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Kilter vs. SolarWinds NCM

SolarWinds finds it. Kilter by BackBox actually fixes it.

Both SolarWinds and Kilter archive configurations, detect drift, and flag firmware with known CVEs. Kilter identifies which devices are affected by a CVE, ranks them by risk, and applies fixes across 180+ vendors.

Get a Live DemoSee Kilter in Action

Same backups and drift reports, plus the automation to act on them.

Kilter

The network automation platform from BackBox

SolarWinds NCM

Network Configuration Manager, a SolarWinds Platform module

  1. Risk scoring across your estate

    Kilter:Included

    Yes

    SolarWinds NCM:Neutral

    Basic, without network context

  2. Workaround applied without an upgrade

    Kilter:Included

    Automated

    SolarWinds NCM:Not included

    Not offered

  3. Pre-built upgrade automations

    Kilter:Included

    Thousands of automations across 180+ vendors

    SolarWinds NCM:Partly included

    14 templates, four vendors

  4. Upgrade safety

    Kilter:Included

    Pre-checks, post-checks, rollback

    SolarWinds NCM:Partly included

    Manual verification

  5. Monitoring, flow analysis, and IP address management

    Kilter:Not included

    Not offered

    SolarWinds NCM:Included

    NPM, NetFlow, IPAM

SolarWinds NCM details come from SolarWinds' public documentation, system requirements and pricing pages, checked September 2026. Product names are trademarks of their owners.

Kilter by BackBox and SolarWinds NCM, row by row

Vulnerability Intelligence & Remediation3 rows

  • CVE correlation to device versions

    Kilter

    IncludedCISA, NVD, NIST, vendor feeds

    SolarWinds NCM

    Partly includedNVD firmware version matching

  • Risk scoring across your estate

    Kilter

    IncludedYes

    SolarWinds NCM
    Neutral

    Basic, without network context

  • Workaround applied without an upgrade

    Kilter

    IncludedAutomated

    SolarWinds NCM

    Not includedNot offered

Network Configuration & Compliance3 rows

  • Policy frameworks supported

    Kilter

    IncludedNIST, STIG, PCI, DORA

    SolarWinds NCM

    IncludedNIST, STIG and custom reports

  • Drift correction

    Kilter

    IncludedAutomatic, keeps the evidence

    SolarWinds NCM

    Partly includedRemediation script you run

  • Backup validated before restore

    Kilter

    IncludedFive-step verification

    SolarWinds NCM
    Neutral

    Archive with change detection

Automation Depth3 rows

  • Pre-built upgrade automations

    Kilter

    IncludedThousands of automations across 180+ vendors

    SolarWinds NCM

    Partly included14 templates, four vendors

  • Who builds what is missing

    Kilter

    IncludedOur automation team and Automation Creation Assistance included with Kilter AI

    SolarWinds NCM
    Neutral

    You, or the THWACK community

  • Upgrade safety

    Kilter

    IncludedPre-checks, post-checks, rollback

    SolarWinds NCM

    Partly includedManual verification

Scope and platform4 rows

  • Server and database

    Kilter

    IncludedLinux appliance, database included

    SolarWinds NCM
    Neutral

    Windows Server plus SQL Server

  • Execution at remote sites

    Kilter

    IncludedAgents execute locally, in parallel

    SolarWinds NCM
    Neutral

    Additional polling engines

  • Licensing

    Kilter

    IncludedPer device, platform included

    SolarWinds NCM
    Neutral

    Per node, per module, ratios

  • Monitoring, flow analysis, and IP address management

    Kilter

    Not includedNot offered

    SolarWinds NCM

    IncludedNPM, NetFlow, IPAM

SolarWinds NCM details come from SolarWinds' public documentation, system requirements and pricing pages, checked September 2026. Product names are trademarks of their owners.

Featured Resources

Switching from SolarWinds NCM

Solution Brief

Making the Switch to Kilter is Easy

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Trusted by network teams at

Verizon
Daimler
Airbus
Amdocs
Kyndryl
United Airlines
BNP Paribas
Deutsche Telekom
Nomios
ADP

What network teams say

  • “BackBox has earned us a much-improved security posture and helped us to eliminate misconfigurations. We can now roll out uniform security policies in new settings much more quickly.”
    — Martin R., Cloud Security Operations, Telecommunications
  • “Our entire deployment and onboarding over 200 customers and over 4,000 customer devices occurred in 30 days from initial deployment of service, including integration with ServiceNow, accelerating time to value.”
    — VP Managed Services, Global MSP, Enterprise, > 1,000 employees
  • “BackBox simplifies and automates configuration management for network devices, addressing challenges associated with manual processes, diverse vendor environments, efficiency, compliance, risk reduction, and capacity optimization.”
    — Martin B., Senior Network Engineer, Information Technology and Services
Read more reviews

Kilter and SolarWinds NCM: common questions

  • Is Kilter a replacement for SolarWinds NCM?

    For configuration backup, drift detection, compliance, and OS upgrades, yes. It archives configurations, detects drift, and flags firmware with known CVEs. Kilter also identifies which devices are affected by a CVE, ranks them by risk, and applies fixes across 180+ vendors.

  • Does Kilter replace SolarWinds NPM, NetFlow or IPAM?

    No. Kilter does not offer network performance monitoring, flow analysis, or IP address management, whereas SolarWinds does. If those are what you need, Kilter is not the tool. Kilter covers configuration, compliance, vulnerability remediation, and OS upgrades.

  • How does Kilter handle a new CVE differently?

    SolarWinds NCM matches firmware versions against the NVD and provides basic risk scoring. Kilter correlates CVE data from CISA, NVD, NIST, and vendor feeds, scores risk across your estate, and can apply a workaround without an upgrade.

  • What do I need to run Kilter?

    Kilter runs as a Linux appliance with its database included. SolarWinds NCM runs on Windows Server with Microsoft SQL Server, or on Azure SQL or an Amazon RDS equivalent.

  • What if there is no automation for a device I run?

    Kilter ships thousands of pre-written automations across 180+ vendors. With Kilter AI, you can streamline automation creation from CLI input to production-ready, human-in-the-loop workflows. Here, AI is your automation co-pilot, generating tasks, building workflows, and chaining automations together. If an automation you need is missing, our automation team builds it, and that is included.

  • How is Kilter licensed?

    Per device, with the platform included. SolarWinds licenses per node and per module, with counting ratios.

See Kilter on your own network

Bring your SolarWinds NCM questions. We will show you the same jobs, done in Kilter.

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