Skip to main content
TrustRadius
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.

Read more
Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

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

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 …
Continue reading
Read all reviews

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%
Return to navigation

Pricing

View all pricing
N/A
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

Would you like us to let the vendor know that you want pricing?

17 people also want pricing

Alternatives Pricing

What is Azure Monitor?

Microsoft's Azure Monitor is designed to analyze and optimize the performance of web applications and infrastructure, including virtual machines (VMs), Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Azure Storage, and databases. Monitor Linux and Windows VMs and their health and dependencies—all on a single map.

What is Airbrake?

Airbrake, now from LogicMonitor (acquired February 2021) is an error monitoring and performance insight tool. Airbrak offers real-time error alerts, rich contextual data about why errors are occurring, integration into an existing workflow, and application performance insights to enable users to…

Return to navigation

Features

Application Performance Management

Application performance management software monitors software to ensure performance and availability

8.7
Avg 7.6
Return to navigation

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 AppStack™ dashboardScreenshot of Microsoft Exchange performance monitoring with AppInsight™ templateScreenshot of Microsoft IIS performance monitoring with AppInsight™ 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...
 Show More

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).
Return to navigation

Comparisons

View all alternatives
Return to navigation

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

(176-200 of 236)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
September 04, 2018

Wow great product

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized

You have all the information that you need in only one single point. SolarWinds have the agents that help you to understand what is happening on your servers and not only the bare metal you can go until the application.

“This is one of the mandatories tools that all organization should have. Solarwind SAM helps us to see what was happening with our servers and application. They have several agents that help us to know better the behavior and follow from the server to the client. For better results you should add the other solarwinds components like Virtualization Manager, NPM, SRM, that will give you the big picture of all your infrastructure. The admin console is very easy to use and by default give you a lot information”

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor was always the go to choice for my company. As far as I know there was not really even a "runner up" considered. All higher ups at the company had used Solar Winds in the past and it was an obvious choice for our infrastructure.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
There wasn't any major competition with SolarWinds, it checked off all the boxes for our infrastructure. We feel that the product you offered was far superior than any custom or off the shelf product that could possibly be compared to this.
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We tried What's Up Gold for a brief amount of time, but selected SolarWinds at the time. Having demo'd other tools like New Relic and Dynatrace I think SolarWinds' UI could use some improvements and some ease of use updates to make it easier to set up and manage.

SolarWinds' pricing made it a good option for what we needed at the time and allowed us to get all of our monitoring from 1 place vs. too many different apps.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We had Nagios installed by a managed-service vendor. When management decided to terminate that arrangement, we attempted to take over administration of the Nagios environment, but found it difficult (Linux-based) and limited. For less than we were spending on the managed service, we were able to acquire our initial install of NPM and SAM and start expanding how and what we monitored.
Jamie Webster | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I love how the entire SolarWinds platform integrates with one another. There is no hard line drawn between the products I am using. For example, I jump between NetFlow Traffic Analyzer and Network Performance Monitor seamlessly when troubleshooting issues. Server & Application Monitor is a great addition to the rest of the Orion platform allowing in a full view of the entire infrastructure, from network to servers to applications, even to the user level with the User Device Tracker product.
Bear Golightly | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
The last time we did a monitoring and performance shootout was years ago. While I can say we picked SolarWinds' Orion suite over WhatsUp Gold, Zabbix, and several others, it would be unfair to list the shortcomings of each for our needs, because they might not be valid anymore.
Miguel Angel Merino Vega | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
If you work only with Microsoft applications and environment (or you need to focus on them above other applications), Microsoft SCOM is the way to go. Otherwise, if your environment is large and diverse and you need a central and total monitoring, SolarWinds SAM is the best option for you.
Stephen Swan | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
PRTG was a consideration as it provides a expansive platform for any monitoring system. However, SAM is part of a larger Solarwinds environment that few companies can match for community and support. SAM's value keeps increasing with each other product purchased as the integration is very tight. It can stand alone and provides enough value to do so, but many features are lessened without expanding to the other products as well.
Joshua Smith | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I've never had to use other software, so I can't personally answer this question. I know from reading about other tools that they are mostly very similar though. Thankfully SAM completes our needs (at least for now anyway) so we aren't really using anything else (aside from things that have been inherited).
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SolarWinds is much more robust and has a ton more built-in application monitors available out of the box. The Dashboards are easier to manage and have a ton more detail. The event engine in SolarWinds has a ton of functionality and there is a built-in Message Center to look at events across all devices you are monitoring. SolarWinds is designed for larger environments but works nicely in 50-150 device networks as well.
Paul Cardelli, CISSP | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
I have used Nagios, Whats Up Gold, Manage Engine, and even help desk software such as SysAid. I found that Solarwind's Server and Application Monitor was the most feature rich and the wizards helped us to get up running quick each time we needed to monitor a new server application.
Alex Gouskos | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SolarWinds is much more intense and configurable than HP System Insight manager but is also more difficult to set up properly than HP System Insight Manager. Its also very solid with any amount of devices while HP System Insight manager has trouble handling the load of 500+ devices.
Return to navigation