Here is a comparison of the SolarWinds family of network programs.
We have
Performance (NPM), Server and Application Monitor (SAM), Configuration (NCM) and Service
Level Agreement (SLA)
SolarWinds network monitoring software manages many corporate
networks. It specializes in discovering, detecting network
problems. Furthermore licenced products such as NPM (Network
Performance Monitor) and SAM (Application) can diagnose and even resolve
server or router problems automatically.
SolarWinds NPM
Overview
Think of the Network Performance Monitor as the head of the
Solarwinds licensed
family. NPM is literally programmed to detect outages caused by
broken network links or faulty hardware devices. Its strength is
generating network-centric views, with colored dots to see what's
working (green) and what's down (red).
The dashboards enable you to track network performance in real-time.
It provides a visual display of routers, switches, servers, & other
SNMP-enabled devices . Furthermore, you can group these network
devices by network performance or service level status, this in addition
to grouping by location, business center.
Should there be a problem, you get the sense that Orion's logic is striving to find work-arounds
to minimise the impact of any outage.
Meanwhile, NPM will send a message to key members
of your team explaining what's gone wrong.
See my full SolarWinds NPM review.
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor Video
NPM Demo
The best way to see Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor in action
is to take a walk through of the demo. Check for yourself what
this award winning network management solution can do for your setup.
See more on the NPM Demo.
SolarWinds Review of Server and Application Monitor (SAM)
My website is dedicated to getting people started with various
products and configuration techniques. For those wishing to monitor
applications I recommend you download a trial copy of SolarWinds APM.
The difference between NPM and APM is that 'A' for application.
APM monitors internal applications on your server, its mission is to
achieve low-latency and thus ensure peak performance.
Once installed, APM provides an intuitive interface
to check the performance counters on their servers. If you are curious to discover what's going on in
your
network, then this program will help you take stock of your resources,
and then set a baseline before making changes.
See more on my SAM review
SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor Video
SolarWinds NCM Overview
The keyword here in NCM is configuration. This network monitor
specializes in creating consistent settings for routers and other
network devices with config files. When I am under pressure I find
it all to easy to blame the wrong service, or even the wrong server.
Perhaps the killer feature of NCM is isolating a problem, thus making it
easier to solve.
Not only
will you be able to monitor all manner of data vales, but more importantly,
NCM provides the tools to restore settings in the event that someone
makes a mistake, but you cannot quite pin-point the error. For
example, you can upload
scripts to correct problems with community string, passwords or other
device settings.
Yet NCM is much more than just a smart backup program, it can help to
achieve your compliance policy, for example, pinpointing devices not backed
up, or identify routers with weak passwords. If you are one of the many who find inventory auditing a chore, then
save yourself time and hassle by taking advantage of NCM's ability to
self-document setting values for all your networked devices.
See NCM review.
Orion Network Configuration Manager Video
Retired Products
These SolarWinds products are included here so that you realize they
have been retired or replaced.
The purpose of Orion IP Service Level Agreement (SLA) Manager is to identify
and analyze network performance problems, such as Cisco statistics. IP
SLA measures the metrics between Cisco routers. It is
relatively easy to monitor because IP SLA technology is built into
Cisco IOS. The situation is that the information is already there on
your network you just need a manager such as IP SLA to collect and
display what's happening on the network.
Examples of IP SLA Monitoring
FTP - Measure the round-trip time to transfer a file
DNS - Measure the DNS look-up time (time to request and receive
a reply)
DHCP - Measure the round-trip time to retrieve an IP address
The key to troubleshooting this type
of network problem is to look from the perspective of the remote site.
What I particularly like is the ability to view WAN performance with the Top 10
dashboard. We can also display site-to-site network performance on a
clickable, drill-down map. See more on my
review of SolarWinds Orion IP SLA Manager.
IP SLA Manager Video
SolarWinds Programs Use Netflow
NetFlow is now a mature technology. Network monitoring relies on the
routers collecting then exporting detailed NetFlow (or J-Flow) information in
UDP packets. These datagrams are then collected by
software such as the Orion NetFlow Traffic Analyzer.
The good news is that NetFlow is open source thus is used by other router
manufacturers, not just Cisco. Because of the open source nature
of NetFlow, collecting the UDP packets is straightforward, the skill of
the SolarWinds software lies in analyzing the data and presenting it
ways useful to network managers.
More SolarWinds Products
IPAM IP Address Manager Useful for scanning your
network to ensure you are making the most of your IP address space.
Also checks for IP address conflicts. I would also choose
IPAM when I eventually migrate from IPv4 to IPv6.
See more on IPAM.
Web Performance Monitor A handy program
if you have a website and want to test shopping carts and other user
interactions. See more on
Web Performance Monitor
User Device Tracker Switch port management is a
game of beat the clock when you’re trying to find a device before it
logs off of your network. Use UDT to help switch port management.
This application specializes in finding a computer's, port, switch name
and VLAN. You can query on hostname, IP Address or even MAC
address. UDT will give you the current or last known location of
the device queried. See more on
User Device Tracker.
Review of the SolarWinds Licensed Family
The purpose of this page is to explain the difference between the
main players in the SolarWinds family of applications.
The main man is
Performance (NPM), ably supported by: Application (APM), Configuration (NCM) and Service
Level Agreement (SLA)
Additional Free and Trial SolarWinds Network Software
These are programs which I have enjoyed evaluating on my
network. Some are completely free, while other downloads are trial
versions of the full product. I think SolarWinds have a great
strategy, namely, supplying a free gadget, which may be all a small
company need, yet providing a big-brother suite of programs for
larger organizations.
Guy Recommends:
SolarWinds' NPM - Network Performance Monitor
SolarWinds' performance monitor is designed for detecting network outages,
making it easy to see what's working, and what needs your attention.
This utility guides you through creating network maps; it also helps
identifying whether the
root cause is faulty equipment, or resource overload. Give NPM a try.
