Switching from one network management system (NMS) to another is a big decision for IT teams and MSP businesses. An NMS is the central hub for everything from network troubleshooting deep dives to planning hardware refresh cycles and enabling quarterly business reviews (QBRs). And even if a different platform is clearly a better fit for your organization than your current NMS, it’s important to consider the operational overhead of actually making the switch. It’s no surprise then that tech leaders don’t take the decision to switch their NMS lightly. 

Fortunately, for teams looking for reliable SolarWinds alternatives, Auvik is a proven solution that can empower teams to make the switch while minimizing end-user impact. 

In this article, we’ll take a tactical deep dive into how existing SolarWinds users can efficiently migrate from the SolarWinds platform to Auvik with little to no downtime. 

Planning your SolarWinds to Auvik migration

Like most IT projects, an ounce of planning is worth a pound of cure when you’re switching NMS platforms. Effective pre-migration planning helps teams focus their efforts, avoid costly oversights, and ensure they meet business needs by the end of the migration project. 

No two organizations are exactly the same, but we can typically group pre-migration planning into two high-level steps:

1. Scope your high-level requirements

Begin your migration project with high-level business outcomes in mind. Given that you have an existing NMS, this exercise will usually be easier than a new greenfield network deployment. 

Fortunately, Auvik handles many common SolarWinds use cases seamlessly. For example:

Of course, it’s still important for teams to clearly define and understand their business requirements and desired outcomes. With that in mind, below are some key questions to consider as you scope your requirements. 

QuestionWhy it mattersLearn more
What (and how many) network devices and protocols do you need to support?Device monitoring and management is a cornerstone of a successful NMS implementation. 
What reports does your business require? Reports are key enablers of business decisions, trend analysis, and compliance programs. 
How will you document and visualize the network? Network documentation and visualization make identifying bottlenecks, planning, and ad-hoc troubleshooting simpler and more effective. 
How will you notify the right personnel when there are problems? Alerting and notifications help IT stay on top of network problems that can negatively impact user experience. 
What compliance, security, and data privacy requirements must the platform meet? Adherence to regulatory requirements and internal security and data privacy policies is a must for an NMS deployment. 
💡Pro-tip: If you need some inspiration as you work through this step (e.g., for administrators inheriting a network that is new to them) we recommend our How to Evaluate Your Current Network Management Solution article and Network Management Guide. 

While we’re primarily focused on network management in this article, note that users of SolarWinds Observability SaaS can consider migrating to Auvik’s industry-leading SaaS management platform. 

2. Assign migration project roles and define milestones

Once you have your requirements nailed down, you can move on to defining the milestones and project roles. The level of detail required in this step is typically proportional to the network size and complexity.

At a minimum, assigning the following roles is recommended:

  • NMS administrator: The person(s) that will make changes to the NMS platforms (SolarWinds and Auvik) 
  • Device administrator(s): Points of contact for monitored devices 
  • Business decision maker/management sponsor: The person(s) that will make licensing decisions, activate and terminate accounts, etc. 

Examples of key project milestones include:

  • Auvik license or free trial obtained
  • Devices onboarded to Auvik
  • Configuration and tuning complete 
  • Testing complete 
  • SolarWinds decommissioned
💡Pro-tip: To maximize the benefits of trial period, check out How to Get the Most from an Auvik Free Trial

Executing your SolarWinds to Auvik migration

1. Set up Auvik in parallel to SolarWinds

Most network devices can be simultaneously monitored by multiple management systems. This makes it easy to get started with Auvik without modifying SolarWinds. Because initial Auvik deployment is designed for simplicity, you can typically get devices added to the system in minutes and start seeing value within an hour. Auvik’s detailed deployment guides can help you address specific use cases and deployment questions. 

The high-level process to discover networks and devices in Auvik is:

  1. Configure an Auvik site: If you have not already, configure an Auvik site
  2. Deploy an Auvik Collector: A Collector is the agent that performs device and network discovery. You can deploy an Auvik Collector using one of these methods:
    1. Windows installer (recommended)
    2. Bash installer
    3. Open virtual appliance (OVA)
    4. Docker container
  3. Add credentials: The Collector will attempt to discover and map your networks by default. Adding specific monitoring credentials (e.g., for SNMP, WMI, VMware, APIs, etc.) can improve the quality and amount of data Auvik can capture. You can add credentials at Discovery > Credentials in the Auvik user interface. Typically, the same credentials that work in SolarWinds should work in Auvik, although access control lists (ACLs) may need to be updated to allow the IP address of the Auvik Collector. 

While the specific amount of time varies depending on network size, Auvik will typically map your networks within about 15 minutes. A good network map will have mostly blue wires connecting nodes (blue wires represent physical connections).

An Auvik map with mostly physical connections (blue wires)

If you see many black wires (representing inferred connections), ensure you have entered the right credentials. Consider manually adding networks and review the discovery tips Auvik presents in the grey banner on the screen. 

For small networks, a single site and collector may be sufficient. For larger networks, proceed with deploying additional collectors and configuring additional sites as needed. 

💡Pro-tip: MSPs and larger IT teams should consider using a multi-site Auvik deployment model to separate different customers, campuses, or geographical locations. For more details, check out Auvik deployment strategies.

2. Configure users and alerts

At this point, you (a single Super Admin) should have access to Auvik with mostly default settings and one or more networks discovered. Now, you can move on to performing additional configurations of the platform to enable your team to access it and modify key settings such as alert notifications. 

User and SSO configuration

Many organizations prefer using single-sign-on (SSO) to centrally manage access and identities. If you need to configure Auvik to support SSO using an external identity provider (IdP), follow the appropriate guide below:

Alternatively, you can use Auvik’s robust local user management capabilities to create and manage user accounts. Auvik comes with multiple predefined roles (e.g., Admin, Super Admin, Level 1 Tech, etc.) that can be assigned to support the principle of least privilege (PoLP) and only provide users with the access they need in the system. You can find details on specific user management processes in the user management documentation. 

Whether you use SSO or local user accounts, make sure you provide relevant stakeholders with access to Auvik during this step and comply with internal security policies for access management (Auvik enforces MFA by default to help make this easier!). 

Alert configuration

Auvik has an extensive set of default alerts and notifications intended to address many common network management use cases. In some cases, this default set of alerts may be sufficient, and teams can simply tweak and refine them over time.

However, networks that have been in production and teams migrating from SolarWinds may have specific altering requirements and use cases they want to ensure are addressed prior to completely migrating away from SolarWinds. 

If you have custom alert requirements, you can add, edit, or delete Auvik alerts to help address them in the Manage Alerts section of the Auvik UI. For details on specific alerting workflows and processes, check out the Auvik alerts documentation. 

Integrations

NMS systems often integrate with other platforms. If there are existing SolarWinds integrations you need to replace, now is the time to get these taken care of.

3. Test and validate

Now, you should have a fully operational Auvik deployment monitoring your network devices in parallel with SolarWinds. That means it’s time to validate that Auvik is meeting your needs and you can safely move on to decommissioning SolarWinds in the next step. 

During the testing phase, validate these outcomes along with any other specific business requirements your organization has:

Because you’ll have SolarWinds and Auvik side-by-side, this is a great opportunity to compare the two and make any configuration tweaks needed based on what you discover. Make sure to include key stakeholders and decision-makers in the assessment process to ensure buy-in and cover all relevant use cases. 

If you run into any questions you can’t answer during the validation period, engage your account executive (for trials) or our world-class onboarding and success team (for active Auvik customers) for help. 

4. Decommissioning SolarWinds

Once you are satisfied with the results of the Auvik tests, you can move on to decommissioning SolarWinds. While specific steps may vary depending on the SolarWinds products you have deployed and implementation details, the high-level process will typically be similar to this:

  1. Notify stakeholders of decommissioning timelines 
  2. Follow proper procedures to cancel your SolarWinds licenses when decommissioning is complete
  3. If required, take backups and exports of relevant SolarWinds data, configurations, and databases
  4. Disable alerting and polling in SolarWinds (e.g., remove nodes, pause polling and alerts, etc.)
  5. Remove integrations 
  6. Revoke access SolarWinds has to devices (e.g., update allowlists, delete credentials, etc.)
  7. Uninstall SolarWinds products, components, and databases 
  8. Perform a final audit to ensure SolarWinds is completely removed from your environment

Ready to migrate from SolarWinds to Auvik? Get started today.

While migrating your NMS is a big decision, Auvik helps you streamline the process and come out on the other side with a scalable, reliable, and robust network management platform that can improve end-user experience and achieve business goals. 

With world-class product support and a purpose-built platform to simplify network management, Auvik can help IT pros quickly see the value of migrating away from SolarWinds. Here is some real-world feedback from users who made the switch:

“We used SolarWinds for a while, but the UI was not great. Switching to Auvik was night and day. It was the Cadillac of solutions, and everything was on one dashboard. You have the topology on the screen and click on a device in the map to connect or send command line scripts and commands to it. We used a few different solutions, but nothing compared to its features. Auvik’s UI and the UX sold me on it.” Oda K. (Source: PeerSpot)

“Previously, we used SolarWinds. However, the configuration and maintenance overhead for Auvik is significantly lower, and Auvik itself is much faster.” Charles C. (Source: PeerSpot)

If you’re an existing SolarWinds user who is ready to make the switch, you can request pricing to get your custom pricing estimate.

If you’re still investigating whether or not the switch makes sense to you, we encourage you to:

** Special deal **

Switching to Auvik is as easy as 1-2-3!

Make the switch to Auvik and get:

  • 6 months free
  • Free onboarding
  • A free Ubiquiti POE switch

**Applies to new Auvik customers who sign up for a 3-year subscription of Auvik Network Management. Must show proof of being a SolarWinds customer with an invoice less than 12 months old. Cannot be combined with other discounts or promotions. The first year of the subscription will be billed at 50%, equating to getting 6 months free.

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