Windows Server AppFabric vs Zenoss Cloud comparison

Microsoft and Zenoss are both solutions in the Application Infrastructure category. Microsoft is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.7, while Zenoss is ranked #28. Microsoft holds a 2.2% mindshare in AIS, compared to Zenoss’s 1.2% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Zenoss users who would recommend it.

Windows Server AppFabric

Read 5 Windows Server AppFabric reviews

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552 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Zenoss Cloud

Read 8 Zenoss Cloud reviews

2,016 Views
121 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Windows Server AppFabric

Zenoss Cloud

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 5, 2025

Zenoss Cloud and Windows Server AppFabric are competing in the IT infrastructure management space, each offering distinct advantages. Zenoss Cloud demonstrates strengths in monitoring and analytics, while Windows Server AppFabric excels with integration and scalability features, potentially making it the more justified investment for businesses prioritizing these areas.

Features: Zenoss Cloud is renowned for its comprehensive monitoring capabilities, real-time insights, and predictive analytics that enhance infrastructure management. It allows for integration with various cloud platforms like Azure and AWS, offering flexibility across different environments. Windows Server AppFabric provides seamless integration within Microsoft environments, supports distributed application management, and offers robust networking capabilities crucial for minimizing downtime in multi-server settings.

Room for Improvement: Zenoss Cloud could benefit from enhancing its user interface to further simplify the system navigation for less experienced users and offering more customization options to cater to specific organizational needs. Expanding its documentation resources could also aid in improving user understanding and deployment. Windows Server AppFabric may focus on streamlining its installation process to reduce the technical expertise required for setup, enhancing its support for non-Microsoft environments, and updating features to be more adaptable to modern cloud-based infrastructures.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Zenoss Cloud offers cloud-based deployment, providing ease of scalability and flexibility with robust customer service for troubleshooting. Windows Server AppFabric, requiring on-premises setup, appeals to organizations needing localized control, but may require more technical knowledge for successful implementation. The support for customizing deployment based on organizational needs stands out in both offerings, but Zenoss's cloud delivery simplifies management.

Pricing and ROI: Zenoss Cloud often operates on a subscription model, offering predictable costs and favorable ROI through advanced monitoring features, appealing to cost-conscious businesses. Windows Server AppFabric typically involves upfront costs for on-premises infrastructure. However, its tight integration with Microsoft services and potential for enhanced ROI through operational efficiencies may justify the cost for businesses reliant on Microsoft ecosystems.

To learn more, read our detailed Windows Server AppFabric vs. Zenoss Cloud Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Windows Server AppFabric vs. Zenoss Cloud

December 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Windows Server AppFabric

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

13th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Zenoss Cloud

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

28th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Event Monitoring (13th), Network Monitoring Software (76th), Server Monitoring (26th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (52nd), Container Monitoring (7th), Cloud Monitoring Software (43rd), AIOps (24th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of Windows Server AppFabric is 2.2%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zenoss Cloud is 1.2%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Infrastructure Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Windows Server AppFabric	2.2%
Zenoss Cloud	1.2%
Other	96.6%

Application Infrastructure

Featured Reviews

Dennis Ndegwa

Senior System Administrator at Kentainers

Improved on-premise performance has supported faster, secure apps and clearer server monitoring

One thing I appreciate most about Windows Server AppFabric is because it's widely used; it's easier to get solutions online from other communities when I am stuck. Because it is widely used, it's easier to get solutions and also easier to work with. Especially after I found 2019, I have worked with 2019 and I appreciate it. It's easier to get solutions. After implementing Windows Server AppFabric, I can say I love the speed. The functionality and speed are good. Earlier, when they added more people, I could see some lagging. But now, I have no issue even if I double the users, even if I add 30% of users or any applications, it will still be fast. It increased the speed and also security. I've noticed the new one I have is good and secure. I love the security. The monitoring capabilities of Windows Server AppFabric help me improve service visibility and troubleshooting. In a day, I have to go through a lot of the logs and also the utilization. There, I see the CPU. I have to do the utilization, and I can see what is utilizing the most. By doing this, I can be able to tell what, in case I need to do an upgrade, what I might need to provide the upgrade or maybe increase in users that will not affect the operations.

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ClaudiaChen

Cloud Architect - Senior Technology Architect at Telstra

Generates close to real-time alerts so users can resolve issues, but needs more integration and public cloud monitoring features

As Zenoss Service Dynamics is more for network-centric devices and you want to monitor, for example, a server, its services, IP addresses, and interfaces, if it's a network and you're going to monitor multiple items, you'll be charged multiple times. This is what Zenoss Service Dynamics needs to improve to make sure that customers pay just one fee to monitor the entire server. What I'd like to see in Zenoss Service Dynamics in the future is a public cloud monitoring feature, particularly for the Azure public cloud. Another additional feature I'd like to see in the next release of the solution is integration with the Azure public cloud because I know that there are some services from Azure that Zenoss Service Dynamics is currently unable to monitor.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The product's deployment phase was very easy."

"It is very usable and easy to understand. Antivirus and VPN are the main features being used now. It allows my clients to access the network from home, which was very crucial because of the pandemic."

"The ability to seamlessly deploy, image, and patch without causing downtime is extremely helpful and user-friendly."

"The most valuable feature is AppFabric's hosting solution, which is what we need for running workflows."

"After implementing Windows Server AppFabric, I can say I love the speed."

"The product offers good documentation that helps with initial training."

"Its Docker Container concept is mind blowing. It is the first monitoring tool which comes with Docker features."

"The most valuable feature is the flexible discovery mechanism."

"The custom built integration is one of the most valuable features because you can see all the especially critical items."

"They have also accommodated many state-of-the-art technologies like Docker and ZooKeeper."

"What I like most about Zenoss Service Dynamics is that it monitors the devices and gives close to real-time alerts. For example, in case the device is not available, Zenoss Service Dynamics generates an alert so my team can resolve the issue."

"It's easy to use."

Cons

"The product is unable to connect with different cloud services."

"The most important issue I've found is the blue screen errors, particularly when customers use external displays with a P-type cable."

"Microsoft will stop supporting the product next year, and we can't run unsupported programs in our systems."

"Its price and licensing policy can be improved. It could be a little cheaper. Licensing is sometimes confusing. There are so many different options. It is difficult to find out what to buy or what to choose for my necessity."

"There is room for improvement with the administrative part. They introduced Control Center to manage things in Zenoss 5. The services that Zenoss provides remained the same, but the administrative part, since they introduced Docker, etc., has become a little complex"

"The AI aspect needs to improve."

"There was a problem with Zenoss and storage monitoring."

"As Zenoss Service Dynamics is more for network-centric devices and you want to monitor, for example, a server, its services, IP addresses, and interfaces, if it's a network and you're going to monitor multiple items, you'll be charged multiple times. This is what Zenoss Service Dynamics needs to improve to make sure that customers pay just one fee to monitor the entire server. What I'd like to see in Zenoss Service Dynamics in the future is a public cloud monitoring feature, particularly for the Azure public cloud. Another additional feature I'd like to see in the next release of the solution is integration with the Azure public cloud because I know that there are some services from Azure that Zenoss Service Dynamics is currently unable to monitor."

"It would be ideal if the product offered sound alerts."

"The inclusion of a feature to show a graphical view of the network would be a helpful improvement."

"Now it is stable, but they should design threshold parameters in percentage instead of raw values."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is expensive, and its licensing is a bit confusing."

"The product is affordable, in my opinion."

"There are additional costs you'll have to pay apart from the license fee for Zenoss Service Dynamics. I can't remember exactly how much my company is paying because I don't handle the finance part, but the cost is paid annually. On a scale of one to five, with one being the cheapest and five being the most expensive, I'm rating the solution three out of five."

"The pricing depends on the environment, the number of services, and the size of the data center. It can go from $100,000 to a million dollars."

"It depends on the customer, what he wants."

"It is very cost-effective compared to the tools I worked with in the past. The company is gaining a lot with respect to the cost factor. It provides agentless monitoring and in a very cheap way."

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Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Large Enterprise	5

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Windows Server AppFabric?

The product's deployment phase was very easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Windows Server AppFabric?

I am overall satisfied with the licensing cost of Windows Server AppFabric. It's a reasonable price because I run multiple servers, so we bought the bulk one. I can say the price was fair.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Windows Server AppFabric?

I do not utilize Windows Server AppFabric's workflow management for now because that's a project that we might be looking at in the coming year, in the first or second quarter.

See all answers

What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

In my experience, I worked with many monitoring software, but the one that gave me the most functionalities of a large-scale company is Zenoss, due to its ability to monitor completely hybrid and a...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

January 2026

Download Windows Server AppFabric product report

Buyer's Guide

Zenoss Cloud

January 2026

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Also Known As

No data available

Cloud Monitoring, Zenoss Service Dynamics

Overview

Windows Server AppFabric extends Windows Server to provide enhanced hosting, management, and caching capabilities for Web applications and middle-tier services. The AppFabric hosting features add service management extensions to Internet Information Services (IIS), Windows Process Activation Service (WAS), and the .NET Framework 4. This includes Hosting Services and Hosting Administration tools that make it easier to deploy, configure, and manage Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) and Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) based services. The AppFabric caching features add a distributed, in-memory object cache to Windows Server that makes it easier to scale out high-performance .NET applications, especially ASP.NET applications.

Microsoft

Zenoss Cloud revolutionizes IT infrastructure monitoring with a service-centric approach, prioritizing the overall health of services and applications. Harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AIOps), Zenoss Cloud offers end-to-end visibility across servers, networks, storage, and applications. Real-time monitoring, event correlation, and automated remediation ensure immediate insights and efficient issue resolution. The customizable dashboards empower users to tailor visualizations to their needs, while scalability accommodates diverse infrastructures. Zenoss Cloud guarantees improved application performance, reduced downtime, and enhanced IT efficiency, making it an ideal choice for businesses of all sizes, from small enterprises seeking simplicity to large corporations requiring advanced scalability. Experience unified monitoring and proactive management with Zenoss Cloud, a comprehensive solution that transforms IT infrastructure optimization in today's complex environments.

Zenoss

Sample Customers

OSIsoft

2degrees, Rackspace, State of North Dakota, El Paso Independent School District, NWN Corporation

Buyer's Guide

Windows Server AppFabric vs. Zenoss Cloud

December 2025

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