Any Network Admins that use SolarWinds as monitoring software?

[thecoolnessrune]

My company uses Nimsoft NimBUS Monitoring for the entire monitoring network comprised of over 20,000 devices and well over 400,000 data points. I haven't had use of the newer replacements but I will say our current system does a good job (even though it is obviously getting closer to its sprawl limits).

Not only do we have Robots on everything from Windows, iSeries, Linux, AS/400, etc, but there's also SNMP monitoring for Networking devices. We also have an extensive log analytics engine that receives and archives logs from devices (primarily network devices and ESX hosts) while running through analytics engines to scrape for trouble issues. The whole system is ran by a small army of SQL servers (over 12 currently), and Nimbus hub servers (10) leading to 2 root servers, along of course (and most importantly) with our excellent Dev team that keeps the probes, log systems, etc, optimized and always getting better.

For many of these monitoring systems, if you do not have at least a small group of software developers to help support the system on your network, you're going to be paying a lot to the companies to enlist their support in developing the little customized bits and bobs you'll likely run into in various deployments

 

[imagoon]

I tend to be a Solarwinds fan. It seems everything that could be needed is in there some where.

 

[BoberFett]

We also have an extensive log analytics engine that receives and archives logs from devices (primarily network devices and ESX hosts) while running through analytics engines to scrape for trouble issues.

What analytics engine do you use? I hear people rave about Splunk.

For many of these monitoring systems, if you do not have at least a small group of software developers to help support the system on your network, you're going to be paying a lot to the companies to enlist their support in developing the little customized bits and bobs you'll likely run into in various deployments

I don't know that we're big enough for that yet, we try to stick to industry standard software so we don't have to do much custom development. But thanks for the warning.

 

[alkemyst]

I tend to be a Solarwinds fan. It seems everything that could be needed is in there some where.

I am R&S deployment. Solarwinds is VERY POPULAR with my clients.

Some do use other products as well.

It comes down to what one wants to see and how they want to see it as an admin and what budget they have/get.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

What analytics engine do you use? I hear people rave about Splunk.




I don't know that we're big enough for that yet, we try to stick to industry standard software so we don't have to do much custom development. But thanks for the warning.

Ive heard ravings about splunk as well, but give them a call and see that just a few gigs of log processing a day is around 60k. Im talking less than 10GB which I find insane

 

[imagoon]

Splunk is really cool but you need a lot of time to learn the scripting engine before it is useful. Cool thing is that the 500mb / day log parser is free so you can easily prop it up and mess with it. Once you go past 500mb the price seems to get... interesting very quickly.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Splunk is really cool but you need a lot of time to learn the scripting engine before it is useful. Cool thing is that the 500mb / day log parser is free so you can easily prop it up and mess with it. Once you go past 500mb the price seems to get... interesting very quickly.

Interesting is not the word i would use to describe their pricing, more like ridiculous.

 

[BoberFett]

Good info, thanks.