Is Toolset still being actively developed?

[jonchill]

Is Toolset still being actively developed?

[jonchill]

bump

[ding · Accepted solution]

Hey all, yes we are! In upcoming weeks, you will see an update to the Engineer's Toolset Roadmap. Please stay tuned!

[ebradford]

Hi All -- I don't know if you noticed or not, but in December 2018, there was an update to Solarwinds Toolset. It is now compatible with Server 2016.

Previously, we had upgraded our Solarwinds Servers from 2008 to 2016 in order to upgrade to Orion version 12. Once we did that, I could not get SW-ET to reinstall. As of the recent release, it does install and work on Windows Server 2016. I have not checked the tools to see if there are updates to the tools. From the version number, it seems as if it was a minor release.

[jonchill]

That's hardly an upgrade to allow Windows 2016 to work there's still been no functionality or GUI updates and still nothing from the PM on what's up and coming and when we're likely to see it.

To me its shocking to leave customers hanging with no direction for the product being announced particularly when the main product suite ie Orion, NPM, NCM etc have just had its first upgrade for the year and they'll probably be at least one more by year end and still nothing on Toolsets.

I don't know why Solarwinds don't just come out and say the product is not longer being actively developed.

[ebradford]

That is a good point jonchill​.

ding​ -- back in October of last year, you said

ding​ wrote:

Hey all, yes we are! In upcoming weeks, you will see an update to the Engineer's Toolset Roadmap. Please stay tuned!

So -- it is now 8 months and a week after you said there would be an update in upcoming week. Was the update released? If so, could you please post what the update was?

Or, could you please clarify what you mean by "upcoming weeks?"

-- A year can be measures in hours, but when someone says, "it will be ready in a matter of hours," we expect it will take less than a day, let alone a year. So, when you say "upcoming weeks", what time frame is that phrase supposed to evoke in us?

Thanks for you attention to this, Eric

[ding]

You are absolutely right ebradford, I should not have committed to a date. And we typically don't provide time frames for this very reason. I have since passed the ETS torch to another PM so what I can say as far as roadmap is limited here.

[ebradford]

Thanks ding​ -- who is the new PM?

[jonchill]

What I don't get is if Toolsets was being actively developed they'd be more up front about the roadmap, all the other Solarwinds products once there's been a new release, the what were working on next is usually updated within weeks.

I personally think they can't make up their minds as Toolsets crosses over a number of Solarwinds product lines and like they did with NCM remove functionality and put it in UDT they're seeing how best they can monetise the tools and moving them direct to the various product lines would certainly do that for customers that don't own licenses for everything.

[ebradford]

Hi Jon jonchill​. I know this is somewhat tangential to the topic... could you please tell me what functions of NCM that NCM had, but does no longer, which UDT has now instead? I happened to install UDT on a demo license about a week ago.

[jonchill]

There used to be the ability in NCM that you could see the last time an interface was used on a switch, but in the transition from fat GUI to Web GUI they dropped the functionality from NCM and put it into UDT or it was already present in UDT.

We lost a very useful part of NCM and our techs are still bleating about it after 3+ years and we have to purchase UDT to get the functionality back, yes there's a report in NPM you can run but its just not got the functionality of what used to be available in NCM.

The functionality of switch port mapper for instance is probably available if you have NPM and UDT and there's probably a good number of the other tools that are already functional if you have a number of other Solarwinds products.

[jonchill]

I'll believe it when I see it, it's now been almost 2 years since an upgrade of Toolsets and its really showing its age.

You've got a lot of convincing to do for us to carry on paying for support for Toolsets and this comes up for renewal in March and after having no upgrade for 2 years by March we're not going to be prepared to pay for support again on the promise of a major upgrade just round the corner.

[ebradford]

In upcoming weeks, you will see an update to the WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON FOR TOOLSET (UPDATED ON OCTOBER 20, 2016). Please stay tuned!

Perhaps the new features may become a monthly mission for an Upcoming month?

[ideas brewing] Hmmm... maybe an "advent calendar" where each day in December (well, 15 days -- 5 days per week for 1st 3 weeks), we learn about a new feature of the revised Engineer's Toolset?

Can you give me some more details here? I'd like to look into your compatibility issues here.

It has been a couple months (was in July) since I attempted to do anything with it. I will try again and post here.

[ebradford]

Funny that the link in ding​'s e-mail came out different when I quoted her comment.  I checked, the doc number is the same DOC-188116.

odd.

[ebradford]

ding​

aLTeReGo

DanielleH​

Could one of you please post an update on Solarwinds Tools? I used run this on the same servers that Orion is on because the Pollers have access through SNMP-ACL on our devices. However, it appears that Solarwinds Engineer's tool set is not compatible with versions of software that Orion now requires. When will Solarwinds Tools be updated to be compatible with newer Windows version components? We, and many companies pay annual maintenance on this product; I should think Solarwinds would feel this creates a certain obligation upon it's own behalf to deliver a working product.

[ding]

However, it appears that Solarwinds Engineer's tool set is not compatible with versions of software that Orion now requires.

Can you give me some more details here? I'd like to look into your compatibility issues here.

When will Solarwinds Tools be updated to be compatible with newer Windows version components?

Please stay tuned on this.....

[jonchill]

It would suggest that the distinct lack of feedback from Solarwinds answers the question for us and Toolsets is not being actively developed.

[jonchill]

So we've just renewed all our support contracts for Solarwinds and this will be the last time we renew our Toolsets support if we go another year without any major updates to the product, its bad enough we've gone 1 year but questions will be asked if this goes on for another year.

I think Solarwinds have found that developing Toolsets any further will tread on the toes of the other products in their portfolio hence the silence and lack of updates, I do think there's a place for Toolsets outside the Orion eco system.

It would be good to get an official statement from Solarwinds on the future of Toolsets and not just a reply to this thread 6 months ago on what we'd like to see in Toolsets and even that's gone silent with no response or update to the what is being worked on.

[jonchill]

bump

[ebradford]

Bump on the last day of July.

[jonchill]

Some sort of answer would be good as our renewals coming up in a few months and if Toolsets is not being actively developed then we'll drop our maintenance contract for it.