user-friendly interface aids in easy configuration and visibility, including robust reporting. UCS Manager supports efficient firmware and OS updates for large deployments, ensuring smooth operations across physical and virtual environments.

What key features does Cisco UCS Manager offer?

Hardware Profile Association: Ensures seamless hardware configurations.
Unified Management: Centralizes control of storage, networking, and computing resources.
Service Profiles: Simplifies server deployment and management.
User-Friendly Dashboards: Provides intuitive interface and strong reporting.
High Availability: Facilitates resource expansion and stability.

What benefits are important when considering Cisco UCS Manager?

Operational Efficiency: Reduces downtime and enhances deployment speed.
Centralized Control: Streamlines management across blades and configurations.
Scalability: Supports mass deployments and expansion.
Visibility and Reporting: Improves infrastructure monitoring and analytics.

In industries managing extensive IT infrastructures, such as healthcare and finance, Cisco UCS Manager is crucial for optimizing server and network operations. It enables efficient creation of server profiles, integration with networking systems, and comprehensive monitoring, ensuring high availability and reduced setup time for complex environments.

Cisco

SolarWinds NPM is a network performance monitoring tool offering a user-friendly interface with customizable dashboards. It provides real-time tracking of device health, latency, and bandwidth utilization, supporting diverse integration and scalability needs.

SolarWinds NPM's robust features include real-time monitoring of network performance and efficient tracking of device health, latency, and bandwidth utilization. The tool is appreciated for its ease of deployment, scalability, and support for integration with other tools. Features like SNMP monitoring, NetPath, and comprehensive reporting enhance its diagnostic capabilities and network visibility. However, users identify areas for improvement such as real-time analytics, advanced customization options, and enhanced scalability for larger enterprises. Better customer support, improved integrations, and security measures are also desired.

What are the key features of SolarWinds NPM?

User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies navigation and operation.
Customizable Dashboards: Allows personalized data views.
Real-Time Monitoring: Provides instant updates on network performance.
Strong Alerting Capabilities: Offers immediate notifications for issues.
Scalability: Supports growth with ease.
Integration: Works smoothly with other tools for comprehensive monitoring.
SNMP Monitoring: Tracks device stats effectively.
NetPath: Helps visualize network paths and performance.

What benefits and ROI can users expect?

Improved Network Visibility: Enables proactive issue resolution.
Enhanced Diagnostics: Facilitates quicker troubleshooting.
Real-Time Performance Data: Supports informed decision-making.
Ease of Deployment: Reduces setup time and complexity.
Infrastructure Monitoring: Ensures network stability and reliability.
Custom Integration: Adapts to existing IT environments.

In enterprise environments, SolarWinds NPM is deployed to monitor network health and device status, sending alerts for any issues. It provides visibility into network performance, tracking bandwidth utilization and server metrics efficiently. Its applications span from monitoring routers, switches, and firewalls to supporting infrastructure monitoring across industries.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Management Science Associates, Peak 10, Virtual Consulting Professionals

Microsoft, Federal Express, Hewlett-Packard, and MasterCard

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS Manager vs. SolarWinds NPM

April 2026

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