Cybil
There is a whole unique amalgamation of server and network components which can smoothly and conveniently allow you to run an assessment on the network environment within moments. Such monitoring components are well equipped at their job of assessing what is on track and what is off track and in case it is call for trouble it also tells you where to search for the problem.
A lot of these data packets can be monitored using the included abilities of a given server or any hypervisor, however this is mostly a daunting task so in this article we will talk about some of the hassles of network monitoring while giving an in detail comparison of Solarwinds Vs PRTG Network Monitors in terms of each of the features.
Event Log Monitoring
Event Monitoring is definitely crucial among all other kinds of monitoring as it keeps you aware on the nature of network troubles which is an important piece of information for troubleshooting in addition of keeping a reliable log of what happened and when it exactly happened on a server. Any system that is completing a task at a given time, or any user signing in on the system etc; these things can be a savior from a technical perspective as well as from a general viewpoint in a professional or any other setting.
Performance Monitoring
Performance monitoring is also a discerning aspect when it comes to systems used by clients or customers. Anyone who is opening any application through web or a software interface only to discover that it isn’t working will not make them a happy customer certainly hence at the technical end you must know what are the performance parameters that are holding back the performance. It could simply be a delay in the network, or cramming up of storage or slow processing of processors or just that the application has gotten old and needs an updates.
On the other hand, the systems and applications themselves also need a trusted performance consistency even if the issues are occasional. A smart technician knows not to rely on it and consequently keeps a close eye on the overall performance and customizes the settings of disk space, CPU etc accordingly. The given below table will give a summary of the monitoring abilities between SolarWinds Vs PRTG so that you can assess the pros and cons of the two.
| SolarWinds | PRTG | |
| Server Hardware Monitoring:
|
Can monitor HP, Dell, and IBM | Can monitor HP, Dell, IBM |
| Performance Monitoring:
|
CPU, memory, disk utilization, hardware fan, hardware power supply, hardware temp | CPU, memory, disk utilization, hardware fan, some limits on temp based on device |
| Executable Server Actions: | Start/stop/kill processes and services, system restart | Start/stop/kill processes and services, system restart |
| View/Manage Server Processes: | Utilizes process explorer for task management and viewing | Requires additional sensor setup and configuration, may need custom script |
| Log Viewer: | View and manage Windows based event logs | View Windows based event logs |
| Supported Operating Systems: | AIX, HP-UX, Linux, Unix, Solaris, Windows Server/Hyper-V, vSphere, ESX(i) | Depends on sensor |
| Adjustable Thresholds: | On the fly | Most, not all |
| Modular Expandability: | Expansive | Expansive |
| Hardware Polling: | Fan, power supply, and temp | CPU and memory, more via sensor depending on SNMP hardware support |
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It is also necessary to mention that SolarWinds is definitely more convenient in terms of its configurations particularly on network maps and auto discovery options.
Application Monitoring
Now coming towards the specific application monitoring, it is good to keep tabs on the applications in terms of their resource usage and where they choke up. SolarWinds definitely takes the lead here because it can support numerous applications within one software suite.
PRTG on the other hand advertises its flexibility parameters as it has a scripted language support and a wide range of sensors but if one gets an already configured template which can further be personalized will save great deal of resources and valuable time. Read the comparison between Solarwinds Vs PRTG to see their Application Monitoring support.
| SolarWinds | PRTG | ||
| Included Templates for Common Applications:
|
Yes |
|
|
| Number of Applications with Native Support:
|
Over 200 and growing | Not Applicable | |
| SQL Monitoring: |
|
Response time, record count, value | |
| Exchange Monitoring: | Mailbox DB, Capacity, quote, Exchange store, and even more with added modules | Some built-in functionality for server monitoring, requires additional sensors for mail database monitoring | |
| Service levels: | Assign base line values for metrics, alerts for violation of baseline | Customizable by hand, comes with only 10 types of sensors | |
| Central Event Console: | Yes | Yes | |
| Download Now! | View Website |
Virtualization Monitoring
Virtualization my friend is a trend that is gaining popularity on almost all network set ups in recent times. Monitoring programs must be operated on virtualized environments and should be able to keep tabs on performance plus have a strong communication as well. This will make the tasks a bit tricky hence owning a software to assist you in putting the pieces together can save your network’s life. SolarWinds once again takes the lead here with an improved compatibility for Hypervisor support, specifically in the separate versions of them while providing almost the same if not more for generating reports on virtualized set ups.
| SolarWinds | PRTG | ||
| Hypervisor Support:
|
Hyper-V, ESX(i), vSphere |
|
|
| Inventory Summary:
|
Display Host and VM counts as well as resource totals | Variable depending on vSphere/ESX(i) version | |
| Resource Monitoring: |
|
Separate interfaces for VM and host, but has a good range from disk use, memory consumption, CPU use, and on | |
| Download Now! | View Website |
