Best Practice?

there is a SAM template available for the solarwinds server itself.

I used to monitor it, but stopped it due to lack of licenses.

you can find some more information in the npm administration guide http://www.solarwinds.com/documentation/Orion/docs/OrionNPMAdministratorGuide.pdf

Yes, ALWAYS add your Orion server to monitor itself. As Kennethcox suggested, if you have SAM apply the Orion monitoring template.

If you have multiple polling engines, cross monitor by assigning the orion server to another polling engine.

As for your issue, you do not mention if you are monitoring Orion on the localhost address (127.0.0.1) or its network address and whether you have tested whichever is configured on the server itself. Obviously you shouldnt be getting packet loss to either.

Mark Roberts

Prosperon - UK SolarWinds Partners

Installation | Consultancy | Training | Licenses

You should have both SQL and polling engine monitored in Solarwinds to keep track of resource allocation.  Like kennethcox mentioned, there is even a SAM template for it if you have SAM.  While this will keep track of CPU and disk space and RAM and things like that, it would not be able to provide accurate response time or packet loss numbers since it will be checking itself.  It should always be sub 1ms, so I find it odd you are finding high packet loss, but I would ignore it.  The only time you should be alarmed by that is if you are checking an APE from another PE and see that.