Open Source Server Monitoring: Everything You Need to Know
The open source server monitoring landscape is vast and ever-changing, making it challenging to distinguish when a company should look to utilize an open source or an enterprise tool.
There are certainly advantages and disadvantages to both types and whether or not your company should choose to work with an open source solution depends entirely upon the specific requirements, goals, and budget your company has as to which way to go.
But, like all server monitoring tools, their purpose is to help you get visibility into the health and performance of your systems so you can prevent or fix problems before they cause downtime.
In this article, we'll give you a complete overview of open source server monitoring, and highlight its specific differences from Enterprise options. We'll also provide some tips on when open source server monitoring may be the best route for your company.
What is open source server monitoring?
Server monitoring refers to the use of software to automatically monitor and notify you about your servers' health, performance, and availability.
Open source server monitoring tools operate similarly in most regards to any other server monitoring tool, with the difference being how the platform is produced: as open source software or as proprietary Enterprise software.
This may lead you to the question:
What is the difference between open source and enterprise tools for server monitoring?
Enterprise server monitoring tools are closed source or proprietary software. The source code for enterprise tools is only accessible to the organization that develops the tool.
This means that once you buy an enterprise tool, you cannot add or customize features independently. Instead, you have to pay for any additional features that you require.
Whereas open source server monitoring software tools grant you the ability to customize, extend, and troubleshoot at a code-base level as long as you have in-house expertise (i.e. developers).
This has the trade off that open source tools require more technical expertise to implement and maintain, and you will need to rely on your own resources for technical support.
However, many open source tools are maintained by user communities, and if the features of a monitoring system satisfy your requirements, then it is possible that you will not need to hire developers to manage or maintain your tool.
Another advantage of community-managed open source tools is that the code for each new feature is checked and verified by multiple developers. As a result, open-source tools are often more secure compared to closed-source software.
Is it free to monitor servers with open source solutions?
There is often a misconception that open source tools are completely free.
The truth is that the cost of server monitoring has two components: the cost of the tool and the cost of resources required to manage the tools and IT infrastructure.
Cost of the server monitoring tool
Although free open source server monitoring tools are available, not all open source server monitoring tools are available free of charge. Moreover, you may need expertise to customize the software to your needs.
For example, some open source tools have a commercial version with added features that you need to pay for.
In addition, open source tools may require payment for professional services or support in order to install, configure, and maintain the software.
Cost of resources required for tool installation, operation, and maintenance
Because open source server monitoring tools provide the ability to customize and tailor a solution fully, the consequence is that you will need to take into account the costs - monetary, as well as in terms of time and effort - required for tool installation, operation, and maintenance.
A potential downside of open source solutions is that the installation and configuration often requires significantly more time and effort. This is because the flexibility and individual customization options require more configuration.
This is where Checkmk deserves a special mention: the installation package is integrated and you don't need to set up and maintain separate databases or a web server. With more than 2,000 vendor-maintained plug-ins, it monitors most network devices out-of-the-box. Auto-discovery and auto-configuration of plug-ins along with powerful APIs reduce initial configuration and setup effort.
At the same time, there is also a major upside of open source tools: such software is suitable for testing because there are no time-related limitations and you usually have access to all the required functionality.
Companies should therefore conduct a detailed analysis of all relevant aspects related to open source software before making a decision about which tool to use for server monitoring.
Who uses open source tools for server monitoring?
There is no single type of business that opts for an open source server monitoring tool. All types of businesses, large or small, across multiple sectors choose to work with open source tools for server monitoring and for IT infrastructure monitoring in general. It truly depends on the needs of the organization.
For example, a company that has in-house developers or IT operations staff with the required technical expertise may prefer to use open source tools.
This is because they can take advantage of the ability to tailor the solution to their specific needs, and they will not have to pay for professional services or support in order to install, configure, and maintain the software. The ability to add new features often leads to breakthrough innovation. And the capital savings resulting from investing in open source tools can be spent on other tools and on improving the overall IT infrastructure.
On the other hand, a company that does not have the required technical expertise in-house may prefer to use an enterprise tool.
This is because they will not need to hire any additional staff, and they can rely on the vendor for support in order to install, configure, and maintain the software.
It is up to each company to weigh up the benefits of open source vs enterprise server monitoring against the associated costs.
What are the benefits of monitoring servers with open source tools?
Monitoring servers with open source tools can provide several benefits for businesses.
Flexibility
You can customize open source tools to match your exact requirements – without needing to go through negotiation with the vendor or wait for the vendor to prioritize added functionality on their development roadmap. Because of this, open source tools can help to keep your organization from getting blocked in case a particular feature or capability is not available from the vendor. Instead of waiting for the vendor to deliver that feature or capability, you can create it yourself. You also don't need to wait for the vendor to provide updates that deal with potential security issues, as the open source community usually develops such updates in much less time.
Cost-effectiveness
Depending on your organizational setup, open source tools can be much more cost-effective than proprietary tools. This is because the tool fees are generally lower or free, and if existing internal resources can be utilized for the implementation and management, no additional overhead is added.
Speed
Often, a major benefit of open source tools is the ability to take the community versions, get started, understand whether they can solve your business problem, and begin to deliver value right away. For example, Checkmk has a large and engaged community that utilizes the open source Checkmk Raw.
Ability to start small and scale
With open source tools, you can start small and quickly with community versions and then migrate to a commercial solution if required later on.
For e.g with Checkmk, you can start with Checkmk Raw and later on upgrade to a commercial Edition.
If a tool does not require support, you can continue on the community version indefinitely. You have the flexibility to try different alternatives, pick one that works for you, and then scale up with a commercial solution if required.
Community-enabled innovation
Open source communities are driven by interest and passion, and often develop features that are new and disruptive. This is why we often see open source projects leading the way in terms of innovation and disruption. Why is this important for organizations? Because innovation provides a competitive advantage.
Things to consider when choosing an open source server monitoring tool
There are many open source server monitoring tools available, and choosing the right one can be a challenge.
It is always the best idea to begin by setting out the plan and identifying your specific requirements. This will help to make clear for you what specific features and functionality will be required from any solution, as well as to set your budget.
However, there are also some universal factors that you should always consider when choosing any open source server monitoring tool, and these include:
Easy installation and setup: A tool that allows easy installation and setup will help to keep costs down by avoiding the need to hire and train resources.
Scalability: A tool that scales so that you can monitor increasing numbers of servers as your business grows will help to keep operational costs down.
Documentation: Comprehensive documentation will enable your team to make the best use of tools and their features.
Frequent updates: Updates help to prevent security issues, and improve performance, compatibility, and features.
Integration: Integration with third-party tools will allow you to use other software for features that your tool lacks.
Support: Strong technical support will help you resolve pressing issues in a timely and professional manner.
Open source server monitoring with Checkmk
At this point it is worth introducing you to the Checkmk Raw, which is an open source all-in-one, open-source IT monitoring solution with an intuitive web interface. With more than 2,000 vendor-maintained plug-ins, you can monitor 90% of your infrastructure out-of-the-box. Checkmk supports multiple operating systems, including Linux, Windows, macOS, and most other Unix-like systems.
Checkmk RAW also supports automatic network and service discovery and provides monitoring for all relevant components, along with their metrics and thresholds. It also supports smart alerts based on years of expert know-how, and granular and flexible alerting and escalation options. As a result, the time that you have to spend configuring your server monitoring is reduced considerably.
However, Checkmk recommends its commercial Editions like Checkmk Cloud or Checkmk Enterprise for rapidly growing organizations with infrastructure and business needs that are constantly changing or who require advanced automation.