SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor Reviews

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor's pricing is considered reasonable by most users, although some find it to be on the higher side. Despite the cost, many believe that the solution is worth the money. There are no additional costs associated with the solution, which is seen as a positive aspect. However, others feel that the solution is overpriced, particularly in terms of application management. The pricing varies depending on factors such as the number of engines and elements, and it is based on marketized pricing by SolarWinds. Some users find the pricing to be expensive, while others consider it less expensive compared to competitors like AppDynamics. 

Based on user feedback, SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor has proven to be a valuable investment. Users have reported positive outcomes and benefits, indicating a satisfactory return on investment.

The primary use case of SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is to monitor certificates, VMs, server health, application health, web services, databases, and other applications in the organization's infrastructure. It serves as a central monitoring tool for every transaction related to the organization's infrastructure, including network device monitoring and server monitoring. Additionally, it is used for reporting on server utilization and gives alerts based on defined thresholds.

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is highly valued for its ability to create tickets for immediate issue awareness and quick triage. Integration with Remedy is seen as a major advantage. The AppStack feature is impressive and aids in the identification process by providing an overview of faults and helping to pinpoint performance degradation. Infrastructure dependency mapping is also highly valued as it provides a clear view of networks connected to applications and processes. The monitoring capabilities of the tool are considered powerful and the network devices' performance monitor is particularly praised. Additionally, the component and cable monitoring are good, and SolarWinds is seen as more intuitive and user-friendly than AppDynamics. The ability to monitor processes and services in-depth is another valuable feature. 

Improvements needed for SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor include:

• Proper repolling after VM changes without requiring manual cleanups.

• Enhanced storage monitoring in the AppStack, including analytics and recommendations for fault identification and recovery.

• Reduction in pricing.

• Improved report feature usability and customization.

• Integration and correlation of tools for better analytics and root cause analysis.

• Development of a cloud version for easier maintenance.

• Enhancement of server and web application monitoring features, similar to Microsoft SCOM.

• Addressing the slow interface and performance issues, particularly regarding page loading and upgrade duration.

• Addition of code-level monitoring and detailed metrics for applications, as well as improved software-defined network monitoring.

• Restoration of the report writer for backend reports, allowing for easier export to Excel and improved reporting capabilities.

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor's initial setup can be completed in a couple of hours. Planning and defining what to monitor is important, especially for larger environments. The tool is flexible and allows for customization. The deployment process is generally easy, with step-by-step instructions provided by SolarWinds. However, for some users, the setup may not be straightforward and can take a few days or even months, depending on the environment. Upgrades can be problematic and time-consuming, requiring manual deployment on each polling engine. Documentation and support from SolarWinds may be inadequate in these cases. 

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor appears to be highly scalable. Users have reported being able to monitor thousands of servers and VMs without encountering any issues. The product's scalability is rated highly, with some users mentioning that they can add more devices and scalable engines. However, there have been some concerns about the performance and resource requirements of monitoring servers.

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor's customer service and support have received mixed reviews. Some customers have had issues that took a while to resolve, possibly due to their specific environment or the support team. However, others have found the support to be very good and have had positive experiences working with the technical support team. 

Based on the given reviews, the general consensus is that the solution is stable. Users have rated the stability of the tool between eight and a half and eight out of ten. However, there have been some instances where stability issues occurred when there were too many sites or devices to monitor. Some users have mentioned that the solution is not stable and frequently goes down, but this seems to be an exception rather than the norm. The latest versions of SolarWinds are reported to be stable and perform well. Users appreciate the stability of the solution and the ability to identify overutilization of resources for better performance.