How can we see what is going on across our various hypervisors and quickly perform maintenance with minimal downtime? That is the question always asked when discussing network infrastructure. From small businesses to large ISPs with 5k+ network objects, systems monitoring software is a hot commodity. But whose software should we use? Plenty of people are using Nagios, but that doesn’t necessarily make it the best. Nagios’ business model is based on version and nodes. Extra support and help setting up can cost extra. In today’s market, we have cheaper options like paying per CPU or simpler options where a single payment gives full access.

The web UI includes a concise menu to help navigate quickly

In the case of Zabbix, the business model only charges for services. The core system is easy to find, download, and test. This model fits and the software works well. Zabbix is highly scalable and very efficient. Templates are used to setup connections within only a few clicks. Triggers and alerts are programmable and can simplify the duties of any admin. Moving forward, we will soon be using zabbix for all of our monitoring needs.