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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)
    8.9
    89%
  • Out-of-the box templates to monitor applications (256)
    7.9
    79%
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Pricing

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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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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 SolarWinds Pingdom?

SolarWinds Pingdom is a website uptime monitoring and alert tool, with additional reporting and Real User Monitoring capabilities. Pingdom is part of SolarWinds’s DevOps package, enabling full-stack monitoring as a service.

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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

(649)

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

(76-100 of 278)
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Jurek Plona | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Provides thw ability to look at specific application counters/parameters and their values.
  • Pinpoints bottlenecks in application flows.
  • Ability to recommend specific remediation steps for addressing issues.
  • Better application flow visibility.
Zakarieya Abderoef | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • It provides agentless server monitoring. This is useful since some application owners aren't fond of having agents installed on their servers.
  • It provides root cause analysis enabling us to identify why certain application servers are slow.
  • There is no real downside to using this product as they have many features.
  • Can become expensive due to the licensing costs.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Shared application templates
  • Application alerting
  • Adding new features
  • Setup can take time.
  • Some settings are difficult to find if you don't spend a lot of time in the system.
  • There are a lot of templates which is good and bad, writing your own takes knowledge not all have.
Glenn Kimball | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • In general, the slough of SNMP Traps and Monitors is a good start.
  • Automation beyond the SNMP layer is easy.
  • The integration with other products could use a bit of polishing. It's not hard or impossible, just a bit clunky.
  • Implementation of the application monitors is a small challenge to learn, but once you have the hang of it, it is overall elegant.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Automatically adds new systems in. This is easier than most of the other monitoring systems I've used.
  • Integrates with ticketing systems like ServiceNow.
  • Regularly adds new features or improves functionality of existing ones.
  • Very easy to upgrade to the latest version.
  • Under the hood, it's a variety of monitoring products that have been added over the years, and sometimes this shows. The integration is pretty good, but not perfect.
  • Adding additional custom SNMP pollers could be a lot easier.
  • Sometimes you still need to use individual programs on the server to add or configure monitoring, rather than all going through the front end.
  • Hard to see exactly what is monitored on each node.
December 20, 2019

It just works

Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Quickly implement
  • Pre-configured packages for monitoring many applications
  • More pre-configured application monitors for SQL Server
December 19, 2019

Solarwinds breeze

Chrichtian Neal | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • I like the port monitor alert. It's in real time with alert.
  • Netpath helps me push my ISP when they are not being truthful about their downtimes.
  • I would lean more towards the bugs repair for now.
  • The PMS connect error issue.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Uptime status monitoring: SAM monitors system uptime through polling (Ping) or through system traps being sent to the poller agents.
  • Various application level monitors: We are able to monitor performance of many or our critical applications, from web servers, SQL, AD, and Exchange, and the data gathered helps to ensure user experiences are maintained at a positive level.
  • Linux/Unix support is very limited. We have to set up custom agents and custom scripts to retrieve any usable data from our older systems, and each one needs to be customized to report back what we need. The effort that has gone into the Windows systems is amazing -- the Linux effort is very limited and has almost no automation ability.
  • Installation and configuration is very daunting. The upgrade processes have caused many outages and unexpected tickets to be opened for support. The upgrade/maintenance process needs to be cleaned up and updated.
December 09, 2019

Overview of the product

Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Overview of the Systems
  • Provide a status and alarm support for different levels of the device issues.
  • Status of the Infrastructure in a single glance
  • Need more depth in the Storage support tools
  • Data Center support infrastructure (i.e. power, cooling, etc.)
December 07, 2019

My SolarWinds Life

Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Monitors Windows IIS for responsiveness.
  • Monitors SQL servers and gives us insight into what resources need to be modified.
  • Monitors our applications on our LInux DHCP/DNS servers for responsiveness.
  • Need a tie to firewall/security applications.
  • More templates, easier template creation.
  • More feedback when adding applications, hard to know what is failing when setting up.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • HP hardware monitoring -- email/pager alerts tell us when servers have bad disks, RAM, etc.
  • Customized alerts to let us know when very specific errors/conditions arise
  • THWACK user community, ability to download user-provided templates and solutions
  • Custom reports need to be more intuitive
  • DR/Failover/Clustering features need to be more robust
  • Virtualization Manager should be part of the base product
December 05, 2019

Life in the SolarWinds

Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Great for monitoring infrastructure.
  • Could be better on the reporting side.
  • Great for alerting.
  • Would like a built-in feature to marry with popular SIEM tools.
  • Would like to automatically send reports to CRM tools.
  • Would like to see a collaboration feature built into the tool.
December 02, 2019

SolarWinds Monitor Review

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Its give us alerts on emails, whenever there is a device down in the data center.
  • It takes backups on auto timer.
  • It is useful for CPU utilization monitoring.
  • It makes it simple to add, delete, and modify the polling servers.
  • It is good to use for syslog servers.
  • Please improve on centralizing the data.
  • If any new patches have been updated on server, let us know the system capabilities to hold the patch.
  • Dashboard has to be more crispy in data viewing.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Suppose you have critical servers which are in production and suddenly the server rebooted. No one wants that to happen, especially production server in prod hours. What if you get an alert prior to this incident? If you are using SolarWinds monitor then you will have that feature. SolarWinds generates an alert if CPU utilization, or latency is observed on a server. Therefore, you can login to the server and kill non-required processes and save your server from an unexpected reboot.
  • If you are using the application monitor and the application is responding slowly, this may provide you with information on what error you are getting and whether there are any packets dropping.
  • Some clients wants to check what amount of bandwidth they consumed on a daily basis. SolarWinds allows us to generate & share reports with our clients.
  • You can also check bandwidth history in the last year. You can check what the configuration was before 1 year. These are awesome feature SolarWinds provides users.
  • While creating reports, there are several options which are missing.
  • When creating alerts based on condition, it is quite complex to configure. I think this can be smoother.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • It is relatively easy to install and operate which helps a lot when you have a small IT staff.
  • It does not have a large compute/ram need, thus it is sitting in the background and does its job without getting noticed.
  • It provides a solid overview of network performance. I would like to have more control over the reporting capabilities and get more graphical (like a show of the US map with our POPs, etc).
  • The DB monitor recommendations are great the tool helps my DBA greatly.
  • I like to have control over the reports for the network. For example, I like the show of the US map with our POPs.
  • Ability to trend over time much like AppDynamics AI that knows on Mondays we had heavy usage thus it is normal and does not alarm us. SMART metrics that is.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Very customizable so you only get what you are looking for.
  • Works great out of box with the built in templates.
  • User templates uploaded to Thwack allow you to find a solution to a monitoring problem without implementing it from scratch.
  • Too integrated into the suite of products. Fields that are needed for network equipment must be filled out for servers and applications.
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