Experience Per-Second Observability Across Your Entire Stack

Granularity

✅ Real-Time (Per-Second)
1-second collection across all metrics

⚠️ Near Real-Time (5-Minute)
Typical 5-minute polling for most metrics

Visualization Latency

✅ 1-2 Seconds
Sub-2-second latency from event to dashboard

⚠️ Minutes
Polling intervals plus processing delays

Scalability

✅ Linear, Unlimited
Distributed edge architecture scales horizontally

⚠️ Centralized Scaling
Additional polling engines and licensing tiers

Setup Complexity

✅ Zero Configuration
Auto-discovery and algorithmic dashboards included

⚠️ Template-Driven
Manual templates, node discovery, and dashboards

Maintenance

✅ Self-Managing
WORM storage, no compaction, zero-downtime updates

⚠️ Ongoing Administration
Database maintenance, patching, template upkeep

High Availability

✅ Distributed by Design
Agents and Parents operate independently

⚠️ Additional HA Engine
Requires supplementary HA engine licensing

Machine Learning

✅ Edge-Based, Universal
18 ML models per metric, trained locally

⚠️ Limited / Add-On
Anomaly detection on selected metrics, if licensed

AI Capabilities

✅ AI Co-Engineer + MCP
Natural language troubleshooting and reporting via MCP

❌ Not Available
No conversational AI or MCP integration available

Data Ownership

✅ Full Sovereignty
All data stays on your infrastructure

⚠️ SaaS or Self-Hosted
Data centralized in SolarWinds databases

Open Standards

✅ OpenMetrics, OTel, StatsD
Ingests and exports all major open standards

⚠️ Proprietary Stack
SolarWinds-specific agents and data formats

Cost Structure

✅ Flat Per-Node
Predictable, no cardinality or egress charges

⚠️ Tiered, Volume-Based
Element-count and node-tier licensing complexity

Primary Focus

✅ Operations and Troubleshooting
Console replacement, per-second debugging tools

✅ Comprehensive IT Management
Broader suite including config and IPAM

Operating System Monitoring

✅ Advanced
Per-second CPU, RAM, disk, network on all platforms

✅ Good
Comprehensive but typically 5-minute granularity

Network Device Monitoring (SNMP)

✅ Advanced
Auto-discovery, 150K trap definitions, 800+ vendors

✅ Advanced
Deep SNMP coverage with NPM module integration

NetFlow / Traffic Analysis

✅ Advanced
Reorderable Sankey, TCP-flag breakdowns, city maps

✅ Advanced
NTA module with flow collection and analysis

Network Topology Mapping

✅ Good
LLDP/CDP topology with dependency drill-down

✅ Advanced
NetPath and topology mapping in NPM

Container Monitoring

✅ Advanced
Native cgroups v1/v2, Docker, containerd, Podman

⚠️ Limited
Container monitoring via additional modules or agents

Kubernetes Monitoring

✅ Advanced
DaemonSet per node, auto-discovery of pods

⚠️ Limited
Container monitoring module, less granular resolution

Database Monitoring

✅ Advanced
Top queries, running queries, deadlocks for major DBs

✅ Good
DPA module for database performance monitoring

Process Monitoring

✅ Advanced
Per-second per-process CPU, memory, I/O, network

⚠️ Limited
Process monitoring via SAM component monitors

Network Connections per Process

✅ Advanced
Per-process TCP/UDP connections with topology maps

⚠️ Limited
Connection monitoring via additional configuration setup

Custom Application Metrics

✅ Advanced
StatsD, OpenMetrics, OTel, 800+ plugins included

✅ Good
SAM custom component monitors and templates

SNMP Trap Monitoring

✅ Advanced
Traps as journal logs with full search and filtering

✅ Advanced
Integrated trap viewer with alerting and rules

Logs Management

✅ Advanced
Direct systemd-journal access, zero pipelines needed

✅ Good
Log analyzer module, centralized collection pipeline

Real-Time Infrastructure Monitoring

✅ Ideal
Per-second metrics across servers, containers, cloud

⚠️ Near Real-Time
Comprehensive but at 5-minute default granularity

Live Troubleshooting (SSH Replacement)

✅ Ideal
Console tools in browser with history and ML

⚠️ Limited
Dashboards for analysis, not interactive debugging

Network Performance Monitoring

✅ Advanced
Per-second SNMP, topology, and unified dashboard

✅ Advanced
NPM module with deep network monitoring capabilities

Flow Traffic Analysis

✅ Advanced
Sankey, city maps, TCP-flag breakdowns per second

✅ Advanced
NTA module with comprehensive flow analysis tools

SNMP Trap Monitoring

✅ Advanced
Traps as journal logs with search and filtering

✅ Advanced
Integrated trap viewer with alerting and rules

Capacity Planning

✅ Advanced
Multi-tier retention with AI capacity reports

✅ Good
Capacity planning via SRM and reporting modules

Application Performance Monitoring

⚠️ Limited
Zero-code app insights, no distributed tracing yet

✅ Good
APM module with tracing and code-level analysis

Config Management and Backup

❌ Not Available
Monitoring only, pair with dedicated config tool

✅ Advanced
NCM module for config backup and compliance

IP Address Management

❌ Not Available
Monitoring only, pair with dedicated IPAM tool

✅ Advanced
IPAM module for subnet and DHCP management

Distributed Fleet and Edge

✅ Ideal
Edge-native agents survive network partitions gracefully

⚠️ Challenging
Additional polling engines for distributed sites

SIEM and Security Logging

⚠️ Basic
Audit logs, tamper-evident journals, light SIEM

⚠️ Basic
Log analyzer and SEM module for security events

AI-Powered Troubleshooting

✅ Advanced
AI Co-Engineer with natural language root cause

❌ Not Available
No conversational AI or automated root cause