1.What was life like before using SolarWinds? (Include what you were using and why you decided it was time for a change)
We have been working on IBM Tivoli Monitoring and ITNM (IBM Tivoli Network Monitoring) for several years before deciding on a new tool, which was Solarwinds. The network monitoring was not implemented very well and we had very little, if any, helpful network monitoring. Solarwinds provided network monitoring solutions from the start, making it much easier to determine the network and the large infrastructure we had to monitor. Next, we used Solarwinds as an easier solution for server and application monitoring. We are in the process of converting all of the old IBM monitors over to Solarwinds. We now have more flexibility and a larger community to go to for configuration and support.
2.Which SolarWinds product(s) saved your bacon?
The network monitoring (NPM) piece was very important in making the move to Solarwinds. We did not have the proper network monitoring in place to help us realize the size of our environment, or the trouble spots. Solarwinds immediately gave us these results when it was configured for our environment. We now have a reliable NOC and events coming in from Solarwinds on most of our network devices.
3.Did you consider other options, and why did you choose SolarWinds?
Since we have had a few years with the IBM tools, we were looking for something that was easy to implement and could hit the ground running. Solarwinds seemed to be the best choice for network, application and server monitoring.
4.How has life been since you've rolled out SolarWinds in your environment?
We are about 90% converted and things have been very positive! There is far more flexibility in the tool, and the fact that it is "agentless" makes our customers happier. Of course, with such a large environment, there will always be a large amount of work to be done, but it looks to be well worth the effort!
