SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) helps IT teams monitor complex, hybrid, multi-vendor networks and investigate performance problems affecting availability and user experience. It discovers routers, switches, firewalls, wireless controllers, and other network devices, tracking response time, packet loss, bandwidth use, and hardware health. NetPath displays routes hop by hop across on-premises and cloud infrastructure to help locate latency and packet loss. NPM also provides prebuilt and customizable alerts, dependency-aware alerting, reports, and capacity forecasts based on historical trends. Wireless monitoring covers controllers, access points, and clients, with Wi-Fi heat maps for Cisco wireless access points. PerfStack can place network, system, and application metrics on a shared timeline when integrated with other SolarWinds Orion modules. The product is self-hosted and can be deployed on premises or in cloud environments, including through Azure and AWS marketplaces. A fully functional 30-day trial is available without a credit card. Pricing starts at $2,829, and the listed license tier depends on quantity, with custom quotes available.
Who it is for
NPM is aimed at IT teams responsible for complex, hybrid, multi-vendor networks. It may fit teams that need device monitoring, path analysis, wireless visibility, alerts, and capacity forecasting.
What is good
- Tracks response time, packet loss, bandwidth, and hardware health.
- NetPath shows routes hop by hop.
- Includes customizable and dependency-aware alerts.
- Wireless monitoring includes Cisco access point heat maps.
- Offers a fully functional 30-day trial without a credit card.
What to know first
- No free plan is listed.
- Pricing starts at $2,829.
- PerfStack metric comparison requires integration with other Orion modules.
Verdict
NPM combines device monitoring with path analysis, alerts, wireless visibility, and capacity forecasts. Consider its self-hosted deployment and starting price when assessing whether it fits your network environment.
Get started with SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor
- Open the SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor website
- Choose a self-hosted, web, or Windows deployment
- Deploy on premises or through an Azure or AWS marketplace environment
- Start the fully functional 30-day trial without a credit card
- Contact sales for a quantity-based license quote
Limits to know first
There is no free plan. The listed starting price is from $2,829, while the Network Performance Monitor license tier depends on quantity and requires a custom quote.
Questions about SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor
Does NPM have a free plan?
No. SolarWinds lists NPM as paid and offers a 30-day free trial instead.
How long is the free trial?
The fully functional trial lasts 30 days and does not require a credit card.
Which platforms can run NPM?
NPM is listed for self-hosted, web, and Windows use.
Can NPM monitor wireless networks?
Yes. It monitors wireless controllers, access points, and clients, and provides Wi-Fi heat maps for Cisco wireless access points.
What network scale does NPM support?
The datasheet says NPM can scale to up to one million elements per instance with appropriate licenses.
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor plans and pricing
All plansCompared on network monitoring
- Free plan
- No
- Traffic monitoring
- Yes
- Topology maps
- Yes
- Deployment
- self_hosted
