We performed a comparison between DX Spectrum and SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager based on real PeerSpot user reviews.
Find out in this report how the two DX NetOps solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI."The main thing is obviously notifications about alerts, getting ahead of the curve to make sure that we do not have system going down, or if it is down we get to know it earlier."
"This product provides good visibility into applications at the backend."
"We were able to standardize the internal processes across all internal departments, resulting in almost an elimination of non-standard process flows through our organization."
"The product’s stability and robustness are valuable."
"The quick notification of issues, quick alerting because timeliness is always valuable, it's very important for us."
"The most valuable features have been the interface and the ability to do equipment management."
"It's a good tool. It's simple to do the configuration."
"It is very stable. We have not had any major issues in over 10 years."
"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."
"The feature that I really enjoy is the ability to script changes across all of your devices."
"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."
"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."
"SolarWinds NCM provides updates on the status of your network infrastructure. If any issues arise, such as a link failure or a device going offline, you will receive notifications and alerts. Additionally, if someone unplugs a cable, SolarWinds NCM will detect it. It also features a Topology Mapper that displays the connectivity of your network devices, giving you a visual representation of the network's structure. With SolarWinds NCM, you have a clear understanding of what's happening within your network and can generate comprehensive reports."
"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."
"This solution has helped our organization by allowing us to store all the device configurations for the various network devices in NCM and making it easy for us to retrieve and look them over."
"I would like to see CA move Spectrum, Performance Manager, and some of their other tools moved to a SaaS based model. You see a lot of other manufacturers which are moving toward SaaS based models."
"It doesn’t give you performance metrics: You need CA eHealth for this."
"The product should provide performance management features."
"There should be better integration with other Broadcom products, like network performance manager. Currently, for every part of a product, you need a separate server environment. You have something for Spectrum, you have something for network performance, and you have something for NetFlow. There are a lot of islands and server farms with different technologies. They should be redeveloped to get one platform for all."
"If the integration is simplified or improved, it will be a unique selling point in comparison to the competition on the market."
"From the users perspective the looks and feel of dashboards of Spectrum would be easier to use and for understanding as APM will be in 10.5 version which we saw in CA World."
"DX Spectrum needs better documentation on its complex features."
"The solution could improve by allowing the ability to monitor the network shortly after installing the software and adding an auto-discovery function."
"Releasing a product compatible with operating systems other than Windows would be advantageous."
"I'd like to see additional features like support for devices that don't use CLI for configuration backups, expanded inventory support for other vendors beyond Cisco, and compatibility with newer SD WAN devices. These enhancements would further improve the product's versatility and utility for users. we hope for future enhancements, especially in supporting security devices that lack CLI backup options."
"The solution could improve by being more secure."
"The network flow is a problem for this solution."
"The solution could have better integration."
"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."
"The third-party plugins available in the solution could improve. I have received some issues with the templates."
"The Network Configuration Manager needs to improve the access control list compliance."
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DX Spectrum is ranked 1st in DX NetOps with 115 reviews while SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is ranked 10th in Configuration Management with 22 reviews. DX Spectrum is rated 8.4, while SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of DX Spectrum writes "Comprehensive alerts, beneficial overall network viability, and scalability not limited". On the other hand, the top reviewer of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager writes "Streamlines network configuration and compliance processes through its centralized dashboard, although its compatibility with multi-vendor devices may present limitations". DX Spectrum is most compared with DX NetOps, Zabbix, SolarWinds NPM and Cisco DNA Center, whereas SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is most compared with Cisco DNA Center, Cisco Prime, Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform, OpenText Network Node Manager i and VMware NSX. See our DX Spectrum vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager report.
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