SolarWinds Storage Resource Monitor Reviews

We are still working with SolarWinds and use the NPM product along with SolarWinds Storage Resource Monitor.

The technical details and features that can be retrieved from each product have been found most valuable. The performance metrics, especially for CPU and memory, and for the overall performance of the servers have been found most valuable. Its ability to identify storage hotspots assists with troubleshooting. We utilize SolarWinds Storage Resource Monitor's reporting features, which have helped with strategic storage planning.

The number of similar alerts is the main area for improvement. Alert noise would be great to reduce.

I have been working with SolarWinds Storage Resource Monitor for the past four years.

We use customizable alerts extensively with different services, because the exchange services are different from Active Directory or DNS or anything else. We have customizable alerts for each service.

I do not use the historical data trends that predict future storage needs. Perhaps some of my colleagues use it, but I do not.

I would like to see a focus on broadcast services in the future to make it better. Broadcast services, specifically TV broadcast services, would be valuable to us because we come from a broadcast technology background and would appreciate having some features related to that.

I would rate this review as an eight out of ten.

SRM we are not using much, although I have a little experience with it. We have some of the storage arrays which we are using, and I have some storage devices in the EMC and Dell Boomi arrays.

It's being used for storage and mainly for devices. It's for managing the storage devices and its storage arrays.

It is a separate module for SolarWinds as storage for only array storage devices. They just have to differentiate this module from NCM and from SAM. So we are managing storage and arrays in this module. It is one of the most important modules in SolarWinds.

The initial setup is very straightforward. 

It is a stable solution. 

The solution offers very good updates.

Some of my clients complain that their arrays are working fine, yet, in SolarWinds, they show me as unreachable as the status. When I ask my client what the status actually is, they say it's running and fine. And when I check the SMIS credentials, my credentials, all is working. And yet, in SRM, some of the arrays show as unreachable. We're not sure why they would show as that when we investigate and see they are running fine. 

The solution could always be more easily scalable. 

The solution has been very stable. There are no bugs or glitches, and it doesn't crash or freeze. 

It's a scalable product. I'd rate the scalability potential six out of ten.

We have more than 1,000 people on the solution right now. 

In regard to this solution, I've never worked with support.

The solution is straightforward to set up. It is easy; it's not complicated at all. 

I'd rate the ease of setup five out of ten. It's in the middle in terms of the level of difficulty. However, I find it quite simple.

It takes the usual amount of time to set up due to all the modules. When we install a product on SolarWinds or the RMM platform, they take a similar amount of time. There is no specific time for a single module. If you deploy a single module will take almost the same time. If you deploy ten models together, they will have similar timing since they all are on the same RMM platform.

I don't have any details related to cost or licensing. 

We're a SolarWinds partner. 

The solution can be deployed on-premises and on the cloud. 

New users need to have their requirements and inventory ready to go, and it should be relatively straightforward. 

Your requirements matter most, not what SolarWinds will think.

I'd rate the solution seven out of ten overall. 

One really big word - AppStack.

AppStack literally changes the way you look at your applications. An outstanding visual representation and drill down into your environment is unlike anything I was used to seeing from other vendors.

The NOC view with the top XX statistics: Having the screen rotations in the NOC views, which allow for fuller details on the screen and more real-time data to be displayed, is truly an added value function.

SAM gives us true insight into our key applications and other applications. Understanding the response time, static data, physical memory hit, and CPU load of each of your key applications allows you to budget better. It also helps you plan and deploy effectively, timely, and on budget.

SAM is a very mature product and needs little in the ways of improvements. I would suggest some more customized views, and maybe a different approach to alerting and events reporting. However, the process they have is good and useful.

We have been using this solution for more than four years.

I have never had any issues with stability. SAM has been very solid. Installation and upgrading is so easy. The daily operation of the application is simple and needs little administration.

It’s about as truly close to “set it and forget it” as you can get with regards to the actual application function. You have to USE the tool, so you know what happening, but it’s going to feed you good information, whether you use it or not.

Scalability is my sore spot. With the way they use nodes and count nodes, it’s very easy to blow well past your license amount.

I have, for example, a 150 node license, of which I am monitoring 337 nodes. However, only 150 are actually monitored, so I have to do a lot to try to find the right applications to monitor. Since the next level for licensing is 500/700 or something like that, I simply haven’t been able to afford the bump up.

I simply need a much higher license level than I have. However, the cost is too much and they lack the flexibility in allowing you a smaller step up.

It goes from, say 150 nodes to 500. There is no 250 or 300, for example.

Would I find applications to monitor, with the selection from Windows, Linux, SQL, IIS, Active Director, and Exchange? You bet. For now, however, I have to be patient until I can justify the cost of the upgrade.

At times, it’s been difficult to get through. However, in the past 12 months, they have reformed their ways and it’s been fantastic.

I have used SolarWinds with three different companies in the past seventeen years, and they have never failed to help me. Sometimes it takes some time, but they always get you going.

Of course we used other products, and we still do. Products from Spiceworks, and other vendors, are good entry and medium alternatives. But with the ad-on pages, it gets distracting. One product cannot do everything you want it to do, at least with what you can afford.

Sometimes it’s better to run a tiered approach, such as with security, so all your eggs are not in one basket, so to speak.

However most everything else we use is freeware, or open source.

SolarWinds is the only fully paid product we currently own. We are primarily a SolarWinds shop.

The setup is very easy. It is a simple Windows.exe file, and it takes care of the rest. The setup wizard really walks your through everything.

Their documentation is very detailed. If you need support, there is technical support and also THWACK, which is world class and ahead of its time.

One tip: If you can use a standalone SQL server, do it. It will save you a lot of time in the long run.

I have always said SolarWinds is very “proud” of their products, meaning they are expensive. I cannot afford to purchase all the licenses I need for all SolarWinds products and SAM is no exception. They offer an unlimited license, but – WOW - get ready to pay out for it.

I have the base 150 node license and I hope to upgrade to 500 later this year. However, for now, I cannot justify the thousands of dollars they feel is required for such a jump.

That being said, you are not going to find a better solution on the market for the price.

We looked at WhatsUp Gold. We used, and still use, Spiceworks. We tried a couple of less than impressive solutions.

In the end, SolarWinds was simply the best, especially when you consider the integration with Orion and all the other components.

DO IT!!! You will not regret it. This product is so helpful out-of-the-box. Even for larger environments, you have a very short roll-out timeline, fantastic benefits, and results. From reporting, to alerting, and the KPI data you can pull from this application, it’s worth the investment.