ManageEngine Network Configuration Manager vs Netmiko

ManageEngine Network Configuration Manager manages configuration and change workflows for switches, routers, firewalls, and other network devices. It schedules configuration backups, tracks changes in real time, and supports version comparison and rollback to trusted configurations. Configlets and scripts can automate tasks and apply changes in bulk. The product checks device configurations against defined policies and standards, supports compliance reporting, and identifies firmware vulnerabilities with CVE IDs, severity information, and patch links. The product page says it supports devices from more than 200 vendors and encrypts retrieved configuration data with AES 256-bit encryption. This is an on-premises product, with Windows and Linux installers and Android and iOS apps for viewing backups, changes, vulnerabilities, compliance, and user activity. The Free Edition covers two devices. Professional is $238 a year for a 10-device pack; Enterprise is $3,358 a year for a 250-device pack. Both paid editions list 24x5 technical support.

Netmiko is a free Python library for connecting to network devices and automating command-line tasks. It simplifies SSH connections and also documents supported Telnet device types. The library can collect output from show commands and make configuration changes while handling low-level device state. Its device list spans vendors and separates platforms by regular, limited, and experimental testing status. Regularly tested examples include Arista vEOS, Cisco IOS variants and NX-OS, Juniper Junos, and Linux. Documentation shows how to install with pip, connect to devices, run commands such as “show ip int brief,” and send configuration command sets that enter configuration mode. The project also links to API documentation, a secure copy tutorial, and guidance on using TextFSM. Optional extras support the bulk-encryption CLI and compatibility with Paramiko 4. Netmiko Tools can encrypt sensitive YAML values using Fernet or AES128; the guidance recommends protecting the key and keeping it out of version control. The project uses the MIT license, with bug reports and feature requests directed to GitHub issues.