Network management software vendor SolarWinds has launched version 4.0 of its network change and configuration management system, Cirrus.

In a statement, SolarWinds said this was its first product, "To enable customers to communicate in real time with an active 12,000 member community of SolarWinds users on Thwack.com (a networking site)." Cirrus customers can now search product forums, post questions, exchange custom scripts and templates, the firm added.

New to Cirrus version 4.0 is the ability to provide users with different privileges, and authenticate them using Active Directory. This lets the administrator give each user the right to perform different configuration management tasks, depending on their role. Version 4.0 also offers new user activity tracking, allowing network staff to easily find, "What changed and who changed it, enabling compliance with PCI, SOX, HIPAA and other regulatory standards, whilst simultaneously fulfilling any internal and external company audit requirements," said SolarWinds.

The Immediate Policy Remediation feature provides network engineers with the option to automatically remediate systems, as well as simplifying configuration policy verification. Version 3 of the simple network management protocol is also supported.

SolarWinds Cirrus Configuration Manager 4.0 is available now, with pricing starting at around £610 with maintenance.