SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor
بواسطة SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC
The typical implementation process for Network Performance Monitor (NPM) by SolarWinds generally follows these steps:
Initial Consultation:
Duration: 1-2 weeks.
Project Planning:
Duration: 1-2 weeks.
Installation:
Configuration:
Duration: 1-2 weeks.
Network Discovery:
Integration:
Duration: 1-2 weeks.
Testing:
Duration: 1-2 weeks.
Training:
Duration: 1-2 weeks.
Go-Live:
Duration: 1 week.
Post-Implementation Support:
Duration: Ongoing.
The entire implementation process typically takes 6-12 weeks, depending on the complexity of the project and the specific needs of the client.
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) offers extensive customization options to fit specific business needs. Here are several key ways NPM can be customized:
Custom Dashboards: Users can create personalized dashboards with the most relevant metrics and views for their specific environment.
Customizable Alerts: NPM allows for the creation of custom, intelligent alerts that can respond to multiple condition checks, correlated events, and device dependencies.
Custom Reports: The software provides flexible reporting tools to generate and schedule customized performance and availability reports.
Customized Application Monitoring: NPM supports customized application monitoring and script customization to track specific business applications.
API Access: Users can access data via the API to integrate NPM with other tools or create custom solutions.
Custom Views: The ability to customize views allows users to focus on the most critical network elements for their organization.
Customizable Thresholds: Users can set custom performance thresholds tailored to their network's specific needs.
Custom Network Maps: NPM allows for the creation of custom network maps to visualize the network topology in a way that makes sense for the organization.
Customizable Polling Intervals: Users can adjust polling intervals to balance between data granularity and system resource usage.
Custom Device Templates: NPM supports the creation of custom device templates for monitoring unique or specialized equipment.
Customizable NetFlow Analysis: Users can customize NetFlow data collection and analysis to focus on specific traffic patterns or applications.
Language Support: NPM offers language support, allowing for customization of the interface language.
These customization options allow organizations to tailor NPM to their specific network monitoring needs, making it a flexible solution for businesses of various sizes and industries. The high degree of customization is often cited as one of NPM's strengths in user reviews.
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) has additional costs beyond the initial purchase price, including setup fees, maintenance, and support charges. The setup fee is minimal for basic installations, but the annual maintenance fee can be significant. Support services include one year of updates and phone and email consulting. Increased support costs have been reported due to buggy software. SolarWinds NPM offers various licensing options and can increase the cost of additional elements for larger networks. Users have expressed concerns about price increases for maintenance and support.
Network Performance Monitor (NPM) by SolarWinds offers a variety of training and support options for new users:
Online Training:
Access: Available on the SolarWinds Customer Portal and YouTube channel.
Instructor-Led Training:
Topics: Includes best practices, troubleshooting, and advanced configuration.
Documentation:
Access: Available on the SolarWinds website.
Technical Support:
Access: Available to all customers with active maintenance contracts.
Customer Success Center:
Access: Available on the SolarWinds website.
Community Forums:
Access: Available on the SolarWinds THWACK community.
These resources ensure that new users can effectively learn and utilize NPM to monitor and manage their network performance.
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) implements several security measures to protect data:
Encryption: SolarWinds uses encryption to protect data at rest and in transit. They continually work to support the latest secure cipher suites and protocols to encrypt traffic while in transit.
Access Control: The system recommends implementing strict access control and auditing at the operating system and network layers. Access to NPM servers and SQL server instances should be limited only to authorized personnel.
Network Segmentation: SolarWinds recommends applying proper segmentation controls on the network where NPM and SQL Server instances are deployed.
Firewall Configuration: Detailed firewall configuration guidelines are provided to restrict inbound and outbound access, especially for critical ports like
Authentication: SolarWinds recommends against creating local accounts. Instead, they suggest using Windows Authentication or implementing a SAML v2 based solution.
Regular Updates: SolarWinds emphasizes the importance of installing the latest versions, hotfixes, and service releases of the SolarWinds Platform.
Secure Infrastructure: Recommendations include keeping NPM and SQL databases on separate servers, disabling unnecessary ports and services, and following Microsoft's guidelines for securing SQL Server instances.
Penetration Testing: SolarWinds conducts penetration testing at least once a year using external penetration testing organizations.
Compliance: SolarWinds ensures their servers are compliant with supported security standards like STIG, FIPS, and Device Guard.
Cybersecurity Framework: SolarWinds follows the NIST Cybersecurity Framework with layered security controls to help identify, prevent, detect, and respond to security incidents.
These measures collectively aim to provide a comprehensive security approach for protecting data within the Network Performance Monitor system.
Network Performance Monitor (NPM) by SolarWinds typically releases updates several times a year. Here’s how the update process is managed:
Method: Notifications are sent through the Web Console alerting area and the Customer Portal1.
Content: Includes installation guides, release notes, and troubleshooting articles.
Method: 24/7 technical support is available to help with any issues during the update.
These measures ensure that updates are managed efficiently, keeping the software up-to-date and secure.
here are the key points regarding SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor's policy on data ownership and portability:
You (the customer) retain all right, title, and interest in and to all copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, intellectual property and other proprietary rights in and to Your Data.
The data is stored in the customer's own environment. SolarWinds or resellers do not have access to the customer's environment.
Data can be exported in formats such as CSV, HTML, and XML.
Since data is stored in the customer's environment, customers retain their collected data at the end of the contract.
If support and maintenance services are terminated for perpetual licenses, the product will still operate and collect new data, but customers won't have access to future product updates.
SolarWinds agrees that the data and information generated by the Software from Your proprietary data and information shall be and remain Your sole property.
Here are the key terms and conditions for contract renewal and cancellation for SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM):
SolarWinds recommends customers renew their maintenance prior to the expiration date to ensure continued access to product improvements.
For perpetual licenses, if support and maintenance services are terminated, the product will still operate and collect new data, but customers won't have access to future product updates.
Termination does not relieve the obligation to pay any fees or amounts accrued through the end of the current Term.
If a subscription license is terminated, no new data will be collected.
The Support Term starts either on the day the SolarWinds Product is delivered/made available or on the date of Support renewal for out-of-maintenance products.
NPM offers both perpetual (one-time license fee) and subscription (monthly or annual fee) licensing options.
After the evaluation period, customers can convert to a production license by obtaining and applying a license key.
As an example, one source mentions a price of £1,242.00 per license per year.
SolarWinds has an End of Life (EOL) policy for its products, which typically includes an announcement period, followed by End-of-Engineering (EOE) and End-of-Life (EOL) dates.
General IT Compliance: NPM provides real-time monitoring of network devices, servers, applications, and services, generating audit trails and logs required for IT compliance audits. It allows tracking configuration changes, user activities, access to sensitive data, etc. which is crucial for compliance.
Industry-Specific Compliance: NPM integrates with SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM) which offers pre-built compliance report templates for regulations like PCI DSS (for payment card industry), HIPAA (healthcare), NERC CIP (energy), SOX (public companies), and GLBA (financial services). The combined NPM and SEM solution enables collecting, analyzing, and reporting on log data from across the IT infrastructure to demonstrate compliance.
