PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
On the next version rework the import/discovery process , right not it is the most painful part of any SolarWinds product by far.
What is it that you dislike the most about it?
--Christine
Well without trying to sound sassy most of it.
If I had 100 nodes to put in it it would be fine. But I have a few thousand I want in it not to mention the thousands it finds I do not want.
This is how I think it should work. I know there are round about ways to do this and I have tried and they are painful and error prone and very manual.
Step 1) Add SNMP strings - good implementation
Step 2) Discover subnets - good implementation
Step 3) Select Subnets - when you have about 1500 of them the way it works now is a pain
Step 4) The discovery process - good implementation
Step 5) Select nodes to import - this is the most painful portion. If it finds 4000 nodes and I needs to select 2000 then I sit in front of a keyboard for ever in a very error prone process
Now a trust worthy scheduled discovery would be awesome. IE one that does not add duplicates and only adds nodes based on certain criteria like vendor = cisco or machine types x, y and z etc.
Definitely number 5, I've given up using the discovery process because of HOW cumbersome it is to use, if it could be automated like the NPM discovery but would only import criteria based devices and exclude duplicates that would be perfect. At the moment I manually add mine and it takes forever but is easier and quicker than using the discovery process in NCM.
Ok - thank you all for your feedback. I'll get these requests documented. Discovery is on our road map to get some attention, so this feedback is well-timed.
I don't see how this feed back is well timed. I gave similar 18 months ago and still waiting.
NCM needs to discover / import based off a list of snmp strings and if one fails try another.
Product Managers at SW consistently "jot down feature requests" then rotate to another product leaving behind disgruntled users wanting more.
Actually if you pay attention you will see they listen to us quite clearly, features/changes that are asked for are put in all the time. 10.1 is a good example of that.
Do you really expect every feature or change everyone asks for would get put in?
If you do that is just silly.
Do you expect it will take only a short time to implement said changes?
Again this expectation is unrealistic.
This model SolarWind's uses is quite unique. They take ideas and all sort of input from the community for their product which is one primary reason it has become so popular.
These forums are here for idea's and constructive criticism. I do not think anyone wants it to turn into whine fest or a *** session; that does no one any good.
All--
Thank you much for your feedback. Donald's correct--it we do add new features based on user comments and feedback in all the time and it does take a little while for this to happen. Also, it is often an iterative process where small parts of functionality are added over releases.
The system's not perfect, but it is unique. Please do post your comments here in a constructive way and we will do our best to address them swiftly.
Jon: If you have specifics you can provide as to features that went unaddressed, please let me know and I'll make sure the PM sees them.
M
The developmental cycle for NCM is far from perfect and I am not the only one that has expressed that frustration. Searching this forum for "feature requests" of 2007 / 2008 affirms that. Deployment & maintaining in an enterprise environment is more work than it should be.
This is the NCM forum, 10.1 does not apply here.
Hi Jon - I definitely feel your frustration and wish we could do everything faster and pack tons more into every release. Unfortunately, reality is reality. I'd be happy to take this offline and chat with you about your specific requirements if you like. Just send me a message if you want to do a call and we can chat.
