SolarWinds Hybrid Observability (HCO)

SolarWinds Hybrid Observability (HCO) brings your applications, infrastructure, databases, network, and logs into a single, unified view. Built for modern hybrid IT, it helps teams detect issues faster, reduce tool sprawl, and maintain service health across both cloud and on-prem environments.

Why teams choose this platform

• Unified Visibility: Connect metrics, logs, traces, and user experience signals to accelerate root cause analysis.
• Hybrid-Ready Coverage: Monitor self-managed hosts, cloud resources, Kubernetes, and more from a single pane of glass.
• Network & Infrastructure Context: Collect deep device data using a Network Collector via standard protocols like SNMP, SSH, and APIs.
• Faster Troubleshooting: Drill down into performance and trace details to instantly see where time is being spent across services.
• Procurement Clarity: Select only the modules you need and size them based on how your environment is measured (services, hosts, log volume, or DBs).

SolarWinds Hybrid Observability: At a Glance

• What it is: A unified platform for monitoring full-stack applications and hybrid infrastructure.
• Best For: Full-stack visibility, incident triage, and reducing MTTR across complex hybrid environments.

Licensing Model

• SaaS: Subscription-based, driven by modules + usage units (services, active hosts/devices, log GB, DB instances).
• Self-Hosted: For fully on-prem deployments, SolarWinds Hybrid Observability Self-Hosted uses node-based editions.
• Activation: Deploy agents/collectors and authenticate via API/ingestion tokens from the console.
• Required Data: Module selection (App/Infra/Network/Logs/DB/UX), estimated units, environment type, and network constraints.

License Overview

The SolarWinds Hybrid Observability license activates the specific modules you purchase—such as application, infrastructure/network, logs, databases, and digital experience—and ties them to measurable usage units.

How it works: Entitlements are provisioned to your SolarWinds account. inside the Hybrid Observability console, you enable the modules that match your use case and scale them as your environment grows. Common sizing units include services, active hosts/devices, log ingestion volume, and database instances.

For On-Prem Requirements: Teams requiring a fully offline footprint can choose SolarWinds Hybrid Observability Self-Hosted. This option uses a node-based licensing model and defined editions to meet strict data residency or controlled-network requirements.

Procurement Strategy: Select the right modules, estimate your usage units realistically (factoring in 12–24 month growth), and align retention/support requirements. This ensures the platform remains predictable to operate and easy to renew.

Product Overview

SolarWinds Hybrid Observability connects telemetry (metrics, logs, traces, and experience signals) into one workflow, allowing teams to move from “something is slow” to “here’s the component causing it” without context switching.

Core Technical Flow

1. Instrument & Collect: Deploy the Hybrid Observability Agent and module-specific instrumentation to gather telemetry.
2. Hybrid Infrastructure: Ingest data from self-managed hosts, cloud services, Kubernetes, and VMs.
3. Network Visibility: Deploy a Network Collector to retrieve device data via SNMP/SSH/APIs and forward it for analysis.
4. Correlate Signals: Use trace and metrics explorers to visualize performance across services and dependencies.
5. Alert & Operationalize: Configure workflows so issues are detected early and routed to the correct team.

What you get after buying

• Provisioned Entitlements: Access to the modules and scale aligned to your order.
• Console Access: Full access to the Hybrid Observability console and the official agent/collector deployment workflow.
• Onboarding Path: Token-based setup to get visibility live quickly.

Ordering Guide and Pricing

Ordering is driven by three factors: which Hybrid Observability domains you need, how your environment is measured, and your deployment preference (SaaS vs. Self-Hosted).

Pricing Factors:

• Modules: Application, Network/Infrastructure, Logs, Database, UX.
• Volume: Number of services, hosts/devices, log GB/month, or DB instances.
• Deployment: SaaS subscription or Self-Hosted node licensing.
• Operations: Retention periods and support levels.

For the fastest quote: Send your module list, estimated units (services/hosts/logs), environment type (cloud/on-prem/hybrid), and any controlled-network constraints.

Quick Guidance

• Know your specs? Share your module set and unit counts, and we will map a clean configuration.
• Need help? Write “Help me choose” and tell us your current toolset, biggest pain point (apps vs. network vs. logs), and approximate scale.

Activation Guide for SolarWinds Hybrid Observability 

SolarWinds Hybrid Observability supports practical onboarding for both standard enterprise networks and controlled environments.

Connected / Online Activation

1. Enable required modules in the Hybrid Observability account.
2. Create an API/ingestion token in the console.
3. Deploy Hybrid Observability Agents and/or Network Collectors.
4. Register components with the token.
5. Verify data ingestion and start alerting.

Controlled / Offline-Oriented Deployment

• Limited Outbound: Deploy collectors inside the controlled zone and use an approved outbound path to the Hybrid Observability service.
• Fully Offline: Use SolarWinds Hybrid Observability Self-Hosted (node-based model) so telemetry stays strictly within your network.