Nagios Core Reviews, Competitors and Pricing

Susantha Kumar

Support on banking at Aithent

Jun 22, 2023

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Helps to monitor server applications

Pros and Cons

"We use the product to monitor server applications."

"The tool needs to improve the integrations."

What is our primary use case?

We use the product to monitor server applications.

What is most valuable?

I am impressed with the product's alerts and reports.

What needs improvement?

The tool needs to improve the integrations.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The tool is stable. I would rate its stability a six out of ten.

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How was the initial setup?

The tool's setup is straightforward.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate the product a six out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user978732

Software Engineer at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees

Jun 24, 2019

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Improves memory and disc space usage, but is not user friendly

Pros and Cons

"Nagios monitors our servers, so we know if anything goes wrong and can solve the problem before it happens."

"It's not that easy to install the product itself. Also, the UI is a bit hard for regular users to navigate through."

What is our primary use case?

We used Nagios Core to monitor our servers in other countries. Our main server is in Cairo, while we monitor other servers in Germany, which are hosting Jenkins and other web services to make sure that the infrastructure is stable and if anything goes wrong it reports it automatically.

How has it helped my organization?

Before using this solution, sometimes Jenkins went down and we didn't know the reason. We eventually discovered that the issue was disc space that exceeded a certain percentage. Now that we have Nagios to monitor the servers, we know if anything goes wrong it can solve the problem before it happens.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features to us are the ability to improve memory usage, disc space usage, and the PDU load of each node.

What needs improvement?

It's not that easy to install the product itself. Also, the UI is a bit hard for regular users to navigate through. In addition, I would appreciate an FNP server for sending emails, which now depends on the resting servers for Nagios Core. If it comes with its own FNP server, it would be much better. Also, if it can be installed in other cores, that would be awesome but right now it only uses Linux.

Alias excavation and configurations from the wall rather than the server itself would be great improvements. Also, general UI enhancements and better UX, user experience.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using Nagios Core for four months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's stable because it's a Linux based code, which is very basic. It doesn't have many big features, so it's stable. You can add a node in less than half an hour, I think.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We're only currently using Nagios Core on one to ten servers. In the future, we may add more nodes.

How are customer service and technical support?

I haven't tried to contact support. I was searching on the support forums, but that was not for me. I tried many solutions from the support forums. One of them is working, but only after a long time.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was complex, mainly because it was in Linux and had many packages that we're not used to. I had to install them one by one on the app to configure the complication on the app that was solved to authenticate Nagios on the central app. It comes with regular users in files and in order to authenticate, you have to make a lot of confirmations, using Apache as well as Nagios. This was all very hard, and it took me a week to configure it.

I think deployment took about two weeks at the most. We did the deployment by ourselves. We have two people for deployment and maintenance.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Nagios Core is free to use.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Nagios Core as seven out of ten because it was hard to configure and the implementation process itself took about two weeks. Also, the UI is not friendly. Other products have features that aren't included in Nagios Core. I think that one was the easiest to restore. Also, Nagios supports only Linux, not A/UX. It can't be installed on the servers. If they supported all of these things, it would be much better.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

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sandeep

Senior Manager of Network at a tech company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Aug 6, 2013

Popular, cost effective, versatile Open Source NMS tool that requires some amount of exploration and effort by net admi

Popular, cost effective, versatile Open Source NMS tool that requires some amount of exploration and effort by network admin
Nagios Overview
Nagios is a free Open source network monitoring system. It monitors Router, Switches, Servers, websites etc… for flaps and service interruption and bandwidth monitoring Via SNMP. Different color code can be used for easily identify the link state. Nagios can be used for monitoring small (Few nods network) to very big enterprise network. Nagios is very stable and has an ample of plugins available for added Monitoring capability. Nagios Core is free basic application, plugins are used to extend Core capability. Plugin are either compiled binaries written in languages such as C , C++ or executable script such as Pearl, Shell , PHP python and vbscripts. Plugin are executed by core and return the results to core for further processing. If you require support you can purchase Nagios XI with fixed onetime fee and limited email support or support contract.

Pros : 1. We selected Nagios Core as it is Very Cost effective then its competitors. (Core is free Under GNU General Public License).
2. Highly Robust, flexible & versatile tool as Swiss army knife.
3. Nagios is Scalable, scalability was essential for our upcoming projects.
4. Thousands of Plugins are available to extend features and functionality i.e. Checking Cisco CPU utilization, Interface state and BW, alert changes in IOS device, email alert when certain threshold is reached in interface etc ...
5. Email and SMS alerts avalable.
6. Monitor via SNMP.
7. Support by very big active community on internet

Cons :
1) In Nagios some features in Core are not provided out of the box, but can carried out with existing plugins and config tool or can be scripted by self.
2) For Core Usability is limited without proper tweaking or customization.
3) For Core users - Administrator needs to put some efforts and having knowledge of Linux and Scripting knowledge will be advantageous to customize.
4) Core Does not does support auto discovery, but can be implemented Nagios Discovery Tool (NDT) also Nagios XI has this.
5) Nagios XI is not free but has value and cheaper than competitors.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user196494

IT Coordinator at a tech services company

May 31, 2016

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I can see trends over time and it gives me perspective of what needs to be improved and we are able to work proactively as opposed to reactively.

What is most valuable?

Getting the alerts is the most valuable feature. This way I know when servers are acting up or just plainhosed. It also helps me to know which things need to be recovered and when so I do not have to bother with checking into it immediately.

How has it helped my organization?

Before we implemented Nagios, we did not know which servers were up or down until a customer told us. Now, I can see trends over time and it gives me perspective of what needs to be improved and we are able to work proactively as opposed to reactively.

What needs improvement?

Generally, it does what I need it to do, but better error reporting would be great. It's so flexible that I do not use half the capability that it has. Also, Nagios 4 does not work with NConf or Adagios so we haven't upgraded yet.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have worked with it as a monitoring and alerting solution for 10 years accross two jobs.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

We have had no issues with the deployment.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

There have been no performance issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We are monitoring under 200 devices and less than 1200 services so I do not need this availability yet.

How are customer service and technical support?

I've never needed to contact the vendor as I have always found my answers via the documentation and Google searches.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have used Zabix and Big Brother, but neither was as workable as Nagios.

How was the initial setup?

Setup is not for the GUI lover as it requires you to perform a lot of CLI work.

What about the implementation team?

You do not need a vendor. I have always deployed it myself.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It's free.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have looked at other solutions but none are as simple, and I would hate to have to learn another system.

What other advice do I have?

It's well worth it to ensure your up time and to catch the bigger issues.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user69474

IT Administrator at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Apr 25, 2016

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When any part of the system went down, it would inform us right away with alerts. In most cases, we were able to find the problem before the client did.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of Nagios is its monitoring capability. Once you configure it correctly, it will help you monitor all your servers and services.

How has it helped my organization?

When working on ISPs, we used Nagios to monitor all our servers and network switches in the entire city. When any part of the system went down, Nagios would inform us right away with alerts. In most cases, we were able to find the problem before the client did.

What needs improvement?

We use the free version of Nagios, which needs some administrative skills in order to configure correctly. It would be great to see some of the paid features in the free version, such as web-based administration.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used Nagios since 2008 year, and I'm really pleased with it. It helps me a lot with my system administrator work. I used it on my local servers initially, then I started to work at an ISP where I implemented Nagios. It's still in use there.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

I rarely upgrade Nagios as everything works fine. I've had no issues deploying it.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I've had no stability issues. It's been very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

There have been no issues scaling it.

How are customer service and technical support?

I've never used tech support and I find all my answers on Google or forums.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I tried Zabbix and OpenNMP but I didn't like them. I use Cacti and SmokePing for detailed graphics.

How was the initial setup?

A few years ago, the initial setup was complex, but now it's not. It just has some config files where you should add your host. Everything is written in the documentation.

What about the implementation team?

I implemented it by myself.

What other advice do I have?

You should really try Nagios. It will help a lot and I have found that it is the best buddy for system admins.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user12225

Engineer at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees

Oct 24, 2013

Nagios vs. SolarWinds - two completely different playing fields

I have setup a Nagios server from scratch as well as worked with Solarwinds pretty extensively. From my perspective they are on two completely different playing fields. Nagios definitely has its place, it's free... and it works well in a smaller environment. Solarwinds is expensive but it is a lot more robust than Nagios. Solarwinds does require you to install "Modules" in order to have in depth application monitoring, etc... Then again, so does Nagios... but you have to pay an arm and a leg for Solarwinds.

So depending on how big your environment is, you'll have to evaluate if the cost is worth it. Nagios, you'll spend your money you save on time to set it up. It takes a lot of time and determination to understand its inner-workings.

Solarwinds is a lot more than just a network monitoring tool. A quick example: You can develop "ghost runs" of an application and have it monitor the latency between steps. Meaning, you could configure it to load a web page, login to the webpage and run a link to gather data, all the while timing how long it takes to get from step to step. That gives you an idea of how much more Solarwinds has to it.

Nagios does have many open-source modules you can use (hell I even used one to telnet into an old AS400 and monitoring running processes).

So like I said, it depends on the environment and what you want out of the system. To answer the question about netflow, Nagios itself I don't think can do netflow but it can pair up with another module that can (and you still get to see it from a single pane of glass). Any specific questions let me know! Pirate

There's a ton of open source software out there that use Nagios and not. Ninja (front end GUI for nagios), Zenoss, What's Up Gold (YUCK!), etc... You could also get things like Alienvault (nagios is built in) that has more than just monitoring in it (it's an Open Source IDS). Cacti can be paired with Nagios to provide you with graphs for bandwidth utilization... Ok now I'm starting to blab, I'll end it here.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user111534Linux Sysadmin at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees

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May 8, 2014

We've piloted both Nagios and Zenoss here. Since we're starting with nothing Nagios has met our needs well and proved to be a valuable resource almost immediately by setting up simple SSH checks for our Linux hosts and SNMP checks (ie no agent) for our Windows hosts. Zenoss just proved to be overly complicated to get metrics like up/down, disk usage, memory usage etc. Perhaps with more time it would have proved to be more functional than Nagios but the simplicity of Nagios is really appealing.

How do you find installing and configuring Solarwinds vs. Zenoss? Is Solarwinds closer to Nagios or Zenoss?

The one big thing I struggle with with Nagios is that our Windows admins don't want to SSH into a Linux host and configure monitoring by editing text files. Does Ninja include a UI for setting up monitoring of new hosts?

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Aymen Dridi

Systems and Virtualization Engineer at Altelios Technology Group

Oct 27, 2022

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Beneficial plugins, large community support, and reliable

Pros and Cons

"The most valuable feature of Nagios Core is it allows us to develop and add as many plugins as we want."

"Nagios Core could improve by adding a user interface. If you want the user interface you have to use Nagios XI."

What is our primary use case?

We use Nagios Core to detect any issues in our infrastructure, software, system service, and network issues. It is a centralized monitoring service.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of Nagios Core is it allows us to develop and add as many plugins as we want.

What needs improvement?

Nagios Core could improve by adding a user interface. If you want the user interface you have to use Nagios XI.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Nagios Core for approximately eight years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Nagios Core is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of Nagios Core is very good. We can add as many hosts as we like, and we can work with the concept master and client. It's very scalable and we have added the SentryOne as another layer. It's become very easy to use.

This solution is used by two engineering and three technicians. It is not used for end-user.

How are customer service and support?

We use the open-source version of this solution and there is a large community that can provide support for any of our issues.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I am using SCOM in parallel to Nagios Core, it's a monitoring solution by Microsoft. However, I prefer Nagios Core.

How was the initial setup?

Nagios Core is deployed in a Linux operating system and it is simple to do. For a medium-sized infrastructure, the deployment can take a day.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The enterprise version has technical support. The version we are using is free.

What other advice do I have?

The free version of the solution does not have an interface, but the paid version does.

I would recommend this solution to others.

I rate Nagios Core an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user68349

Head of Development at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees

Nov 5, 2013

Zabbix vs Nagios comparison

For years, I was using Nagios for server monitoring, but now I'm in the process of switching to Zabbix. I also use a third, much simpler system to monitor the main monitoring system.

Here is a practical comparison of Nagios vs Zabbix:

Zabbix	Nagios
Pros: Zabbix monitors all main protocols (HTTP, FTP, SSH, SMTP, POP3, SMTP, SNMP, MySQL, etc) Alerts in e-mail and/or SMS Very good web interface Native agent available on Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD, etc Multi-step web application monitoring (content, latency, speed)	Pros: Nagios monitors all main protocols (HTTP, FTP, SSH, SMTP, POP3, SMTP, SNMP, MySQL, etc) Alerts in e-mail and/or SMS Multiple alert levels: ERROR, WARNING, OK "Flapping" detection Automatic topography display Completely stand-alone, no other software needed Web content monitoring
Can visualize and compare any value it monitors System "templates" Monitoring of log files and reboots * Local monitoring proxies ** Customizable dashboard screens Real-time SLA reporting
Cons: Zabbix is more complex to set up Escalation is a bit strange *** No flapping detection Documentation is spotty sometimes Uses a database (like MySQL)	Cons: Nagios needs SSH access or an addon (NRPE) to monitor remote system internals (open files, running processes, memory, etc) Web interface is mostly read-only **** No charting of monitored values (different systems like "Cacti" or "Nagiosgraph" can be bolted on)

* Albeit log and reboot monitoring means that one gets an "ERROR" and an "RECOVERY" message instead of one "CHANGED" or "REBOOTED" message. One gets used to it.

** For example, when there are multiple sites, each site can have it's own "proxy" (local Zabbix monitor), taking load off the main Zabbix server, and collecting data even if the connection to the main server is severed.

*** It's great that higher levels of escalation get "ERROR" alerts only after some time; but in Zabbix their "RECOVERY" messages are delayed too. I don't see the point.

**** On the web admin of Nagios, one can acknowledge problems, disable alerts, and reschedule testing. But one can not add a new host or service.

Of course, both systems have much more features than what's listed here. I only wanted to list the points that I base my decision on.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user216399Senior Network Engineer with 1,001-5,000 employees

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Aug 11, 2015

So what you guys suggest if a company have 25000+ employees and thousands of network devices to monitor worldwide ? Currently we are using Solarwinds and we need to follow a distributed environment . We are looking for a centralized setup where are nodes can be managed and monitored from one location including the configuration backup and reporting. Any suggestions ?

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