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Lenovo XClarity Controller vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

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

Lenovo XClarity Controller
Ranking in Server Monitoring
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SolarWinds Server and Appli...
Ranking in Server Monitoring
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
4.5
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (22nd), Active Directory Management (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Server Monitoring category, the mindshare of Lenovo XClarity Controller is 3.2%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is 3.3%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Server Monitoring Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor3.3%
Lenovo XClarity Controller3.2%
Other93.5%
Server Monitoring
 

Featured Reviews

Muhammad_Salman - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Finance Executive at Texitech
Simplifies RAID computation and technical support resolves issues effectively
The Lenovo configuration tool helps us with the computation of the RAID Controller and the installation of the operating system. If we encounter any sort of issue, we can troubleshoot the problem with the assistance of the Lenovo technical team. Sometimes, we do not receive complaints from the controller. We also receive software issue resolutions by managing the process with the assistance of the Lenovo technical team.
NikhilKalwint - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Specialist at ServiceIO
Monitoring over a thousand systems has improved decision making and operational visibility
From an advantage perspective, SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is comparatively cheaper from a commercial point of view. It is easy to install and configure, very user-friendly, and quick to get up and running, allowing you to see the early value adds in your organization. It is compatible with most technologies for monitoring with very few chances of incompatibility. Configuration also allows us to monitor all the technical parameters we are looking for, making it a very good experience for us. The alerting feature in SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is a main advantage, as it alerts based on threshold breaches and can raise tickets to the ticketing system, send SMS, and email notifications, allowing engineers to work on those tickets to resolve issues and avoid further impact. The visibility into server health is a beneficial feature that I am utilizing. We widely use various application performance metrics in SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor such as database monitoring and server monitoring, which are quite good enough for any monitoring solution. We utilize the customizable dashboards in SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"My advice to others is this is the best solution for server management on the market."
"The Lenovo configuration tool helps us with the computation of the RAID Controller and the installation of the operating system."
"The product's most valuable feature is its ability to provide insights into server status and alerts."
"The most valuable feature of Lenovo XClarity is the ease of use because of the interface browser that is highly compatible and it has mobile web management."
"The remote management capability was also good."
"I would rate Lenovo XClarity Controller ten out of ten."
"The most valuable feature is application monitoring."
"SAM has altered the way monitoring is being looked at - from just being able to monitor CPU, Mem, Disk and network utilization levels we have moved to the next levels of finding out process related issues, service related issues and specific application related issues to identify root cause of performance issues."
"It is simple to implement and can provide fairly decent Windows-based monitoring, beyond simple SNMP. It is great for monitoring newbies and smaller shops."
"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is the network devices' performance monitor is the best."
"SolarWinds fit the bill because it gave many possibilities in monitoring with a good amount of out of the box capabilities."
"SolarWinds is a very stable platform compared to others on the market."
"The solution has good alerts. Notifications are sent via email to technicians. You can filter the kinds of alerts you want to receive as well. It's excellent."
"There are many valuable features, including the network configuration manager, and the network performance manager."
 

Cons

"Lenovo XClarity can improve the dashboard integration. For example, graphs could be better."
"It worked very slowly. It was not well on performance."
"Sometimes we do not receive the complaint from the Controller. However, software issues are managed and processed with the help of the Lenovo technical team, and they sort them out."
"Sometimes we do not receive the complaint from the Controller."
"Lenovo XClarity can improve the dashboard integration. For example, graphs could be better. Additionally, more integration with other vendors is needed. For example, VMware has integration with a lot of vendors."
"They could enable notifications on emails and phones regarding control panel information."
"There is one feature that is a report writer. And they are currently trying to take it out from being a stand-alone application and integrating to the web. This doesn't give us the flexibility and it doesn't expand what we can get when it comes to reporting. So, putting it on the web is going to make it difficult to get some information. Leaving it where it is now will help us a lot."
"Scalability was an issue in the past."
"The setup was complex. We had local support to assist us."
"PerfStack can be made more effective."
"I had some stability issues. I lost my environment, but with the help of SolarWinds support, I was able to get back to a stable platform."
"The stability, flexibility, and ease of use could be improved."
"PerfStack can be made more effective. I am sure SolarWinds already has a plan for the same in coming versions."
"An additional feature that would improve this solution is the ability to complete root cause analysis."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The solution's price is reasonable. Though it's on the higher side, the tool is worth the money."
"The solution is overpriced in terms of application management."
"The licenses start from USD 3000.00 and go up to USD 20,000.00 for the year. It's a perpetual license. Nothing is free in SolarWinds, anything that you need is an additional cost."
"Its licensing is on a yearly basis. It is just the standard price, but it can vary depending on the current rate of the dollar."
"I think SolarWinds' pricing is very decent compared to other competitors in the market."
"The product might cost you $30,000 USD to buy, but scaling this solution requires the purchase of additional polling engines at $20,000 USD each."
"Price can always be lower. It is neither on the expensive side nor on the cheap side. We have worked with them for a lot of years, so we get a discount due to the size of the installation."
"We are on an annual license to use the solution. The price of the solution is expensive. The price is based on a bunch of factors, such as the number of engines and elements."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise21
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Lenovo XClarity Controller?
Sometimes we do not receive the complaint from the Controller. However, software issues are managed and processed with the help of the Lenovo technical team, and they sort them out.
What is your primary use case for Lenovo XClarity Controller?
The customer has given me this configuration and is asking for the price of the server along with this configuration. They did not mention what kind of requirement they have. They just shared this ...
What needs improvement with SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?
There is definitely room for improvement besides simplifying its setup. As a non-technical person, I believe the dashboards could be improved. Everything we use appears on video walls, and we need ...
 

Also Known As

XClarity Controller, Lenovo XCC
SolarWinds SAM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Andr. L. Riis AS, NetSuite
Find out what your peers are saying about Lenovo XClarity Controller vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,976 professionals have used our research since 2012.