Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

OpenText Network Node Manager 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

OpenText Network Node Manager
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.4
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (8th)
SolarWinds Network Configur...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (15th), Network Automation (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Network Management solutions, they serve different purposes. OpenText Network Node Manager is designed for Network Management Applications and holds a mindshare of 4.7%, up 2.1% compared to last year.
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager, on the other hand, focuses on Configuration Management, holds 2.1% mindshare, up 1.4% since last year.
Network Management Applications Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
OpenText Network Node Manager4.7%
Cisco DNA Center13.1%
Cisco Catalyst Center7.2%
Other75.0%
Network Management Applications
Configuration Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager2.1%
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform12.2%
Microsoft Configuration Manager9.5%
Other76.2%
Configuration Management
 

Featured Reviews

Ahmed-Salman - PeerSpot reviewer
Performanc Monitoring and Application Architect at Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Reliable network monitoring and proactive analytics enhance decision-making with areas for configuration improvement
NNMi is an OpenText product and serves as the OpenText Network Node Manager monitoring tool. OpenText Network Node Manager is used for network monitoring of switches, routers, firewalls, load balancers, and all network devices. It can support any SNMP protocol. The advantages of OpenText Network Node Manager stand out because it can build the topology, Layer 2 topology, and Layer 3 automatically once devices are added, connecting them together, such as device one, for interface one, connected with interface one on another device. The integration capability of OpenText Network Node Manager is excellent because it integrates directly, and I can configure the integration to feed the CMDB, from where I can get all information from network monitoring into the CMDB, linking it with the infrastructure and correlating events. I use advanced fault monitoring and management features in OpenText Network Node Manager for topology and fault monitoring, as it can alert or generate an event if the value exceeds or falls below a predefined threshold for SNMP traps. The predictive analytics impact planning and optimization strategies because the product can be linked with another product for analytic analysis, allowing me to see the interface utilization trend and proactively take action if the utilization increases. The automated network discovery features and topology mapping in OpenText Network Node Manager have a positive impact. It supports a bundle with another product for NetFlow to monitor traffic, ports, protocols, and SLAs, and I can build compliance reports to address security vulnerabilities, such as identifying all devices using outdated protocols.
AB
MD at Thembanet
Flexibility and reliability enable effective network monitoring with integrations and compliance reporting
The flexibility and reliability of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager are particularly valuable. It allows for a significant amount of integrations, including with collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams and Telegram, as well as ServiceNow and Microsoft BI. The solution facilitates compliance reporting through an NCM module, effectively generating out-of-the-box reports on software vulnerabilities and outdated software versions. Additionally, the real-time change detection feature significantly reduces the time to resolve issues by allowing alerts to be tracked through to resolution. The use of templates helps in deploying configuration standards, preventing configuration errors.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"You can utilize the main file from various vendors for integration."
"It is stable for fault and availability."
"Most valuable function would have to the internal causal engine and its root cause analyzer which keep us updated on critical errors and incidents in our network environment."
"If you install one node on Network Node Manager and want to scale it up, it's pretty easy to create more nodes."
"Our monitoring and network teams of less than 100 people use this solution. The availability and fault monitoring are good."
"It's quite a mature solution."
"Topology creation is the most valuable feature."
"Real time network monitoring application: It is very stable, which provides quick root cause analysis (RCA) for any network faults."
"Configuration refers to the specific settings and options that determine how a device or system behaves. It can include things, such as network settings, security settings, and other options that are specific to the device or system in question. One of the most valuable features of the solution was its ability to track and monitor changes to the configuration of devices on a network. This can be useful for troubleshooting and identifying potential issues. By keeping track of who made changes to the configuration and when it can be easier to determine the cause of any problems that may arise."
"The network performance monitoring of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is a vital feature"
"Configuration pushing, upgrade capabilities, job backup, configuration backup, and real-time configuration change monitoring are highly beneficial features of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager."
"The feature that I really enjoy is the ability to script changes across all of your devices."
"SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager improves the mean time to repair significantly, bringing measurable benefits to customers."
"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."
"The configuration compliance aspect of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager allows for easy comparison of configuration settings across branches, ensuring adherence to security guidelines and best practices. Automation capabilities have greatly impacted workflows, enabling tasks such as configuration backups, template deployment, and firmware upgrades to be automated, thereby streamlining processes and saving time. Compliance reporting features provide valuable insights into network compliance, offering pre-built security audit reports and customizable options to meet specific requirements."
 

Cons

"Only to improve the GUI."
"We had some issues with some of the features, some modules are not meeting expectations."
"We have not had a good experience with technical support from OpenText. Many cases take a month to be resolved."
"Reporting. Even though this is available in separate software (iSPI) there is potential in making the reporting more SLA-aware and more intuitive."
"The deployment architecture and installation part needs improvement."
"The main issue with OpenText Network Node Manager is not its scalability but its network topology capability limitations, while installation and deployment types are supported across various platforms."
"The dashboards are not customizable and it's not user-friendly."
"The way the solution currently works means I'm not able to customize my own reports."
"The Network Configuration Manager needs to improve the access control list compliance."
"Its look and feel can be improved. They can also put in more effort into building the THWACK community and use the information about various customer issues and requests to build the new releases."
"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."
"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."
"The only thing that requires some experience, and training doesn't fix, is how to set up your custom policy-based reports to check compliance."
"The third-party plugins available in the solution could improve. I have received some issues with the templates."
"The network flow is a problem for this solution."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is more inexpensive than other products in the market."
"The solution is quite expensive."
"The solution is priced mid-range compared to the competition."
"It's an expensive solution."
"I wasn't involved in the pricing, but I think it's quite expensive."
"You have a base license for 50 devices, and then you can add more licenses as you go."
"I have a yearly subscription."
"Additional costs beyond the standard licensing fee are inevitable."
"The price of the solution is high compared to other solutions."
"There is a license needed to use SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager."
"There is a license for the use of this solution and it is priced well, there is a lot of value for the money."
"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."
"Pricing is reasonable and competitive."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Management Applications solutions are best for your needs.
881,665 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Performing Arts
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise15
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise8
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Micro Focus Network Node Manager?
The disadvantage of OpenText Network Node Manager is related to configuration, which is straightforward since it is agentless and solely relies on SNMP protocol, and although it requires some effor...
What is your primary use case for Micro Focus Network Node Manager?
I remember working with OpenText Network Node Manager at my previous company. I am now working at a different company focusing on data center migrations and DR preparation. In my current role, I ha...
What do you like most about SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?
The configuration compliance aspect of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager allows for easy comparison of configuration settings across branches, ensuring adherence to security guidelines and b...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?
The licensing costs of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager are expensive, but considering its reliability, feature enhancements, and support, it is worthwhile.
What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?
NCM could benefit from enhanced automation capabilities — for instance, enabling workflow-based configuration automation tasks. While regex and command-line scripting are available, they require sp...
 

Also Known As

Micro Focus Network Node Manager, Network Node Manager, HPE Network Node Manager
SolarWinds NCM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

IPC, Exelon, VivaCom, 
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 OpenText Network Node Manager vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager and other solutions. Updated: March 2023.
881,665 professionals have used our research since 2012.