SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor

SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) is a comprehensive network monitoring solution designed to simplify the detection, diagnosis, and resolution of network performance problems and outages. It offers real-time data and customizable dashboards to provide deep visibility into your network. Developed by SolarWinds

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License: Commercial

Categories:

Network Monitoring IT Management

Available for:

Windows

About SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor

SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) stands out as a leading solution for managing complex and mission-critical networks. At its core, NPM is engineered to provide exceptional visibility into the health and performance of your entire network infrastructure, from individual devices to intricate connections. It automates the process of identifying and resolving performance bottlenecks and network faults, significantly reducing the time IT teams spend on troubleshooting.

Key capabilities include real-time monitoring of network availability and performance, intelligent network mapping to visualize connectivity and dependencies, and robust alerting mechanisms configurable based on a wide array of network metrics. NPM supports a diverse range of vendors and devices, ensuring broad compatibility across different network environments. Its scalability allows it to grow with your network, making it suitable for businesses of varying sizes.

The platform’s intuitive dashboard can be customized to display the most relevant information for your specific needs, offering a centralized view of network status, historical data, and performance trends. Furthermore, NPM integrates seamlessly with other SolarWinds IT management tools, providing a unified platform for managing your entire IT stack. This integration enhances capabilities beyond just network performance, extending into areas like application monitoring, server health, and configuration management.

Performance Monitoring: Gain deep insights into network device performance and health.
Fault Management: Quickly identify and resolve network outages and issues.
Intelligent Mapping: Visualize your network topology and dependencies automatically.
Advanced Alerting: Receive notifications based on customizable thresholds and complex conditions.
Vendor Agnosticism: Monitor devices from a wide range of network hardware manufacturers.
Scalability: Designed to support networks of any size and complexity.

By providing actionable data and automating routine tasks, SolarWinds NPM empowers IT professionals to proactively manage network performance, ensuring business continuity and optimal user experience. Its comprehensive feature set and ease of use make it an invaluable tool for maintaining a reliable and efficient network.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Comprehensive network performance and fault monitoring.
Automated network discovery and topology mapping.
Highly customizable dashboards and detailed reporting.
Advanced and flexible alerting capabilities.
Strong scalability for growing networks.
Integration with other SolarWinds products for unified IT management.

Cons

Can have a steep learning curve due to its extensive features.
Licensing model can be complex for some deployments.
Initial setup may require dedicated resources.

What Makes SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor Stand Out

Comprehensive Visibility

Offers extensive real-time and historical data on network performance and availability across diverse vendors and technologies.

Automated Network Discovery and Mapping

Saves time and effort by automatically discovering network devices and generating dynamic network maps.

Intelligent Alerting and Reporting

Provides customizable alerts based on complex conditions and offers detailed reporting for capacity planning and performance analysis.

Scalable Architecture

Designed to effectively monitor large and growing network environments without significant performance degradation.

What can SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor do?

Network Monitoring

Shows active network connections and bandwidth usage for each running process.

Network Activity

Provides a comprehensive view of all data transfers occurring on the monitored network interface.

Network Mapping

Provides specific stencils and features for creating network diagrams to visualize IT infrastructure...

Hardware Monitoring

Monitors key hardware parameters such as CPU clock speeds, temperature (requires additional software...

Network Tools

Functions as a fundamental network tool for retrieving data from remote servers.

Server Monitoring

Provides real-time monitoring of server resources and services, often with graphical representations...

Review

SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor Review

SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) has established itself as a robust and widely-used solution in the network monitoring space. Its primary strength lies in its ability to provide a centralized and detailed view of network health, crucial for maintaining the operational efficiency of modern IT infrastructure. The platform offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to address the core challenges of network management: detecting failures, diagnosing root causes, and resolving performance issues promptly.

One of the most significant advantages of NPM is its automated network discovery and mapping capabilities. Upon deployment, the software can quickly identify devices on the network, including routers, switches, servers, and endpoints. It then intelligently maps the connections between these devices, creating a visual representation of the network topology. This automated process is a significant time-saver, especially in large and complex environments where manual mapping would be incredibly time-consuming and subject to errors. The generated maps are dynamic and update as the network changes, providing an always-current view of the infrastructure.

Performance monitoring in NPM is granular, offering real-time and historical data on key network metrics such as latency, packet loss, jitter, and bandwidth utilization. This level of detail is essential for identifying performance bottlenecks and understanding network behavior over time. The dashboard is highly customizable, allowing users to arrange and display the information most relevant to their roles and responsibilities. This personalization enhances the usability of the platform, ensuring that critical information is readily accessible.

Alerting is another area where NPM excels. The platform supports sophisticated alerting based on customizable thresholds and conditions. Users can define complex alert triggers, ensuring that notifications are relevant and actionable. The ability to escalate alerts and integrate with ticketing systems streamlines the incident response process, reducing downtime and improving overall IT operational efficiency.

NPM's hardware monitoring features provide insight into the physical health of network devices, including temperature, fan status, and power supply. This proactive monitoring can help prevent outages caused by hardware failures. Furthermore, the integration capabilities with other SolarWinds modules, such as Server & Application Monitor (SAM), extend the monitoring scope beyond just the network layer, offering a more holistic view of IT performance.

While NPM is a powerful tool, its comprehensive feature set can lead to a steep learning curve, particularly for new users. Navigating the numerous configuration options and understanding the full extent of its capabilities requires time and training. The licensing model can also be complex, depending on the size and configuration of the network being monitored.

Key Strengths:

Robust Feature Set for Network Performance and Fault Monitoring.
Excellent Automated Network Discovery and Mapping.
Highly Customizable Dashboards and Reporting.
Sophisticated Alerting Engine.
Strong Integration with Other SolarWinds Products.

Areas for Consideration:

Can have a Steep Learning Curve for Comprehensive Utilization.
Licensing can be Complex depending on Network Size.

In conclusion, SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor is a leading network monitoring solution that offers deep visibility and powerful tools for managing modern networks. Its automated features, detailed performance metrics, and customizable interface make it a valuable asset for organizations of all sizes seeking to ensure network reliability and optimize performance. While there is an initial learning investment, the long-term benefits in terms of improved network uptime and reduced troubleshooting time are significant.