SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor
Overview
What is SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor?
SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor (SAM) delivers application and server monitoring capabilities. SAM allows for self-service for easy setup, 1200+ monitoring templates, and customization options, as well as integrate with other SolarWinds products.
Big, but effective
SolarWinds is a useful resource for IT Management
SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor Review
SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor (SAM) is good tool to monitor your applications and make calls via APIs.
Safe, robust and reliable.
Server and Application Monitoring made easy
True Insight
Solarwinds SAM - Excellent infrastructure monitoring solution
Review of SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor
SolarWinds SAM - A Great Product
Solarwinds SAM Review
SolarWinds SAM review
Robust Server and Application Monitoring Solution
My Tool for My IT Environment
Great product for use in Education
Awards
Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards
Popular Features
- Server availability and performance monitoring (269)9.898%
- Application monitoring (266)9.090%
- Threshold alerts (271)8.989%
- Out-of-the box templates to monitor applications (256)7.979%
Pricing
What is SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor?
SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor (SAM) delivers application and server monitoring capabilities. SAM allows for self-service for easy setup, 1200+ monitoring templates, and customization options, as well as integrate with other SolarWinds products.
Entry-level set up fee?
- No setup fee
Offerings
- Free Trial
- Free/Freemium Version
- Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Features
Application Performance Management
Application performance management software monitors software to ensure performance and availability
- 9Application monitoring(266) Ratings
Application monitoring involves tracking response times and resource usage for applications, including highly-distributed applications
- 8.5Database monitoring(230) Ratings
Database monitoring means looking for database bottlenecks liable to slow response times
- 8.9Threshold alerts(271) Ratings
Alerts indicating when critical thresholds have been reached
- 8.2Predictive capabilities(215) Ratings
Data mining of log and other performance data to understand predictors of slowdowns or outages
- 8.2Application performance management console(239) Ratings
The management console is used to manage monitoring agents and et thresholds, etc.
- 7.8Collaboration tools(148) Ratings
Collaboration tools enable DevOps staff to collaborate by adding notes/comments and also integrating with external collaboration tools like ticketing systems
- 7.9Out-of-the box templates to monitor applications(256) Ratings
Built-in templates for specific applications
- 8.6Application dependency mapping and thresholding(216) Ratings
Mapping relationships between the application and its underlying infrastructure
- 9Virtualization monitoring(234) Ratings
Allows for monitoring of virtual applications and servers
- 9.8Server availability and performance monitoring(269) Ratings
Ability to monitor server availability
- 9.1Server usage monitoring and capacity forecasting(250) Ratings
Ability to assess server usage and forecast future needs
- 9IT Asset Discovery(199) Ratings
Discovery of hardware and software assets on the network
Product Details
- About
- Integrations
- Competitors
- Tech Details
- Downloadables
- FAQs
What is SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor?
SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor (SAM) delivers application and server monitoring capabilities for IT pros enabling them to diagnose and troubleshoot issues faster. The vendor’s value proposition is that this solution prevents slow applications and downtime from impacting end-users and business services. Users can use this tool to pinpoint the root cause of application issues across various layers of the IT stack.
The vendor says SolarWinds SAM is affordable, easy to deploy, use and customize. Users can automatically discover their systems environment and start monitoring in about an hour. No professional services or consultation needed.
SAM is built on SolarWinds Orion® platform enabling native integration with Network Performance Monitor and other IT management software from SolarWinds.
SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor Features
- Supported: Single Web interface to monitor multi-vendor applications and server infrastructure.
- Supported: Out-of-the-box monitoring templates for 200+ enterprise applications.
- Supported: Easily extend monitoring to virtually any custom or home-grown applications.
- Supported: Gain contextual visibility of relationships and dependencies between applications and physical and virtual servers.
- Supported: Monitor server hardware health, perform capacity forecasting, and manage asset inventory. Remediate server issues remotely with built-in management actions.
- Supported: Monitor VMware and Hyper-V environments to identify problems impacting application performance.
- Supported: Centrally manage IT asset inventory and keep track of server hardware and software information.
- Supported: Leverage the wealth of built-in alerts and reports, and easily customize them as needed.
- Supported: SAM is an agentless monitoring software. Optional agent installation extends monitoring to the cloud.
SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor Screenshots
SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor Videos
Watch SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor Training Videos
SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor Integrations
SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor Competitors
- Progress WhatsUp Gold
- Nagios Core
- Tivoli Monitoring (legacy)
- Microsoft System Center
- DX Application Performance Management (formerly CA APM)
- SiteScope (formerly HP SiteScope)
- ManageEngine Applications Manager
SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor Technical Details
Deployment Types | On-premise |
---|---|
Operating Systems | Windows |
Mobile Application | No |
Supported Languages | English |
SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor Downloadables
Frequently Asked Questions
Comparisons
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Reviews and Ratings
(649)Community Insights
- Business Problems Solved
- Pros
- Cons
- Recommendations
SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor is a versatile tool that has been widely used across various industries and departments for monitoring and managing servers, applications, and network infrastructure. Users rely on the software to ensure that critical systems are up and running smoothly. With its ability to monitor servers, applications, and network nodes, customers appreciate the comprehensive insights it provides into their IT environments.
One of the key use cases of SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor is its role in proactive monitoring and alerting. Users have praised the software's capability to detect issues such as CPU utilization, memory usage, response time, and low disk space. By setting up corresponding alerts, users can address potential problems before they impact end-users. This proactive approach helps prevent system failures and ensures optimal performance.
Another important use case of SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor is its ability to provide detailed insights into server metrics and application performance. Users can monitor various elements such as CPU, memory, and disk usage on servers, as well as track the health of applications like Exchange, SQL, IIS, and SharePoint. The software's integration with other products in the SolarWinds Orion family enhances network management capabilities, allowing for a unified view of segmented networks.
Additionally, SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor is valued for its flexibility in monitoring different types of systems and services. It supports Windows, Linux, Unix, and AIX servers both on-premises and in the cloud. Users have leveraged the software to monitor services, processes, URLs, IP addresses, MAC addresses, SMTP devices like networked cameras, and even Linux services such as IPTables. This broad range of monitoring capabilities makes it a valuable tool for organizations with diverse IT infrastructures.
Overall, SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor has proven to be instrumental in maintaining system stability by providing real-time alerts for potential issues and facilitating efficient troubleshooting. Its ease of use and customization options allow different departments and administrators to tailor monitoring and alerts to their specific needs. The software's comprehensive insights, proactive monitoring, and wide range of supported systems make it a valuable asset for organizations looking to ensure optimal performance and availability of their IT infrastructure.
Customizable Dashboard: Users appreciate the fully customizable dashboard in SolarWinds SAM, which allows them to tailor it to their specific requirements. This feature has been mentioned by several reviewers and enables users to easily access the information they need for effective monitoring.
Proactive Alerting: Reviewers have praised SAM's proactive alerting capabilities, with alerts being triggered for offline servers, low disk space, rebooted servers, and critical network device outages. This feature has been highly valued by users as it helps them stay on top of potential issues and address them promptly.
Reporting Capabilities: SAM's reporting capabilities have received positive feedback from users who find the detailed reports provided by the software helpful for meeting regulatory requirements and ensuring system stability and performance. The granularity in alerts and reporting has been mentioned by multiple reviewers as a valuable feature of SAM.
Confusing User Interface: Users have expressed frustration with the user interface of SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor, stating that it is confusing and difficult to navigate. Some users feel that there is a steep learning curve and find it overwhelming, especially for first-time users.
Lack of Comprehensive Documentation: Several users have criticized the documentation provided for SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor, stating that it is spotty and lacking in examples. They believe that more comprehensive and detailed documentation would greatly aid in understanding and troubleshooting the software.
Poor Customer Support: There have been complaints about the customer support provided by SolarWinds. Multiple users have reported that customer support has worsened over time, causing frustration due to delays in reaching the correct support team and resolving issues in a timely manner.
Users have recommended several key actions for users considering SolarWinds based on their experiences. These include:
- Recommending utilizing the software for internal use, specifically for monitoring servers and applications.
- Suggesting taking advantage of the free trial to test the software before making a purchase decision.
- Advising researching and planning before implementation to ensure the software is suitable for one's needs.
- Encouraging careful design of the environment, especially when using the software in different locations.
- Recommending purchasing a license that matches the number of components needed for monitoring.
- Urging cautiousness when it comes to support and potential glitches with the software.
- Suggesting working with a detail-oriented engineer for proper setup and configuration.
- Promoting interaction with the user community site to learn from others' experiences and share knowledge.
- Emphasizing the need to understand the licensing model before signing up and selecting appropriate licensing based on the number of nodes to be monitored.
- Suggesting exploring other SolarWinds offerings and using them in conjunction with this software.
While users find SolarWinds to be a valuable tool, they also mention that it may not be suitable for beginners due to its learning curve. Overall, it is recommended to carefully consider setup, pricing, and requirements before implementing SolarWinds.
Attribute Ratings
- 8.9Likelihood to Renew10 ratings
- 9.9Availability3 ratings
- 6Performance3 ratings
- 8.6Usability29 ratings
- 9Support Rating21 ratings
- 4.5Online Training1 rating
- 4.5Implementation Rating3 ratings
- 1Configurability2 ratings
- 9.9Product Scalability3 ratings
- 4.5Ease of integration2 ratings
- 4.5Vendor pre-sale2 ratings
- 4.5Vendor post-sale2 ratings
- 9.4Solarwinds Premier Support Rating18 ratings
- 4.8SolarWinds Smart Start Support Rating2 ratings
Reviews
(1-25 of 138)True Insight
- Discovers servers in our environment
- Monitors both servers and applications in our environment
- Monitors hardware health
- Allow more granular control of application templates
- Provide suggestions based on trends
- provide a dark theme option
SolarWinds SAM - A Great Product
- Application performance
- Application reporting
- Application insight info
- SolarWinds SAM configuration
Solarwinds SAM Review
- Reporting
- Thresholds
- Visibility
- Simplicity
- Configuration
- Guided resolution
Robust Server and Application Monitoring Solution
- Custom Script (Windows, Powershell, Python, Perl, [etc.])
- Performance Stacks (Dashboards) based on data collected from [SolarWinds] SAM Templates
- Application dependency Mapping for some [SolarWinds] SAM Templates
- Additional Templates for monitoring applications (JBoss, JMX, etc.)
- Dependency Mapping for these applications
- More Application Performance Management features
Best monitoring product for IT
- Monitoring Servers Uptime.
- Monitoring Application and Services.
- CPU and RAM utilisation alert.
- Microsoft Services.
- Virtualisation.
- Database.
- I found SAM already updating and improving day by day.
Server and Application Monitor Product Review
- Monitor CPU and Memory.
- Monitor drive capacity.
- Monitor hardware.
- I would like the ability to modify custom application groups.
SAM I AM
- The simple addition of nodes.
- Lots of templates that help with application monitoring.
- Community input is very helpful.
- Some of the documentation doesn't make much sense to a new user, need to show use cases.
- Creating graphs and custom dashboards seems overly complicated.
- Having to use SQL queries in several scenarios for various widgets shouldn't be needed.
SolarWinds Server and App support - Solid solution for the money
- AD monitoring
- IaaS monitoring
- PaaS monitoring
- User interface
- simplified management console
SW Review :)
- Network Monitoring
- Alerts
SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor Review
- The layout and feel of the product first and foremost. You can have a product which can do everything under the sun, however if it's lacking visually or hard to navigate, it's not very useful.
- Seamless integration of assets between the various modules of SolarWinds, makes it a breeze to monitor or report on the environment.
- Customisation - All aspects of the software is customisable, whether its reporting or when it comes monitoring configuration, SolarWinds SAM allows you to customise it fully to your environment so you achieve the best outcomes when it comes to monitoring and alerting.
- The get the best out of it requires a decent amount of knowledge of the product. In saying that, you could absolutely get the basics up and running using their how-to's and built in wizards, and with continual use find your way around and customise it further to your environment to best serve your organisation/objectives.
- Identify and monitor critical services on an IBMi platform.
- Identify and monitor critical services on a Windows Server Platform.
- Set thresholds to provide notifications where necessary to address serious issues before it hampers the operation.
- Provide usage reports and other data that can be useful for forming IT Strategy.
- Support aspect of the operation could be better in terms of assisting new customers to get up and running quickly.
- Some of the options can be simplified, broken up into simple vs. advanced properties.
- More access to knowledge is always useful whether that is a knowledge hub or easy access to support engineers for guidance with specific requests.
- To be able to get a snapshot of your infrastructure and identify areas for improvement
Solarwinds SAM and Virtualisation Monitor
It does work well, however can be a little noisy with email alerts if you don't put some effort into tuning resource thresholds for VMs especially.
- The dashboard is easy to use and very informative
- Notifications are customisable
- Setting up polling is easy without the need for agents on each system
- Polling agents are useful for cross firewall applications and scalability
- Alerting and setting thresholds can be difficult to ensure you aren't notified spuriously
- Documentation on remote access permissions and tight firewall rules was a little hard to find. Some example group policies would have been helpful to allow monitoring without compromising security
- The online update feature, where you use the system to deploy updates to other polling agents etc never worked for us, potentially because our system is quite locked down. We had to use the offline manual installer and the process wasn't as smooth as you would want
SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor Review
- SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor was able to give info on certs that are going to expire, which helped us renew before they caused an outage.
- SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor module gave us insights into resource utilization for multiple servers due to which the debugging and fixing of issues was very easy.
- Alerting is broken for us. When we asked about it, we were told it is a bug and to upgrade our SolarWinds. It is a very huge upgrade. We didn't even get a workaround.
- Support is sometimes very slow.
SolarWinds: Does the job, comes with a learning curve.
- Alerting- You have the ability to alert on many different things and get pretty granular.
- Dashboard-You can create customized dashboards for different people/groups that can see what they need to see.
- Monitoring- You can also get pretty granular as far as what you want to see, and if they don't have something built-in, things can always be added.
- Some things are kind of hard to find unless you know exactly what you're looking for and where to find it.
- It's a lot to manage for just one or two people.
- Some of the graphs/charts can't be customized in all the ways we want to.
- Quickly identify potential issues with applications and their root causes.
- Server resource usage can be kept on top of, with additional resources, added before its needed.
- Its simple and intuitive to use.
- Easy to drill down to get the detail behind the headline information.
- Could have more application insights.
Wind blows better with Solar
- Drills down to source
- Notification of issues
- Easy management
- Easier navigation
SAM at a glance
- Ability to monitor and graph specific components of servers and applications.
- A various amount of already built templates ready for deployment.
- Fast and easy set up with subnet scans.
- There is no option out of the box for SAM to show you the process that is consuming the most CPU. To be able to do this you need to ensure that the process/service is actually selected for monitoring (this is a problem as we just want to know frequently the top 5 processes consuming the highest CPU without monitoring them all).
- We find the interface a bit slow sometimes (yet, with this being said, we are currently rebuilding to ensure everything is set up right, as we are not sure if it is an environment or application issue).
Monitoring Your Environment
- SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor helps monitor the status or some of our most important applications. It has the capability of letting us know when an application goes down which helps us fix the issue faster.
- SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor helps monitor the resources on servers. By knowing the key components of the server such as CPU, RAM, and storage, we can forecast whether we need to increase or decrease resources on any server.
- SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor helps us by sending real time alerts when issues occur related to servers that we are monitoring.
- SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor has been extremely helpful for our organization. I can't think of anything to improve on.
A Great Cost / Performance Choice for Your Organization.
- Physical port monitoring
- Monitoring of resources during peak usage
- Monitoring servers for outages
- Finding root cause sometimes requires drilling into a few things with added clicks.
Great Product
- Critical Services Monitoring
- General Server Health
- Current Server Status
- Print Queue Monitoring
SolarWinds makes sure we're in control!
- Monitoring leveraging trusted and built-in protocols and techniques, option but no mandatory requirement to install agent software on monitored servers.
- Endless monitoring possibilities with the option to create own scripts for several operating systems.
- Clean, responsive web dashboards that can be customized to suit each team's needs within the managed services organization.
- Multiple backend databases support for the SolarWinds modules; e.g. Oracle, MySQL, DB2, etc. At this moment, only Microsoft SQL Server is supported.
- Multiple Operating Systems support for the SolarWinds modules applicative server(s) e.g. Linux. At this moment only Microsoft Windows is supported.
- In SolarWinds SAM, a script in for example the Linux Script Component has to be designed in a particular format in order to return max. 10 pairs of "statistic+messages" as script output for SolarWinds to process the returned data. Would be more convenient if this output generated by scripts can be more flexible.
- On Web Dashboards, it's not possible to return results of a predefined SQL Query in any format required (e.g. a table with rows like the actual table on SQL Server is structured).
- When creating reports or Dashboard resources with filters, the filter names are added above the resultant report or Dashboard blocks, which in most cases is redundant and there should be an option to hide it.
- Versatility: The program allows for monitoring of almost any system, simple or complex and allows for intricately programmed alerts based on each monitor.
- Ease of use: Type in the URL, and you are greeted with a fully customizable dashboard with any and all of the pertinent features to your workflow.
- Modular: The program itself is very powerful, but the ability to add or remove features based on need is exceptional compared to competitors.
- Help links & additional tool-tips. Having thorough and easy to understand instructions is the most important part of software this comprehensive and it would be great to include direct links to wiki pages.
- Monitor/Alert templates. The program could use more and simpler alerts and monitors.
- Flexibility with specific monitoring requirements by creating our own scripts to control output messaging, and monitor for statistics that are unique to our in-house written applications.
- Out of the box support for common vendors' hardware MIBS or API to report on chassis hardware issues, etc.
- Customization of the web portal provide specialized dashboards for our various NOC teams using Orion, as well as executive dashboards, alert boards, historical reporting, etc.
- User roll granularity. While this has improved over the years, the user rights are not granular enough.
- Profile based views. End users frequently want to modify their own views, but views are generally global. Under account rights, I would like to be able to allow an account to have a profile based set of views. It's also important to easily review a users specific profile views to check for resource abuse.
- Better information on user activity, views usage, etc. Knowing what views are used the most or least would be helpful information when considering what works and what doesn't, what needs to be cleaned up, etc...
Have all your IT infrastructure in one place!
- Our team can check IT infrastructure quickly.
- The administrators can configure threshold and alerts.
- SolarWinds SAM could improve the use of memory when it is running.
A slightly recommended product
- Real-time monitoring.
- Historical data.
- Ease of use, "ergonomic" in that it is easy to navigate, and intuitive.
- Quick-start guides for new users would be great.