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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
8th
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
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
4.5
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (20th), Active Directory Management (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Server Monitoring category, the mindshare of Lenovo XClarity Controller is 3.3%, down from 3.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is 3.1%, up from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Server Monitoring Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Lenovo XClarity Controller3.3%
SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor3.1%
Other93.6%
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

"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 product's most valuable feature is its ability to provide insights into server status and alerts."
"The remote management capability was also good."
"The Lenovo configuration tool helps us with the computation of the RAID Controller and the installation of the operating system."
"I would rate Lenovo XClarity Controller ten out of ten."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is its interface, which is used for monitoring."
"AppInsight for SQL: Enables us to see the relevant error log entries on the same page as performance parameters."
"One of the most valuable features are the reports. They're pretty good. Also, the ease of installation and customization for the client is another feature that we value. SolarWinds has a lot of features but these are the ones I like the most. We also like that the KPIs have the ability to be preset."
"I am impressed with the tool's AppStack feature which mainly helps us in the identification process. This feature can give an overview of the fault and help us identify the issues for performance degradation. Instead of looking at multiple places, we can look at a single place to identify the issues."
"We manage SolarWinds ourselves without outsourcing its services."
"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."
"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is the network devices' performance monitor is the best."
"I have found the visibility into server health with SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor very beneficial, which we use on a daily basis."
 

Cons

"Sometimes we do not receive the complaint from the Controller."
"They could enable notifications on emails and phones regarding control panel information."
"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."
"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."
"It worked very slowly. It was not well on performance."
"Support for the IBM Mainframe is needed."
"When you implement SolarWinds on a larger scale my customers complain about the speed."
"An additional feature that would improve this solution is the ability to complete root cause analysis."
"The current script monitoring feature has limitations, especially when dealing with custom scripts."
"SAM's software-defined network monitoring capability is also low and could be improved."
"I would like to see support for non-Windows or non-Microsoft domains, especially Apache and other non-Windows servers."
"The setup was complex. We had local support to assist us."
"One area that could benefit from improvement is its performance"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"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."
"I like the pricing for this SolarWinds product."
"SAM is not per server so the pricing model can be deceiving. If you have an enterprise environment, you will quickly exceed your licensing quickly. You should know this before going in."
"When compared to other licensed models in the market, it stands out as one of the more cost-effective options."
"I would rate the pricing for this solution a three out of five."
"Understanding the counts of objects to monitor will determine the licensing need. In terms of pricing, it’s not cheap but it’s not expensive as larger vendors whose products don’t have all the features or integrations."
"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."
"The product is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
22%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Educational Organization
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
9%
Computer Software 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 do you like most about Lenovo XClarity Controller?
The product's most valuable feature is its ability to provide insights into server status and alerts.
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: January 2026.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.