PRTG Network Monitor vs. SolarWinds Database Performance Monitor

If there are a number of different protocols and devices to monitor PRTG is really an all in one solution. There are network specific solutions, telephony solutions, server solutions, etc - but this tool can do anything. Even if you don't use this tool as your main "monitoring solutions" every IT professional should have access to this tool for at least troubleshooting purposes. If you are looking for something specific built for a task you may be able to find [a] more direct and easy tool to use that would be easier and quicker to setup as customization is not needed.

Incentivized

Computing resources consumed by the DB instance, DPA queries & wait time, deadlock conditions, virtual infrastructure resources. The addition of NPM & DPA integration as well as cross-correlation in the identification of issues with the network or server or DB is all stupid-proof. Monitoring is more than just health and resource consumption, it's also performance. DB performance analysis is key to maintaining healthy DB instances.

Incentivized

• Very, very configurable. You can create all kinds of monitors for all kinds of things. Plus it has loads of suggestions out of the box. It can get complicated but monitoring is complicated. Pretty decent interface and good support - active community.
• I really liked how easy it was to add alerts by SMS. So easy to setup.
• I like their sizing models (for purchase). We're actually small enough that we are free. But it's not free as in stripped down - it's free because we don't use many "sensors" and don't honestly have the need.

Incentivized

• Simple to use and very easy to learn.
• The execution engines run in parallel, can execute any syntax or query.
• DPN can run all queries for both Oracle and SQL with no additional support.

Incentivized

• The probe service can be quite resource-intensive. This can cause false-positive readings from some sensors sometimes.
• The software gets updated very regularly. Whilst this is usually a good thing to fix bugs etc, it does meantime downtime of the monitoring quite often while they are installed.
• The ability to create Maps from Libraries. Very specific issue but a lot of people have been asking for it for years and it is still not available.

Incentivized

• The Reporting feature currently doesn't allow customization.

Incentivized

It is now an essential tool for monitoring and maintaining the health of our network and systems.

Incentivized

The tool is very intuitive to use and it is Windows-based (everybody knows how to use Windows) so it's easy to get into. Every time is setup in a hierarchy so if you have a good initial hierarchy design, it will really reduce administrative effort down the road.

Incentivized

I am giving this a 6 simply because I have never had to contact support. The online documentation is adequate for most things, and the user-maintained knowledgebase is excellent. The few times I have run into issues that were not easily resolvable with intuitive UI, I was able to find the answers that I needed either in the PRTG-provided documentation, the knowledgebase, or with a quick online web search.

Incentivized

I have deployed and tested three products for evaluation I found [PRTG Network Monitor] very easy to deploy, the deployment literally took not more than one hour including basic configuration and network discovery. After deployment few configuration changes and creation of maps, reports and little tweaking is required. [Then] it would go through its process of recommendation that took some time to complete, while [on] other hand other software's took lot of time to install and configure. And features were also missing, which resulted in decision in favor of [PRTG Network Monitor].

Incentivized

DPM is less expensive and more feature-rich. Also, Oracle tech support is garbage, unless you can afford to spend a day getting assistance.

Incentivized

• The ability to analyze multiple pieces of information in one place, especially with historical data, has saved our IT department time and headaches. It would be so much more difficult to trace an issue without PRTG, just relying on event logs and an open task manager window.
• The cost is not cheap, so it's an expense that hits the bottom line like everything else. Figure in hardware costs as well, ideally a server outside of your main environment.
• I keep saying this, but the historical data piece is worth so much. There's really no good way to collect all of that information in one place without something like PRTG. And that definitely saves time and money in the long run.

Incentivized

• What is the cost of a downed DB instance? That's your ROI. DPM lets you see issues before they become critical.

Incentivized