Top 10 Best Network Configuration Software of 2026

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) is a comprehensive solution for automating network device configuration management across multi-vendor environments, including Cisco, Juniper, and Arista devices. It enables automated backups, real-time change detection, compliance auditing, and rollback capabilities to maintain network stability and security. Integrated with the SolarWinds Orion platform, NCM scales for enterprise networks and supports scripting for custom automation workflows.

ManageEngine Network Configuration Manager (NCM) is a robust network automation tool designed to streamline the management of configurations across multi-vendor devices like routers, switches, and firewalls. It offers automated backups, real-time change detection, compliance auditing, firmware management, and scripted configurations to ensure network reliability and security. With support for over 500 device models from vendors such as Cisco, Juniper, and Huawei, it helps IT teams maintain consistency and reduce downtime in enterprise environments.

Ansible Automation Platform (AAP) is Red Hat's enterprise automation solution built on open-source Ansible, designed for automating network configuration, provisioning, and compliance across multi-vendor environments. It uses declarative YAML playbooks to define desired states, supporting protocols like SSH, NETCONF, RESTCONF, and APIs for devices from Cisco, Juniper, Arista, and more. The platform includes Automation Controller for orchestration, Execution Environments for reproducibility, and analytics for insights, enabling scalable network operations without agents on devices.

Cisco Network Services Orchestrator (NSO) is a model-driven automation platform that uses YANG models and NETCONF for configuring and orchestrating network services across multi-vendor environments. It enables intent-based networking, closed-loop automation, and transactional service activation to ensure consistency and scalability in large-scale deployments. NSO integrates with Cisco and third-party devices, supporting everything from access to core networks with robust lifecycle management.

Puppet is a comprehensive configuration management platform that automates infrastructure provisioning and maintenance using a declarative DSL, extending to network devices via modules and Bolt for agentless orchestration. It enables defining desired network states for multi-vendor environments like Cisco, Juniper, and Arista, ensuring consistency, compliance, and drift detection. While powerful for enterprise-scale automation, it's more server-centric with network support as an extension.

Forward Networks offers network assurance software that builds a precise digital twin of the network to model and verify configurations across multi-vendor, hybrid environments including SDN and cloud. It performs intent-based verification, compliance auditing, and what-if analysis to detect issues before deployment or changes cause outages. The platform provides path visualization and golden configuration enforcement, focusing on proactive validation rather than direct configuration deployment.

NetBrain is a network automation and assurance platform that dynamically maps and visualizes complex enterprise networks in real-time. It excels in configuration management by detecting changes, ensuring compliance through blueprinting, and enabling troubleshooting via interactive topology views. The software supports multi-vendor environments, automating documentation, audits, and remediation to reduce manual efforts in network operations.

Salt Project is an open-source automation platform designed for configuration management, orchestration, and remote execution across IT infrastructures, including networks via modules like NAPALM and netapi. It supports agent-based (minion) and agentless (Salt SSH) modes for managing network devices from multiple vendors, enabling automated configuration deployment, compliance checking, and real-time state enforcement. Its event-driven 'Reactor' system allows reactive automation based on network events, making it suitable for large-scale environments.

Chef (chef.io) is an infrastructure automation platform that uses Ruby-based cookbooks to manage configurations across servers, cloud, and network devices from vendors like Cisco, Juniper, and Arista. It enables declarative, idempotent network configuration management through community and custom cookbooks that support protocols like SSH, NETCONF, and REST APIs. While versatile for hybrid IT environments, its network capabilities are an extension of its core server automation focus, requiring adaptation for optimal use.

Oxidized is an open-source, Ruby-based tool designed for backing up network device configurations by periodically polling routers, switches, and other devices. It stores configurations in a Git repository, providing version control, diffing capabilities, and historical tracking of changes. With support for over 100 device models across numerous vendors, it serves as a lightweight alternative to commercial network configuration management systems, including a basic web UI for viewing and comparing configs.