Forward Networks
Forward Networks provides a digital twin platform that models your entire network infrastructure to prevent outages, verify security policies, and automate complex change management tasks effectively.
SolarWinds IPAM
SolarWinds IPAM is a centralized IP address management software providing automated tracking, alerting, and reporting for DHCP, DNS, and IP addresses to prevent conflicts and ensure network availability across your infrastructure.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Forward Networks | SolarWinds IPAM |
|---|---|---|
| Website | forwardnetworks.com | solarwinds.com |
| Pricing Model | Custom | Subscription |
| Starting Price | Custom Pricing | $166/month |
| FREE Trial | ✘ No free trial | ✓ 30 days free trial |
| Free Plan | ✘ No free plan | ✘ No free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✓ Request demo here |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 2013 | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Santa Clara, USA | Austin, USA |
Overview
Forward Networks
Forward Networks provides a mathematical model of your entire network, creating a functional digital twin that spans on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments. You can visualize every possible traffic path and verify that your network is behaving exactly as intended. By analyzing your network's state against your specific business policies, the platform identifies misconfigurations and security gaps before they cause outages or breaches.
You can use the platform to perform 'what-if' analysis, allowing you to test changes in the digital twin before deploying them to production. This proactive approach eliminates manual troubleshooting and reduces the risk of human error. Whether you are managing complex data centers or sprawling multi-cloud deployments, you gain a single source of truth that simplifies audits and accelerates digital transformation initiatives.
SolarWinds IPAM
SolarWinds IPAM helps you take control of your network's IP space by eliminating manual spreadsheet tracking. You can manage your entire IP infrastructure from a single dashboard, which automatically discovers and monitors your IP addresses, DHCP servers, and DNS settings. This visibility allows you to spot potential conflicts before they take down your services, saving you hours of manual troubleshooting and preventing costly downtime.
The platform is designed for IT administrators and network engineers in mid-to-large organizations who manage complex, multi-vendor environments. You can integrate it with Microsoft, Cisco, and ISC services to create a unified management layer. By automating routine tasks like IP requests and subnet monitoring, you free up your team to focus on higher-level infrastructure projects while maintaining a reliable and organized network environment.
Overview
Forward Networks Features
- Network Digital Twin Create a vendor-agnostic mathematical model of your entire network to visualize paths across all devices and cloud instances.
- Path Analysis Search for any traffic path between two points to see exactly how packets are handled by every hop.
- Intent Verification Define your network policies and receive instant alerts if a configuration change violates your security or connectivity rules.
- Change Modeling Predict the impact of planned changes by testing them against the digital twin before touching your production environment.
- Security Posture Blast Visualize the potential reach of a compromised host to identify and close security holes in your segmentation strategy.
- Automated Documentation Generate up-to-date network diagrams and configuration state reports automatically for simplified compliance audits and troubleshooting.
SolarWinds IPAM Features
- Automated IP Tracking. Scan your network automatically to keep your IP address inventory up to date without manual data entry.
- Conflict Detection. Receive instant alerts when IP conflicts occur so you can resolve overlapping addresses before they impact users.
- Integrated DNS/DHCP. Manage your Microsoft, Cisco, and ISC DHCP and DNS services from a single, centralized management console.
- IP Request Portal. Provide a self-service portal for users to request IP addresses, streamlining your internal ticketing and allocation process.
- Subnet Monitoring. Monitor your subnet utilization and receive notifications when you are running low on available IP addresses.
- Role-Based Access. Delegate specific management tasks to different team members while maintaining full control over your network security.
Pricing Comparison
Forward Networks Pricing
SolarWinds IPAM Pricing
- Full IP address management
- Automated IP scanning
- DNS and DHCP monitoring
- Alerting and reporting
- Standard technical support
- One-time purchase option
- Ownership of the license
- First year of maintenance included
- Scalable IP address tiers
- Advanced reporting capabilities
Pros & Cons
Forward Networks
Pros
- Unmatched visibility into complex multi-vendor network environments
- Drastically reduces time spent on manual troubleshooting
- Simplifies complex compliance audits with automated verification
- Prevents costly outages by catching errors before deployment
Cons
- Initial data collection setup requires significant time
- High price point targets large enterprise budgets
- Requires consistent data snapshots for maximum accuracy
SolarWinds IPAM
Pros
- Eliminates the need for manual IP tracking spreadsheets
- Excellent visibility into multi-vendor DHCP and DNS environments
- Reliable alerting system prevents major network downtime
- Easy integration with other SolarWinds Orion platform products
Cons
- Initial setup and configuration can be time-consuming
- Requires significant system resources for larger environments
- User interface feels dated compared to modern SaaS tools