IBM SevOne vs. SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)

The software is handy and really helps us track all the issues that may occur in our network, allowing us to rectify them before any significant problems with our server can arise. It also enhances the overall performance of all our servers and networks, but, as I mentioned earlier, it will take considerable time for a beginner to become familiar with every feature of the software.

Incentivized

I would suggest this tool to any user that has to monitor multiple sites and locations where bandwidth monitoring can be a labor. This software works really well for central monitoring of multiple sites and services where having a technician onsite isn't feasible. I really like the reporting, though, and would recommend this for someone wanting to keep an eye on bandwidth usage for replication of data across sites.

Incentivized

• The software integrates well with existing systems and infrastructures, offering very customisable templates and a library of plugins.
• Use of the software ensures real-time alerts and on-network status.
• Software pricing is considerably more affordable than that of its competitors.
• The ability of the software to ensure deep network visibility.

• The level of customization possible with Network Bandwidth Analyzer is very valuable. Rather than being stuck with a "one-size-fits-all" presentation, an administrator can easily create customized views, reports, and alerts so that users can have a more tailored view of the data provided by Network Bandwidth Analyzer. This has the effect of making the tool more attractive to the end user.
• The NetFlow Traffic Analyzer piece of Network Bandwidth Analyzer provides the details on bandwidth usage on the network. More than knowing how much bandwidth is being used, one is provided with detailed information on how that bandwidth is being used. This provides invaluable information for capacity planning and even certain forensic tasks faced by the network engineer.
• The ability to produce network maps provides an easy way to create an attractive and functional NOC/SOC view of the entire network. Both technician and the occasional passerby can quickly determine if there are issues to be addressed. The ability to customize a map with background images and custom icons and stencils can make these maps really pop.

Incentivized

• Documentation for the embedded help pages in NMS and more. In my opinion, these do not provide anything of any depth or maybe anything helpful at all. If anything it just seems to be a guide of what actually exists on the page. It is nicely searchable documentation though.
• It is very surprising and disappointing for us to learn that it isn't until the latest version of IBM SevOne that bulk editing was introduced. I think this is such a basic and foundational feature that should have been a part of the original rollout. My team is still trying to configure the REST API.
• It was disappointing for the webinar to start with a speaker who had a thick accent and simply read from slides. To me, it felt hopeless until the second speaker, who was engaging and easy to understand. It's as if this fact wasn't considered. I'm sure the first speaker lost a lot of viewers who didn't stick around to discover the 2nd speaker.
• I asked three different questions during the webinar and none were answered.

Incentivized

• The ability to intuitively and quickly serve up specified information up to a dashboard for general “public” consumption, that cycles through several pages of information.
• The ability to intuitively set up alerting on bandwidth levels, instead of having to dig through all types of alerts available to find the one needed.
• Provide a pricing model based on different support levels: if I want only available update installations, don’t make me pay the same amount as those wanting full support.

Incentivized

As far as rating for usability is concerned I would give 10/10 as NTA is very easy to use. All you need to do is install that module and ask network Team to configure the Netflow towards Server IP. [The] rest is pre-configured and reports are pre-built. Moment you receive the flows from Network all you will have is information about traffic.

Incentivized

It is useful for our Infrastructure team and also provides valuable insights to our application team regarding the traffic being sent from various endpoints. They can monitor their applications and ensure there are no network issues that may impact their application.

Incentivized

The training offered by SolarWinds is some of the best out there. They have several different videos that go into great detail from initial setup to advanced configurations. In addition to the view at your own pace video, they also have live training for customers that focus on a single product and you can ask questions with the folks who develop the software. I have had good success with their live sessions and getting questions answered.

Incentivized

IBM SevOne was selected instead of Datadog because it is perfect for large insurance networks and also connects trouble-free between the on-premise and cloud environments. Its alerts are in real-time, it offers comprehensive dashboards and it allows to gain a better grip on the network issues, thus helping to keep the downtime small and the operations well managed thanks to the good communication.

Incentivized

SolarWinds NTA is hands down a superior product compared to Wireshark. However, when doing smaller isolated projects the affordability of Wireshark can not be overlooked. Wireshark does a great job of collecting data on ports and circuits. The advantage of SolarWinds NTA is the all encompassing collection of data and management of the multitude of devices. It is designed to do that, and does it very well.

Incentivized

• The software has made network monitoring simple and efficient by providing us with an integrated dashboard that give us a clear picture of our network infrastructure.
• IBM SevOne has value for money. it is both time and expense saver.
• Use of the software has enabled us to timely detect performance issues and solve them before they affect our IT infrastructures.
• Use of the software has solved the issue of real-time network visibility.

• Be prepared to answer lots of questions. When people see the data in NTA they are going to want to know why App A is talking to App B. Be ready to explain!
• Hand the keys to the NTA kingdom to the network team. They will thank you. Everyone wants to have friends on the network team, right?
• Be prepared to invest in some significant compute and storage performance to keep up with your NTA monitoring
• Running the latest firmware for your network gear is (often) required to take advantage of all the flow-monitoring. You upgrade regularly, right??

Incentivized