While the commercial license for NPM is expensive (typically thousands of dollars), you can legally run version 2020.2.6 for free in three scenarios:
Symptom: The NPM web console crashes or loads slowly.
Fix: You allocated only 16GB of RAM. Increase to 32GB. In 2020.2.6, the SolarWinds Job Engine v2 leaks memory over 12 days. Schedule a weekly net stop SWJobEngine / net start SWJobEngine restart.
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) version 2020.2.6
, the system requirements vary based on the number of elements being monitored (e.g., nodes, interfaces, volumes). While
SolarWinds does not offer a permanently "free" version of the full NPM product, they provide a fully functional 30-day free trial
that allows you to test these requirements in your environment SolarWinds SolarWinds NPM 2020.2.6 System Requirements
The requirements below represent the standard baseline for small to medium deployments. For production, SolarWinds strongly recommends hosting the NPM Server SQL Database on separate physical or virtual machines. SolarWinds
For SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) version 2020.2.6, the standard system requirements and availability details are as follows. SolarWinds NPM 2020.2.6 System Requirements
To run NPM 2020.2.6 effectively, your environment should meet these baseline specifications for the SolarWinds Platform server and database. Operating System:
Microsoft Windows Server 2016 or 2019 (Standard or Datacenter editions) are strongly recommended. solarwinds npm 202026 system requirements free
Support for Windows Server 2012 R2 is also included for legacy upgrades.
CPU: Quad-core processor or better (PassMark score of 7,000+ for standard environments). Memory (RAM): 16 GB minimum.
Hard Drive Space: 100 GB to 1 TB of local NTFS storage, depending on data retention policies. Database: Microsoft SQL Server 2016 SP1 or later is required.
SQL Server Express is supported for evaluation purposes only and has a 10 GB database limit. Availability and "Free" Options
While SolarWinds does not offer a permanently free version of its core network monitoring software, there are several ways to access it without upfront cost: SolarWinds Platform requirements
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) version has reached End-of-Life (EoL)
as of April 18, 2023. While there is no permanently "free" version of the full NPM software, SolarWinds offers a 30-day fully functional free trial for its modern self-hosted observability platform. SolarWinds System Requirements (Evaluation vs. Production)
For a standard evaluation of the latest version (2024.1/2026.1), you should follow these general hardware and software guidelines: Operating System : Windows Server 2016, 2019, or 2022. Evaluation only : Windows 10/11 is supported for testing. : Quad-core processor or better. Memory (RAM) : 6 GB to 8 GB. Recommended : 16 GB to 32 GB for production stability. Hard Drive Space : At least 20 GB to 40 GB for the application, but SolarWinds
recommends high-performance RAID configurations (RAID 1 for OS, RAID 1+0 for database) to handle I/O intensity : Microsoft SQL Server 2016 SP1 or later. While the commercial license for NPM is expensive
: SQL Express is only recommended for evaluations and has a 10 GB database limit. SolarWinds Product Review: SolarWinds NPM
SolarWinds NPM remains a industry-standard tool for deep network visibility, though it is often considered a "heavy" enterprise solution. SolarWinds Reviews - Gartner Peer Insights
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) 2020.2.6 , the system requirements vary based on the size of the network you intend to monitor. In a production environment, it is highly recommended to host the SolarWinds Platform
server and the SQL database on separate physical or virtual machines. SolarWinds Hardware Requirements
The requirements below are scaled by environment size (number of monitored elements): Small (up to 1,000 elements) Medium (up to 10,000 elements) Large (over 10,000 elements) Quad-core (3.0 GHz) Dual quad-core (3.0 GHz) Dual quad-core (3.0 GHz) 8 GB (16 GB recommended) Hard Drive 20 GB (minimum) 400 GB+ (RAID 1+0 recommended) Software & Database Requirements Operating System:
Windows Server 2016 or 2019 (Standard or Datacenter Edition). Microsoft SQL Server 2016 SP1, 2017, or 2019. Recovery Model: recovery mode for best performance. Collation: English with SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS (Case-Insensitive) is required. Web Browser:
Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge. Internet Explorer 11 is deprecated and may display warnings. SolarWinds Critical Network Ports
Ensure the following ports are open for proper communication: Web Console: (HTTPS) is strongly recommended over port 80. Database Access:
(TCP) for communication between the application and SQL server. Monitoring (SNMP): (UDP) for polling devices. Internal Services: (TCP) for the SolarWinds Information Service element-based licensing TempDB and SQL Server settings:
might impact these hardware choices for your specific network size? SolarWinds Platform requirements
Note: As of my latest knowledge update, SolarWinds Orion Platform version 2020.2.6 is a legacy version. SolarWinds has since released newer versions (2023.x, 2024.x). However, this article focuses specifically on version 2020.2.6 for users who need legacy support, offline installations, or specific compatibility.
Assuming you have met the system requirements (Windows Server 2019, 32 GB RAM, SQL Server 2019 Express, 200 GB SSD), follow this sequence:
Within 20–30 minutes, you will have a fully working NPM 2020.2.6 environment.
SolarWinds offers a fully functional, unlimited-node trial for 30 days. You simply register on their website (use a work email) and download the installer. The system requirements above apply directly to this trial.
URL: solarwinds.com/free-trials (look for Network Performance Monitor). At the time of writing, you may get a newer version, but you can request legacy access via support.
If the main product page redirects you to version 2025.x, log a support request. Explain you need Orion Platform 2020.2.6 specifically for legacy hardware compatibility.
SolarWinds offers SolarWinds Virtual Lab with NPM pre-installed, valid for 90 days. After that, you can re-deploy or request an extension. There is no permanent free home license.