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SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor

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.

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor is a versatile tool that has been widely used across various industries and departments for …
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True Insight

10 out of 10
January 27, 2022
Incentivized
I use SolarWinds Server Application Monitor to monitor my infrastructure as well as applications within that environment. It provides a …
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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

View all 12 features
  • Server availability and performance monitoring (269)
    9.8
    98%
  • Application monitoring (266)
    9.0
    90%
  • Threshold alerts (271)
    9.0
    90%
  • Out-of-the box templates to monitor applications (256)
    7.9
    79%
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Pricing

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Unavailable

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
For the latest information on pricing, visithttp://www.solarwinds.com/products/pric…

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

8.7
Avg 7.6
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Product Details

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

Screenshot of Multi-vendor application performance monitoringScreenshot of Multi-vendor server monitoringScreenshot of Application dependency mapping with AppStackâ„¢ dashboardScreenshot of Microsoft Exchange performance monitoring with AppInsightâ„¢ templateScreenshot of Microsoft IIS performance monitoring with AppInsightâ„¢ templateScreenshot of Server hardware health monitoringScreenshot of Built-in virtualization monitoring for VMware and Hyper-V environmentsScreenshot of Easily extend monitoring to any custom or home-grown application

SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor Videos

An introduction to and a brief overview of SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor
In this video, the TrustRadius team is going to take a look at Solarwinds Server and Application Monitor, a powerful tool that can help you monitor your systems and identify issues early. We'll explore the overview, user sentiment, pricing, top features, and use-case, and help...
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Watch SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor Training Videos

SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor Competitors

SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise
Operating SystemsWindows
Mobile ApplicationNo
Supported LanguagesEnglish

Frequently Asked Questions

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.

Progress WhatsUp Gold, Nagios Core, and Tivoli Monitoring (legacy) are common alternatives for SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor.

Reviewers rate Server availability and performance monitoring highest, with a score of 9.8.

The most common users of SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor are from Enterprises (1,001+ employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(650)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

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

Reviews

(126-150 of 236)
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Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
While the decision to have SolarWinds over other providers was not initially mine, I have quickly come to like it due to the large thwack community, the SolarWinds Labs, and online classrooms. All of which are free to watch and utilize, plus you are rewarded by the SolarWinds team for learning more about their products.
Francisco Manuel Marrero | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor is very powerful yet very intuitive. I've used a lot of other platforms, some cheaper and some which appear so fast that it must be magic. Yet those either are missing too many features or relies on stale data. SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor is in real time. I can open up a remote process window directly from the page of the node I'm monitoring.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use PRTG currently for SFLOW monitoring our network traffic. We previously use Spiceworks to monitor uptime before we purchase SolarWinds. We bought SolarWinds because it can monitor websites and applications. Spiceworks could not do that. Plus, SolarWinds has support, so when I want to make a custom alert, I can ask SolarWinds support how to do that. Spiceworks was a free application so you would get adds popping up.
John Reeve | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Nagios in conjunction so that we have multiple platforms monitoring our production environment. What's nice about SolarWinds is we don't have to dive into text-based configuration files as we do on Nagios. And we don't have to mess around with firewalls when installing plugins as we do with Nagios. We just install the plugins from SolarWinds and they report back to our account. The setup is so much easier with SolarWinds, but we do give up some of the customization and control we have with Nagios.
Ryhlen Schoeberl | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We did not test any others as we already had SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor and the Server & Application monitor integrates with the Network Performance monitor. They both run on the same server as well saving on costs.
Eric Broz | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SolarWinds was easier to install and configure and their pricing model was much more flexible for how our on-demand services utilize the hardware. SolarWinds gave us what we were looking for for our environment at about the price we wanted to pay.
Josh Haberman | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor allows us to take a holistic look at our entire network through the integration of various SolarWinds products, and present data across multiple disciplines in a single interface. This way our network, server, database, and application engineers can work together in the same environment and collaborate on issues much more effectively than if they used different discipline-specific tools.
Alan Kok ITIL v3 | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SW wins against these two, hands down. They are both good in their own right but the vast amount of items you can use in SolarWinds such as AppInsight, these two cannot compete.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SAM is really the leader out in the market place. There are other offerings but they don't have the scope of the SolarWinds Suite. SW also has a very loyal user base. Between SW support and the user base you have a lot of options to solve your issues. I've looked at some of the competitors to SW, they just didn't impress me.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Orion for a very specific use case and do not leverage all the available functions of the tools. I do think the product is very capable and the different modules are very powerful. We are a big company and we already had several systems in place that provide the same functions. We use Orion specifically for monitoring our devices and network.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I have used a few other monitoring tools in the past. SAM is, by a long shot, the most versatile, full-featured, and mature product. In its shadow, most other products fail to shine. You can't go wrong with SolarWinds if you can afford it. It is the best monitoring solution that money can buy.
Sudhakar B | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Zabbix gives limited value. Even though the SAM is paid, we (Management) would agree to pay for it because of the value it brings in. The comparison was very positive towards SAM. It could be with Dashboards, In-built templates, Forecast, Monitoring, Alerts.

All these made us feel more confident with SAM.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SAM is infinitely easier to set up. I don't have to build out low-level agents to gather the information I want. SAM makes it as easy as checking some boxes in the UI. The UI is much easier to understand and set up. SAM comes with easy integration of LDAP to help manage users.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SolarWinds is comparable to many of the network monitoring solutions above. They are doing similar things. SolarWinds has a great user community called THWACK. SolarWinds is an affordable solution no matter the size of the network. Their support is decent. They are more of a resource hog than others listed above.
January 23, 2019

SAM Review

Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor is way more user-friendly than PRTG. We can't get OpenView anymore, but we moved from that to SolarWinds at one point and never looked back. Prime really doesn't offer any application monitoring.
Dan Watson | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I've used a few other tools, and SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor provides the most bang for the buck in my opinion. Cheaper alternatives exist (Lansweeper and Spiceworks notably), but do not provide the width of servers and applications you can monitor nor the flexibility needed in alerting and performance monitoring. I've yet to find anything I couldn't monitor with SAM. It is really an application that gives you exactly what you put into it. It might not do everything you want it to out of the box, but if you put the effort in to learning it and playing with it, you'll get everything you want.
Jennifer Aguilar | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I uses OpsMonitor previously. It was a no brainer to switch from OpsMonitor to SolarWinds! SolarWinds is driven by its users. I have been a SolarWinds user for over 8 years now, and I would not trade the tools for all the tea in China! The tools have saved me money, time, and most of all useless energy spent grieving! SolarWinds is the best of the best! I am proud to write this review, and proud to use the products! I have SAM, Virtualization Manager, Database Performance Monitor, IP Manger, NetFlow, Config Manager, Log and Event Manger, Help Desk, DameWare, Network Performance Monitor. I hope this speaks for itself... .the product line will exceed your expectations. A little effort put forth. Implementation is intuitive!
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