SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager - Short Review

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) Overview

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) is a comprehensive and intuitive solution designed to streamline and automate network configuration and change management. This tool is essential for maintaining the reliability, security, and compliance of multi-vendor network environments.

Key Functionality

• Configuration Management: NCM allows you to manage configurations for a wide range of network devices, including routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers, and wireless access points from various vendors such as Cisco, Juniper, HP, Dell, and more. It provides a single point of management, simplifying the task of configuring and monitoring heterogeneous networks.
• Automation and Compliance:
  • Automate network configuration and change management to reduce human errors and ensure configurations are made consistently across network devices.
  • Configure devices to adhere to predefined policies, detect and prevent out-of-process changes, and audit configuration compliance against federal regulations and corporate standards (e.g., SOX, HIPAA, CISP).
• Change Detection and Notification:
  • Continuously monitor device configurations and receive real-time notifications of any changes. This feature helps in quickly identifying and responding to unwanted changes, ensuring network stability and performance.
• Backup and Recovery:
  • Schedule regular configuration backups, which are stored in both a relational database and as flat files. This allows for easy recovery from configuration changes by comparing current configurations with established backups and restoring the last-known good configuration.
• Firmware Upgrades:
  • Automate firmware upgrades for multiple devices simultaneously, including support for Cisco Catalyst Switch Stacks, Lenovo, and Juniper devices. This helps in keeping devices current and correcting security vulnerabilities.
• Network Insight and Performance Integration:
  • Gain deeper visibility into network devices using Network Insight™ for Cisco ASA, Cisco Nexus, and Palo Alto Networks devices.
  • Integrate with SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) to provide a unified view of network health, combining configuration health indicators with performance statistics. This integration also includes features like NetPath™ and PerfStack™ to enhance troubleshooting capabilities.
• Policy Management and Reporting:
  • Use the Policy Reporting Manager to ensure device compliance with regulatory and corporate standards. Generate custom reports and leverage out-of-the-box compliance assessments to identify and remediate policy violations.
• Inventory and Device Management:
  • Perform inventory scans on network devices to gather detailed statistics, which are displayed in the device detail view.
  • Set up a request and approval system for processing the workflow of device configuration changes, enhancing collaboration and control over changes.

Additional Benefits

• Community Support: Leverage the SolarWinds THWACK community, which includes over 150,000 members, to share custom templates and get answers to questions.
• Multi-Device Baselines: Identify out-of-compliance configurations using multi-device baselines and compare current configurations with baseline configurations to detect changes.
• Scheduled Reports: Create regularly scheduled reports to keep stakeholders informed about the state of the network.

Integration and Platform

SolarWinds NCM is part of the SolarWinds Orion Platform, offering a tightly integrated experience with common alerting, reporting, and management features. This integration provides a single pane of glass for central visibility and control over the entire network.

In summary, SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is a powerful tool that simplifies network configuration management, enhances security and compliance, and improves network reliability and performance through automation, real-time monitoring, and comprehensive reporting.