# Corner Bowl Server Manager Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra

> Is Corner Bowl Server Manager the right Server Monitoring solution for you? Explore 67 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice.

Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/204338/Corner-Bowl-Server-Manager/reviews

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Corner Bowl Server Manager

4.8 (67)

[View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/204338/Corner-Bowl-Server-Manager/alternatives/)

Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/)

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Last updated March 13th, 2026

# Reviews of Corner Bowl Server Manager

Ease of use

4.4

Customer Service

4.9

## Pros and Cons in Reviews

GS

Giorgos S

Senior Platform Software EngineerFinancial Services, 201 - 500 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years.

“While it is simple to navigate, it has a lot of features, though we use it mainly for Log Consolidation as it offers us a lot of options for reading the logs and what to extract and store, as well as the ability to use actions to basically do almost anything when a specific condition is met and filter conditions are very easy to set.“

November 29, 2024

LZ

Lorenzo Z

ICT SpecialistMechanical or Industrial Engineering, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years.

“I didn't like really much the querying system, sometimes it isn't easy to use.“

June 26, 2023

NR

Nathan R

IT ManagerFarming, 201 - 500 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months.

“I have only scratched the surface of what I can do with this software. While initially looking for a low-cost replacement for our previous tool that was primarily used for AD user account monitoring (e.g., new accounts created, privilege escalation, etc.) and some basic auditing of activity on network shares, I found this tool that can do those things and so much more.“

June 1, 2023

LZ

Lorenzo Z

ICT SpecialistMechanical or Industrial Engineering, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years.

“especially security problems“

June 26, 2023

BJ

Bob J

Chief Data and Privacy OfficerAccounting, 501 - 1,000 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years.

“The FAQ information is well laid out, has relevant documentation and videos.“

January 28, 2025

MG

Mario G

OwnerInformation Technology and Services, Self-employedUsed the software for: 1-2 years.

“Sometimes there are bugs or things that don't work as expected.“

July 28, 2022

PH

Preston H

Systems AdministratorInsurance, 1,001 - 5,000 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years.

“Easy to install, has regular updates for any issues that need to be fixed. “

October 11, 2024

TB

Todd B

I.T. ManagerRetail, 201 - 500 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years.

“I think the weakest link is me going to fast. “

July 6, 2022

## Showing most helpful reviews

Showing 1-25 of 67 Reviews

Sort by:

Most Helpful

Rating

Company Size

Reviewer's Role

Length of Use

Frequency of Use

Asaf N.  
CIO  
Financial Services  
Used the software for: Less than 6 months

### "Reliable & Efficient"

November 23, 2021

5.0

Excellent High Tier software. Does exactly what we need and more. Allows reliable log and SIEM monitoring for security and compliance with custom options including retention. Feature requests are taken into consideration most of the time. Support is outstanding.

Pros

Installation and setup was very fast. It's very reliable and runs smoothly on the server. Support team is super responsive, attentive and extremely professional. The first setup is easy with excellent guidance from the team over the phone and/or remote support. UI is very easy to navigate after a short period of time.

Cons

Missing custom range filtering by date for logs.

Alternatives considered

[ManageEngine ADAudit Plus](https://www.capterra.com/p/210774/ADAudit-Plus/)

Reason for choosing Corner Bowl Server Manager

The previous product we tried was too heavy on our system and consumed high cpu and memory.

Switched from

[ManageEngine ADAudit Plus](https://www.capterra.com/p/210774/ADAudit-Plus/)

The previous product we tried was too heavy on our system and consumed high cpu and memory.

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

November 29, 2021

Thanks so much for the great review. To view data in a custom range create a report then when configuring the report specify the custom date range to include in the report from the Date Range tab.

BT

Brendan T.  
IT Director  
Financial Services  
Used the software for: 6-12 months

### "Corner Bowl Server Manager"

February 12, 2025

5.0

It has really be helpful in dealing with compliance requirements.

Pros

It's a solid product that delivers as promised, and adds a whole new layer of security to my network. I would highly recommend it for people needing log management for compliance.

Cons

It is a little complex so configuring takes a bit of time, but even right out of the box it's useable.

Switched from

[Wazoku](https://www.capterra.com/p/124902/Idea-Spotlight/)

I did not switch from Wazoku, I switched from Wazuh, but it's not in the list of options. Wazuh Server is great, but it is really really unstable. I spent so much time debugging dashboard availability errors, it was just not worth it.

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

February 13, 2025

Brendan, thanks for the great review. We are actively working on adding some compliance wizards to better help new users meet their compliance requirements.

RO

Randy O.  
Network Architect  
Government Administration  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Fair product that needs refinement"

January 18, 2022

3.0

It seems to provide some alerting, but setup is difficult.

Pros

General log monitoring. Product pricing was good.

Cons

The interface is not intuitive. Searching is difficult. Support is non-existent.

Reason for choosing Corner Bowl Server Manager

Pricing with the expectation of minimal log management.

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

January 19, 2022

I am so sorry to hear you say support is non-existent. I just checked our support email history for the last two years and I do not have a single request from anyone at your organization for support. For others reading, the number on complement we receive is our excellent support. We offer email and phone support M-F 8-6 Mountain Time. We do not outsource our support. If you are using the latest version, searching has been greatly enhanced. If you are unable to search the logs please contact us and we can do a remote session to help resolve any issues you might have.

GS

Giorgos S.  
Senior Platform Software Engineer  
Financial Services  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "A great value-for-money all-in-one solution"

November 29, 2024

5.0

Pros

While it is simple to navigate, it has a lot of features, though we use it mainly for Log Consolidation as it offers us a lot of options for reading the logs and what to extract and store, as well as the ability to use actions to basically do almost anything when a specific condition is met and filter conditions are very easy to set.

Cons

We faced a few minor issues but support has been great.

Alternatives considered

[Elastic Stack](https://www.capterra.com/p/149304/Elasticsearch/)

Reason for choosing Corner Bowl Server Manager

Not just a specific solution like Elastic but offer many more features, it is simple to use and has a very low cost comparing to the other solutions

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

December 8, 2024

Thanks for the great review!

JH

John H.  
IT Director  
Marketing and Advertising  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "Excellent Product with first class support"

July 11, 2024

4.0

I've had some issues in the past when deploying or updating the product and reached out to the support team for assistance and it really is a unique selling point of this product to be able to speak to \[sensitive content hidden\] (the developer) who not only knows the product back to front but is also dynamically adding in new features when he sees things that are worth improving. This gives me assurance about the product and future working with Cornerbowl.

Pros

The application is easy to setup and configure and does what it says on the tin. In comparison to other suppliers on the market the product is very competitive on pricing and the platform is regularly updated.

Cons

There are some product quirks like any software however these dont affect the general functionality of the product.

Alternatives considered

[Splunk Enterprise](https://www.capterra.com/p/94317/Splunk/)

Reason for choosing Corner Bowl Server Manager

Price point, ease of setup and I like to avoid extending out our perimeter into the Cloud particularly on systems where it isnt necessary such as on premise monitoring.

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

July 23, 2024

Thanks for the review John. We have video tutorials to help in most areas where there might be some confusion. Please check them out.

NR

Nathan R.  
IT Manager  
Farming  
Used the software for: 6-12 months

### "Best Value in Monitoring & Log Managment"

June 1, 2023

5.0

I have only scratched the surface of what I can do with this software. While initially looking for a low-cost replacement for our previous tool that was primarily used for AD user account monitoring (e.g., new accounts created, privilege escalation, etc.) and some basic auditing of activity on network shares, I found this tool that can do those things and so much more. It can do everything from basic alerts on server free disk space to helping discover & troubleshoot network issues using the syslog server and everything in-between and beyond. The documentation is thorough and accurate. There are also numerous YouTube videos available to help get things configured. The developer's passion for this software is evident, as he's eager to assist with any issues. I look forward to finding more ways to expand my company's usage of CBSM.

Pros

The flexibility and extensibility of this software is amazing. The ability to easily monitor and receive alerts on so many diverse machines (basically anything that produces any type of a log - even text files in the filesystem) through one tool makes this a great fit for SMBs, but it's also evident that it can scale to enterprise infrastructure as well.

Cons

It takes a little time to get a firm understanding of how the software works. Although you can get it installed and monitoring/collecting logs from a single server in ~10 minutes, you will want to spend some time learning how to properly configure your database to suit your environment and how to customize your templates. The documentation and tutorials on the website cover all of this and more.

Alternatives considered

[Netwrix Auditor](https://www.capterra.com/p/164872/Netwrix-Auditor/)

Reason for choosing Corner Bowl Server Manager

Cost, ease of use, flexibility, support

Switched from

[ManageEngine ADAudit Plus](https://www.capterra.com/p/210774/ADAudit-Plus/)

A 30% cost increase for annual renewal had me looking for alternative solutions. I recalled Corner Bowl from one of my previous employers. The cost is a fraction of the competition, and it can do so much more.

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

June 14, 2023

Thanks for the detailed review, Nathan. As always, please let us know if there is any functionality you would like to see added to the software.

KR

Karim R.  
Senior Infrastructure Manager  
Marketing and Advertising  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Great SIEM / Monitoring / Log collection / Alerting solution"

March 5, 2024

5.0

Pros

It's an all-in-one solution! Cornerbowl provides supports us with Regulatory and Alerting.

Cons

Currently testing with SQLlite. There is a possibility that we may have to move to MS SQL, which we'll need a license for.

Alternatives considered

[Splunk Enterprise](https://www.capterra.com/p/94317/Splunk/)

Reason for choosing Corner Bowl Server Manager

Cornerbowl met our company requirements and was financially attractive in comparison to other solutions

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

March 6, 2024

Karmin, thanks for the great review. We just discovered the issue with Sqlite throwing database lock issues and have released a fix! Sqlite cannot process multiple transactions from different threads.

BJ

Bob J.  
Chief Data and Privacy Officer  
Accounting  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Excellent Product "

January 28, 2025

5.0

We have used Cornerbowl for several years. Once configured it just works. It is great to see regular updates and the product continuing to improve. The FAQ information is well laid out, has relevant documentation and videos. It is a quality product.

Pros

Several things: 1. The product works as intended. 2.) Response from vendor/support. 3.) Quite flexible in its ability to work with many types of logs and workflow. 4.) Excellent documentation with video and screenshots.

Cons

Would like to see the ability to track/documents investigations. Link AD and M365 accounts, using SID.

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

January 29, 2025

Bob, thanks for the great review. We will take a look at linking the accounts to see what we can do. Thanks for the great idea.

BB

Barry B.  
Network Admin  
Wholesale  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Corner Bowl Server Manager for the win"

December 2, 2024

5.0

The software does what it is supposed to do. Any time I need help with a configuration or just have something simple to tackle, support is there and happy to help.

Pros

This question should state, "What DO you like..." Corner Bowl Server Manager keeps getting better and better. What else is there to say?

Cons

I have absolutely no cons with this software.

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

January 29, 2025

Barry, thanks for the great review!

PH

Preston H.  
Systems Administrator  
Insurance  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Review of CornerBowl"

October 11, 2024

5.0

Pros

Easy to install, has regular updates for any issues that need to be fixed. Their support is also top notch.

Cons

Can be somewhat complex to setup, but they have great documentation and youtube videos, and their support can usually answer any questions you have.

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

October 27, 2024

Preston, thanks for the great review. We are working on some new compliance setup wizards which we plan on releasing by January 2025.

SA

Syed A.  
Senior Infrastructure Engineer  
Information Technology and Services  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "A great product to manage business needs"

April 17, 2023

5.0

Pros

I would say about the email alerts integrated with multiple agents associated with various templates. Real-time alerts really help to manage business efficiently.

Cons

Sometimes, some features don't work after upgrades which is okay and the support is really awesome to get it resolved.

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

April 18, 2023

Syed, thanks for the great review. Sorry you have experienced some update issues. We have updated our release process to address the issues you have experienced in the past. Please let us know if there are any new features you would like to see added.

CC

Charles C.  
Criminal Justice Systems Specialist  
Government Administration  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Easy and affordable excellent reporting and retention."

April 14, 2023

5.0

I've been using this for about 10 years and have never regretted the decision.

Pros

Customer support is super. Very responsive always extra information.

Cons

Can't think of any downside to the product, they do their best to keep things up to date and running smooth.

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

April 18, 2023

Thanks for the great review. Please let us know if there are any new features you would like to see added.

DH

David H.  
Network Engineer  
Automotive  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Server Manager - Easy to deploy with a wide amount of functions"

January 12, 2022

5.0

The software is easy to set up, use, and is helpful in reporting and alerting. Support has also been outstanding and new features are continually being added.

Pros

The built in templates make reporting and alerting easy to set up. Once you have your alerts in place, the software is very low maintenance.

Cons

There are so many ways this software can be used, and some of the advanced features are difficult to understand for usage.

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

January 14, 2022

Thank you for the great review!

CB

Christina B.  
QC Systems Validation Senior Lead  
Biotechnology  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "Corner Bowl"

December 6, 2022

4.0

Pros

Offers numerous set up and filter choices.

Cons

Help feature is inadequate. Online help/training presentations, information is baseline adequate, but too high level at times. Software is not user friendly if you are NOT well versed in IT/OIT activities.

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

December 23, 2022

Christina, first, thank you for the review. Please see our online video tutorials and online articles for more information. We are adding to our help system, video tutorials and online articles on a regular basis. Please subscribe to our youtube channel to receive notifications when we release new videos.

MS

Mansoor S.  
Systems  
Financial Services  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Thank you Corner Bowl "

March 25, 2022

5.0

Pros

The software is very good and quick to alert us if they are any issues.

Cons

I do not think there is anything we least like about the software

Alternatives considered

[Kiwi Syslog Server](https://www.capterra.com/p/238901/Kiwi-Syslog-Server/)

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

July 4, 2022

Thanks for the great review Manoor!

JY

John Y.  
IT Manager  
Financial Services  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Best Log Aggregation software for the cost"

July 27, 2020

5.0

Nice little gem of a tool to use for companies that don't want to spend more on logging software than the actual applications and systems that need to be monitored.

Pros

Can perform AD security auditing and alerting. Windows Update alerting. Syslog alerting

Cons

Can not increase syslog queue. Some log configurations are more difficult than it should be. Clean up of old items is needed.

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

September 18, 2020

Thank you for the review! We have made several changes to the syslog server and are now seeing more than 200% better throughput. You can now also increase the queue size although with the new updates we are seeing we can actually decrease the maximum queue size and get the same results.

JL

Jon L.  
Team Lead  
Industrial Automation  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Quick and Effective"

July 30, 2020

4.0

Pros

Ease of setup and configuration is smooth. User interface is simple to navigate and adjust settings as needed.

Cons

Software struggles when more than 200 end devices are added. Despite adding additional CPU/memory the software will lag when making configuration changes and sometimes enter a state of "not responding"

Reason for choosing Corner Bowl Server Manager

Satisfy the need at the right price point.

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

August 2, 2020

Jon, thank you for your review. The new Event Log Manager product attempts to address the lag often seen in large implementations of Server Manager.

BG

Bassem G.  
IT  
Information Technology and Services  
Used the software for: 6-12 months

### "Corner bowl review"

October 13, 2022

5.0

Pros

It contains a lot of features and templates of logs , Also it Simple, Light, and Easy to use

Cons

I didn;t face any issue yet ,It works fine with me

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

October 14, 2022

Thanks for the great review Bassem!

AS

Allen S.  
CTO  
Health, Wellness and Fitness  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Allen's Review of Corner Bowl"

July 27, 2020

5.0

We have used Corner Bowl for the past decade and find it to be world class.

Pros

Ability to customize the output and notifications

Cons

The licensing can be complicated and when it expires we seem to always have down time.

Reason for choosing Corner Bowl Server Manager

n/a

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

July 28, 2020

Thank you for the review! Sorry the licensing has been troublesome for you. We recently resolved several licensing issues which hopefully will resolve any future issues.

TB

Tony B.  
Associate Director  
Non-Profit Organization Management  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Like having an extra IT person on staff"

October 14, 2020

5.0

Feature packed, personalized and prompt customer support, value pricing, all adds up to a great product.

Pros

We probably only use a fraction of the functionality, but that speaks to the large feature set. It's a product composed of many feature groups. Each time we have new monitoring requirement for Windows servers, we've found a solution via Cornerbowl. We initially used it to monitor services, moved into event log monitoring, syslog files, website uptime monitoring, and now also use it for IISlogs and text log files.

Cons

For some functionality, there is a learning curve, but since the developer is readily available for assistance, we've been able to configure the desired functionality, or the developer has made changes to the product to accommodate our needs.

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

October 29, 2020

Tony, thanks so much for the great review!

MP

Manning P.  
Electronics Security Engineer  
Telecommunications  
Used the software for: Less than 6 months

### "Great software with excellent customer support"

April 14, 2022

5.0

\[SENSITIVE CONTENT\] from CornerBowl is awesome! He is extremely attentive and does everything in his power to help his users get the software set up the way they need it.

Pros

The ability to actively capture logs from multiple servers into one location makes backing up logs much simpler

Cons

There is some lag in loading the logs when you select a machine. Sometimes it makes it seem like its not working.

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

April 19, 2022

Thanks for the great review. To reduce lag from older machines try installing the Management Console on your desktop then remotely connect to the server. Typically this resolves any lag you might experience when the .Net WPF console loads on a virtual server.

LZ

Lorenzo Z.  
ICT Specialist  
Mechanical or Industrial Engineering  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "Corner Bowl Review"

June 26, 2023

4.0

especially security problems

Pros

I love this product because is very easy to use and the pricing is really competitive.

Cons

I didn't like really much the querying system, sometimes it isn't easy to use.

Reason for choosing Corner Bowl Server Manager

The best rate by pricing and easy of use.

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

July 11, 2023

I'd like to better understand the querying issues you are having to we can better address the issue. Please reach out to us.

SB

Shane B.  
System Security Officer  
Government Administration  
Used the software for: Less than 6 months

### "Easy to use"

September 2, 2020

5.0

Pros

The reports of the audits are very straight to the point. The software unlike SPLUNK is extremely easy to setup and manage, which cuts time down while running audits.

Cons

Nothing so far. We love the software, if there were cons we would not have considered the software.

Reason for choosing Corner Bowl Server Manager

streamlined for usage.

Switched from

[Splunk Enterprise](https://www.capterra.com/p/94317/Splunk/)

Splunk is hard to navigate and maintain.

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

September 18, 2020

Shane, thank you for the great review!

MP

Mehul P.  
Network Administrtor  
Construction  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "CornerBowl Software"

June 6, 2024

5.0

Pros

Easy to use, reliable and great support,

Cons

Nothing bad about this product. Grat support so can't complain.

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

June 12, 2024

Mehul, thanks for the great review.

JL

Jeremy L.  
Network Systems Administrator  
Banking  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Great product and great support"

June 7, 2024

5.0

Pros

This is a very easy program to use and manage. It fills a gap that some other more expensive software doesn't cover. The support I have received from \[sensitive content hidden\] is top notch!

Cons

None, the few problems that I have had, were resolved quickly.

Review Source

Response from Corner Bowl Software

June 12, 2024

Jeremy, Thanks for your great review.

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