If you work as a system administrator, network administrator, or simply deal with a lot of network devices, you understand the value of having a good network monitoring tool. Despite the fact that there are numerous network monitoring tools available, most of them are closed source and cost a small fortune to deploy. Let’s start with some best and most widely used open source network monitoring tools.
However, there are a few open-source network monitoring solutions that can compete with closed source network monitoring technologies. Here are some of the greatest open-source network monitors that are also free, in case you were wondering. You may also interested to know about 8 Best Free Remote Access Software for Freelancers & Small Business.
Open Source Network Monitoring Tools
Take a look at the listed below open source network monitoring tools for Windows and Linux systems.
1. Cacti
Cacti is a data logging and RRD (Round Robin Database) program that displays beautiful and detailed graphs. Also, Cacti has an MRTG (Multi Router Traffic Graphing) module built-in that can track and measure router traffic such as server process time, lost packets, and actual network traffic, among other things. One of the most significant advantages of Cacti networking technologies is that they may not only track and gather data but also depict it in nearly any fashion. This is really useful for comparing and manipulating the findings as needed.
Keep in mind that you’ll need PHP, Apache, and SNMP installed on your system or server to get started with Cacti. Cacti is the software for you if you wish to collect data from various endpoints and depict and manipulate the obtained data in attractive and informative graphs.
Platform support: Cacti supports Windows and Linux.
Download Cacti.
2. Nagios Monitoring
When it comes to open source network monitoring software, Nagios is one of the most popular. While Cacti focuses on data processing, Nagios is more concerned with establishing event statuses and alerts based on received data. Now that Nagios has plugin support, you can use first-party or third-party plugins to produce graphs based on the collected data. Despite the fact that Nagios’ user interface appears to be outdated, it is lightweight, dependable, and fast. Nagios provides more control than the other network monitoring tools on this list, but it has a steep learning curve, especially for novices.
You will get Nagios in two flavors. Nagios Core and Nagios XI, for example. The first is a free and open source version, whereas the second is a commercial version. Give Nagios a try if you’re searching for a feature-rich network monitoring program with a large number of plugins and scripts, as well as excellent community assistance.
Platform support: Nagios supports both Linux and Windows.
Download Nagios Monitoring.
3. Icinga
Icinga is a monitoring tool forked from Nagios. Moreover, Icinga features a far better responsive web user interface out of the box, as well as significant database support and considerably better scalability. Despite the fact that Icinga began as a fork of Nagios, the developers entirely redesigned the Icinga core to improve responsiveness, simplify installations, and ease of use. Icinga’s features include, but are not limited to, network service and component monitoring, including handlers, customized template-based reporting, and plugin compatibility. Icinga, like Cacti, can produce rich graphs for data analysis and modification.
Despite the fact that Icinga still needs text files for setups, the procedure is far more efficient than Nagios. Icinga is for you if you enjoy the feature set or how powerful Nagios is but don’t want to deal with complicated settings or a dated UI. Supported platforms of Icinga are Windows and various Linux distributions like Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, Red Hat, etc.
Download Icinga.
4. Zabbix
Zabbix is a well-known and industry-leading network monitoring tool that is mostly utilized by large corporations such as Salesforce, Dell, and others. One of the best features of Zabbix is that it not only has one of the best and easiest-to-use user interfaces, but it also lets you do practically all of the settings through the web interface. That is to say, the learning curve isn’t as high as Nagios’. Automatic discovery of the linked network and its components is also supported by Zabbix.
Keep in mind that Zabbix is available in both client and server versions. To adequately monitor the client machine’s actions, you’ll need to install the Zabbix agent on it. Zabbix, on the other hand, has no trouble tracking normal services like HTTP, SSH, FTP, and so on, even if the client isn’t installed.
Self-protection against unauthorized configuration changes and brute-force attacks, script automation, and integration with other industry management tools like bcfg2 and Puppet are among Zabbix’s additional capabilities. Zabbix is ideal for individuals who want a user interface that is simple to configure and use.
Platform support: Zabbix is a Linux only software.
Download Zabbix.
5. OpenNMS
OpenNMS is primarily built on an event-driven architecture and can collect metrics in a variety of formats, including WMI, JSON, SML, HTML, XML, and others. Moreover, OpenNMS may send alerts through SMS, email, and a variety of other channels when pre-defined or custom events occur. OpenNMS, like Zabbix, can automatically find networks based on an IP list or range that you specify.
You can build useful graphs for data manipulation, comparison, and analysis now that OpenNMS is linked with JFreeChart. Provisioning, event management, service monitoring, the ability to self-resolve problems, thorough performance reports, and help desk ticketing assistance are among the other features. Also, OpenNMS includes thorough documentation and instructive video tutorials to help you get started as fast and efficiently as possible.
Platform support: OpenNMS support Linux, Windows, and even has support for Docker containers.
Download OpenNMS.
6. LibreNMS
LibreNMS is similar to Cacti in that it requires the installation of SNMP clients or agents on the other devices in order to function properly. As a result, LibreNMS can be used on almost any router to collect data as thoroughly as possible. The alerting system in LibreNMS is one of its best features. You can set up alerts depending on a number of circumstances, and when they’re activated, it can send you notifications via SMS, Slack, email, and other channels.
LibreNMS has a clear and clutter-free user interface. This makes it simple for newcomers to get started. Of course, if you ever need assistance, there is thorough documentation for each and every feature. Automatic network discovery, Android and iOS apps, horizontal scaling, and complete API access are all features of LibreNMS.
Platform support: LibreNMS supports Linux and Docker containers.
Download LibreNMS.
7. Pandora FMS
When it comes to features, Pandora FMS is the most versatile of all the network monitoring tools discussed here. While Pandora FMS can monitor switches, routers, and other gateway devices, you can also install extra plugins to monitor systems such as Microsoft Exchange, Tomcat, and IIS. Pandora FMS has a built-in remote server management module to help administer devices remotely, in addition to network monitoring.
Network visualization, detailed event management, centralized management choices, vertical scaling, automated updates, router bandwidth monitoring, network topology identification, module execution on circumstances or events, and so on are some of the other features of Pandora FMS. Overall, if you’re searching for a feature-rich network monitoring solution, give Pandora FMS a shot and see what you think.
Platform support: Pandora FMS supports Windows, Linux, and Docker containers.
Download Pandora FMS.
Final Words: Open Source Network Monitoring Tools
While Cacti focuses on data processing, Nagios is more concerned with establishing event statuses and alerts based on received data. At last but not least I must conclude that Pandora FMS is the most versatile of all the network monitoring tools when it comes to features. Now, this is totally at your disposal to choose one of the Best Open Source Network Monitoring Tools for Windows and Linux from the above list as per your requirement. Do comment below if you think I missed any of your favorite open source network monitoring tools.
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