The evolution of the modern network has brought many things but simplicity is not one of them. The variety of devices that have come to make up the contemporary networks is jaw-dropping. Computers, servers, switches, routers, and virtual machines are just some of the diverse infrastructure that comprises a modern network.

In this article, we’re going to look at the best infrastructure monitoring tools and software.

Here is our list of the twelve best IT Infrastructure monitoring tools:

  • SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor EDITOR’S CHOICE Network monitor that checks on device health statuses with SNMP procedures. Installs on Windows Server. 30-day free trial available.
  • Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring (FREE TRIAL) A cloud-based system monitor that will supervise the operations of networks and servers. This can be combined with an application monitor to gain deeper insights into traffic. Start a 14-day free trial.
  • Sematext Infrastructure Monitoring (FREE TRIAL) Monitoring A SaaS platform that monitors infrastructure on-premises, on remote sites, and on the cloud. Get a 14-day free trial.
  • eG Enterprise IT Infrastructure Monitoring (FREE TRIAL) An infrastructure monitoring package that links together resource dependencies to identify the root cause of performance issues. Runs on Windows Server and Linux, or take it as a SaaS package. Access a 30-day free trial.
  • Site24x7 Server Monitoring (FREE TRIAL) Cloud-based tool that monitors networks, servers, and applications, including off-site infrastructure.
  • N-able N-sight (FREE TRIAL) A remote monitoring and management tool that enables central IT departments to manage IT infrastructure on remote sites.
  • SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor (FREE TRIAL) A comprehensive monitoring tool that can be integrated with the Network Performance Monitor.
  • ManageEngine OpManager Plus (FREE TRIAL) SNMP-based network performance manager and server monitor that installs on Windows or Linux.
  • Paessler PRTG Network Monitor (FREE TRIAL) All-in-one infrastructure monitor that covers networks, servers, and applications. Runs on Windows Server.
  • Nagios XI Network monitor with a browser-based console that installs on Linux. The free version is called Nagios Core.
  • Zabbix Free, open-source network monitoring tool that runs on Linux.
  • Icinga 2 Highly customizable free, open-source network monitoring system that runs on Linux.

What is infrastructure monitoring?

Infrastructure Monitoring is the process of monitoring network infrastructure for vulnerabilities. Infrastructure monitoring tools monitor the health status, availability, and performance of devices throughout the network.

If an issue is detected the user is sent a notification that a problem has been found. The user can then use the infrastructure monitoring tool to generate a report to look deeper at the causes of the problem.

Using an infrastructure monitoring tool is important because attempting to stay on top of network events manually would be next to impossible. A network administrator could not realistically keep track of all physical and virtual resources.

The abundance of cyber threats online has made it a necessity to protect networks with infrastructure monitoring software. More sophisticated threats have led to a need for more advanced network monitoring.

The best IT infrastructure monitoring tools

With these selection criteria in mind, we looked for a number of infrastructure monitoring tools that we would be happy to recommend.

Our methodology for selecting IT infrastructure tools 

We reviewed the market for IT infrastructure monitoring systems and analyzed options based on the following criteria:

  • Infrastructure discovery and documentation
  • Stack dependency mapping
  • Correlation between software activity and resource usage
  • Live activity charts
  • Alerts for capacity problems
  • A free trial or a demo system for a chance to test the system before buying
  • Value for money from a reliable tool that is offered at a fair price

1. SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (FREE TRIAL)

SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor is the number one infrastructure monitoring tool on this list. With this tool, you can automatically discover devices and monitor their health status through the dashboard. Here you can see an overview of all the connected devices being managed.

Key Features:

  • Device discovery
  • Creates asset inventory
  • Live activity monitoring
  • SNMP reporting
  • Device status monitoring

All of the performance information is shown in lists and pie charts so that you can tell from a glimpse if a device is experiencing issues that impact performance. However, if you’re on a more complex network then you have the option to view an intelligent map of the entire network topology.

Here you will be able to see the geographical location of different devices throughout your network and how they connect to each other. This view is also color-coded with down devices marked with red. These maps are automatically updated to keep up with topology changes in your network.

Like all top-of-the-range infrastructure monitoring tools, SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor has an alerts system. To monitor the network, users simply create intelligent alerts with trigger conditions to determine the type of alerts they see. For instance, you can configure the program to only send you critical alerts. There is also an All Active Alerts page where you can view a full list of active alerts with names that provide details such as High response time, or High packet loss.

SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor starts at a price of $2,995 (£2,287). There is also a 30-day free trial available.

Pros:

  • Designed with large and enterprise networks in mind
  • Supports auto-discovery that builds network topology maps and inventory lists in real-time based on devices that enter the network
  • Has some of the best alerting features that balance effectiveness with ease of use
  • Supports both SNMP monitoring as well as packet analysis, giving you more control over monitoring than similar tools
  • Uses drag and drop widgets to customize the look and feel of the dashboard
  • Robust reporting system with pre-configured compliance templates

Cons:

  • This is a feature-rich enterprise tool designed for sysadmin, non-technical users may some features overwhelming

2. Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring (FREE TRIAL)

EDITOR’S CHOICE

SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor is our top choice for an infrastructure monitoring tool because it includes automatic device discovery that keeps repeating, so it spots changes that you make to your network inventory. The tool uses SNMP to gather status reports from network devices, which includes hardware information as well as live activity reports. You can use SNMP to get status reports from servers and desktop computers as well as network devices. This monitoring tool can also track activity in virtualizations and it will follow activity on wireless networks.

Download: Start 30-day Free Trial

Official Site: https://www.solarwinds.com/network-performance-monitor/

OS: Windows Server 2016 or later

Datadog Infrastructure is a module of a complete systems monitoring service that is available in the cloud. As it is a remote system, the Datadog Infrastructure monitor isn’t limited to monitoring networks and servers on one site. It can easily cover WANs and cloud-based servers as well.

  • Performance anomaly detection
  • Monitor cloud and on-premises
  • Physical and virtual
  • Server capacity monitoring

The services will map your network automatically and keep network topology maps updated whenever you make changes to your network layout. The system also automatically generates a network device inventory and begins live monitoring as soon as you subscribe to the service. The Datadog Infrastructure monitoring system is easy to set up and includes a wizard to get the right agents installed on your servers to start the monitoring process.

As well as tracking standard network traffic, Datadog has a particular ability to identify containers and virtualizations, tracking all of the supporting services and their performance to ensure smooth delivery of services and data.

There is a Free version of Datadog Infrastructure, which allows you to monitor a system that includes up to five hosts. The paid plans include an alert system, which enables you to get on with other tasks and only switch focus to the network performance when a potential problem is spotted. The lower of the two paid plans, which is called Pro, uses thresholds to identify warning conditions. The higher plan, which is called Enterprise, includes an AI-based machine learning method, called Watchdog, to spot potential problems from combinations of activities and performance indicators.

Network and server performance data is tracked live but is also stored for analysis. A Network Performance add-on gives you the ability to analyze traffic flows and implement traffic shaping.

Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring offers complete coverage for all infrastructure, both physical and virtual, no matter where it is located or hosted. The package watches over all services from the server resources up to the applications that support user-facing software. You can see dependencies between modules and include detailed performance metrics that are generated by third-party software, thanks to the library of integrations included in the Datadog platform.

  • Has an excellent interface, easy to use, and highly customizable

  • Cloud-based SaaS product allows monitoring with no server deployments or onboarding costs

  • Can monitor both internally and externally giving network admins a holistic view of network performance and accessibility

  • Supports auto-discovery that builds network topology maps on the fly

  • Changes made to the network are reflected in near real-time

  • Allows businesses to scale their monitoring efforts reliably through flexible pricing options

  • Would like to see a longer trial period for testing

As a SaaS provider, Datadog charges for its software on a subscription and includes the virtual server to run it. All modules of Datadog are available with a 14-day free trial.

Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring Access 14-day FREE Trial

3. Sematext Infrastructure Monitoring (FREE TRIAL)

Sematext Infrastructure Monitoring provides supervision functions for networks, servers, and applications. This system is hosted in the cloud but it does need an agent program to be installed on the site or cloud server that you want to monitor.

  • Cloud-based
  • Asset discovery
  • Transaction tracing

The agent for Sematext is a small piece of software and does not require maintenance. When you sign up for the service the agent will be downloaded onto one of your servers by the setup wizard. The agent will then search your network, identify all connected devices, and create an asset inventory.

With a full list of all of your devices in place, Sematext can start to monitor your infrastructure. The discovery process takes place repeatedly, so the asset inventory is always up to date. The dashboard provides a performance overview for the entire system and offers drill down paths to detail screens for each device. An alternative way to see the entire network’s performance is to open the network topology map, which is drawn automatically whenever it is accessed, meaning it is always up to date. The mapping function offers a range of views of the network, which are all interactive.

The server monitoring system in Sematext Infrastructure Monitoring will track the capacity and utilization of CPU, memory, disks, and I/O interfaces. The system also identifies all applications and services installed on each server.

The application monitoring tools of Sematext Infrastructure Monitoring identify the interdependencies in these systems. It identifies database instances and watches their important performance metrics. This service also extends to cloud-based database services.

There are analytical tools in the Sematext Infrastructure monitoring platform, such as a Java profiler. This allows you to watch each line of code as it is executed and follow function calls to other packages or through APIs to processes running on other servers.

Transaction tracing also applies to other protocols, such as HTTP. You can use this system to watch the availability of your Web servers and thus also the uptime of your websites. The monitor produces live updates on response times of websites as a whole and also each individual element in each page of the site and they are accessed by the public.

The Sematext Infrastructure Monitoring service is available in three editions. The first of these is Free, which is limited to monitoring three hosts or containers.

The next level up is the Standard edition, which includes the full list of Sematext Infrastructure monitoring tools but has limited capacity in some features such as the number of alert conditions and the number of containers per host that can be included without a supplement payment.

The top plan is the Pro edition which has no limits on the services that it provides. You can get a 14-day free trial of the full Sematext Infrastructure Monitoring service.

  • Can monitor virtually any environment, supporting on-premise, cloud, and hybrid-cloud configurations
  • Asset discovery is continuous, providing sysadmin with a consistently up to date inventory of devices
  • Comes with troubleshooting tools built-in, such as the Java profiler and network topology map
  • Can monitor external assets such as websites to measure uptime, latency, and performance

Sematext Infrastructure Monitoring Start 14-day FREE Trial

4. eG Enterprise IT Infrastructure Monitoring (FREE TRIAL)

eG Enterprise, from eG Innovations, is an infrastructure and application monitoring package that provides full stack system performance tracking. This live dependency mapping identifies capacity issues with resources that provides immediate root cause analysis when issues arise.

  • Full stack monitoring
  • Cloud platforms and LANs
  • SaaS package or self-hosted

This is a monitoring service for hybrid systems with capabilities to track the performance of physical, virtual, and cloud resources. The capabilities of this package are vast – it is able to monitor more than 200 technologies. To prevent your console from getting too crowded with trackers for services that you don’t have you can decide which integrations to turn on or off. This customizes your dashboard so that you only get the monitors that you need.

Examples of integrations offered by the eG Enterprise system are AWS, Azure, Exchange Server, DNS servers, NGINX, IIS, and Apache Web servers, and virtualization systems, such as VMWare and Hyper-V. Other integrations enable the eG Enterprise system to exchange data with other applications, such as GitHub, Jenkins, and Microsoft Teams.

The performance issue tracking system in the eG Enterprise package is particularly strong on resource monitoring. For example, the service gathers capacity information on servers, such as the CPU and memory capacity of the computer. The system then watches all of the processes that run on the computer and notes the resource requirements of each. Spotting variations and growth in demand for each application, the service can predict what resource will soon be needed.

If the machine learning process deduces that a resource shortage is on the horizon, the eG Enterprise system raises a warning alert. This gives technicians time to head of shortages that will cause applications to run badly or hang.

Alerts can be channeled into your service desk system. The eG Enterprise notification system not only triggers a ticket to request technician attendance, but it also sends through a closing message to let the team know when the problem has been fixed. The system is able to interface to ServiceNow, AutoDesk, and FreshService, among other ticketing systems.

The extra APM package that is available for eG Enterprise provides extra monitoring services for specific systems. Again, these tools identify potential resource shortages that can damage the performance of applications. The service maps application dependencies so that if problems arise, the root cause of the issue is immediately apparent.

Demand alters over time and so, if you add new resources to your network or servers, the monitor’s calculations on demand are going to be thrown off. The machine learning system in eG Enterprise means that baselining isn’t set in stone, but is constantly updated through each metric gathering cycle.

The eG Enterprise system is available as a software package for Windows Server or Linux and it is also offered as a SaaS platform. Access a 30-day free trial of the infrastructure and APM modules of eG Enterprise for assessment.

  • Machine learning for adjustable performance baselining

  • Predictive resource shortage alerts

  • Application dependency mapping

  • Extensible with integrations

  • Orchestration with third-party tools

  • Deciding on your desired configuration and setting the system up can take time

eG Enterprise Access 30-day FREE Trial

5. Site24x7 Server Monitoring (FREE TRIAL)

Site24x7 Server Monitoring is a cloud-based infrastructure monitoring system. It is able to track the performance of networks, servers, applications and websites. As a site monitor, Site24x7 needs to keep track of all of the underlying services that can cause performance issues. This overview also extends out to Cloud-based services.

  • Monitor cloud and premises
  • Asset discovery
  • Application dependency mapping

As it is an online service, you don’t need to install any software on your site in order to use Site24x7. The console is accessed through a browser and all data storage is included with the plan and held offsite. That means you don’t even need to be running your own servers. If you contract in virtual servers and pay for hosting for your websites, those resources can be monitored by Site24x7.

As an integrated infrastructure monitor, Site24x7 is particularly well suited to the management of virtualizations. It will monitor Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware virtualization and also Docker Containers.

Site24x7 is part of the same group of companies as ManageEngine (see below). While ManageEngine is well established in the infrastructure monitoring tool market, Site24x7 is a relatively new enterprise. However, the parent company, Zoho Group, has been able to apply all of the expertise that it has in its ManageEngine division to the creation of Site24x7. This has the advantage of creating a new and innovative service out of a history of expertise.

There are a lot of similarities between ManageEngine products and Site24x7. One big difference is the charging structure. Site24x7 is Software-as-a-Service. So, it is charged for by monthly subscription, whereas you pay a one-time bill to access ManageEngine software.

Site24x7 is available in five editions. The lowest of these is a restricted Free edition. This will enable you to monitor up to five servers or URLs. The four paid plans are called Starter, Pro, Classic, and Enterprise. All of these plans can be enhanced by add-ons in case the standard editions bundles don’t fully cater to your requirements. You get more services with each progressively more expensive plan and you can bring down the cost of the service by paying annually instead of monthly.

You can get a 30-day free trial of the system. At the end of the trial period, you have the option of selecting a paid plan and subscribing. If you choose not to pay, your account will be switched over to the Free edition, which you can use in perpetuity without paying anything.

  • One of the most holistic monitoring tools available, supporting networks, infrastructure, and real user monitoring in a single platform

  • Uses real-time data to discover devices and build charts, network maps, and inventory reports

  • Is one of the most user-friendly network monitoring tools available

  • User monitoring can help bridge the gap between technical issues, user behavior, and business metrics

  • Supports a freeware version for testing

  • Is a very detailed platform that will require time to fully learn all of its features and options

Site24x7 Server Monitoring Start 30-day Free Trial

Further Reading: Site24x7 – Full Review

6. N-able N-sight (FREE TRIAL)

N-able N-sight is a cloud-based remote monitoring and management software package that monitors all types of IT infrastructure.

  • Tool for MSP
  • SNMP-based
  • Alers for performance problems

The system monitors networks, servers, endpoints, mobile devices, and applications. It is also able to cover cloud resources. As well as monitoring systems, the service includes security software, task automation, and performance analysis features.

Network monitoring is driven by the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), while monitored endpoints and servers require agent modules to be installed on them. The tool has a system dashboard that is resident in the cloud and can be accessed from anywhere through a standard web browser or a special mobile app.

Network device statuses and server performance metrics are shown live in the dashboard and any detected problems provoke alerts. The alerts can be forwarded to key staff via email or SMS message. All of this automated monitoring frees up staff for other tasks while drawing everyone’s attention when glitches arise.

N-able N-sight is a subscription service with no setup fees. This charging structure is particularly appealing to startups because it means comprehensive monitoring can begin instantly without the need to buy in servers, special equipment, or expensive software. N-able offers a 30-day free trial of its N-sight system.

  • Excellent monitoring dashboard, great for MSPs or any size NOC teams

  • Scalable cloud-based deployment

  • Monitor for anywhere via web browser

  • Automatic asset discovery makes inventory management easy, even on busy networks

  • A wide variety of automated remote administration options make it a solid choice for MSPs

  • Subscription model pricing makes it a viable option for nearly any size network

  • The platform can take time to fully explore all of its features and configuration options

N-able N-sight Start 30-day FREE Trial

7. SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor (FREE TRIAL)

SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor is another SolarWinds-created infrastructure monitoring tool built specifically for monitoring servers and applications. For instance, you can monitor the performance and availability of Azure and AWS resources.

  • Application dependency mapping
  • Resource usage tracking
  • Root cause analysis

The main difference between this platform and SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor is that the former is more adept at monitoring virtualized resources. For instance, to make sure that you can clearly see network applications, there is the option to map infrastructure dependencies.

On the map, you can see how applications and servers relate to each other and run more targeted troubleshooting. This is beneficial because it allows you to find the root cause of performance issues more easily.

SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor keeps the configuration process lightweight. There are templates provided out-of-the-box for monitoring over 1,200 supported applications and servers. Systems that can be monitored include Active Directory, Java, IBM WebSphere, Office 365 email, and XenApp.

Any organization that requires infrastructure monitoring that can monitor virtual resources would be well supported by SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor. The price of this tool starts at $2,995 (£2,308). There is also a 30-day free trial which can be downloaded here.

  • Designed with large and enterprise networks in mind

  • Supports auto-discovery that builds network topology maps and inventory lists in real-time based on devices that enter the network

  • Easy to configure alerts with premade templates

  • Supports both SNMP monitoring as well as packet analysis, giving you more control over monitoring than similar tools

  • Uses drag and drop widgets to customize the look and feel of the dashboard

  • Robust reporting system with pre-configured compliance templates

  • SAM is a feature-rich enterprise tool, requires a time investment to fully explore all features and use-cases

SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor Download 30-day FREE trial

8. ManageEngine OpManager Plus (FREE TRIAL)

ManageEngine OpManager Plus is a server monitoring tool for monitoring IT infrastructure on networks that runs on Windows and Linux. The platform is capable of monitoring physical and virtual IT infrastructure. Virtual infrastructure that you can monitor with ManageEngine OpManager includes VMware, Hyper-V, and Xen.

  • Monitor networks and servers
  • Virtual system monitoring
  • Remediation automation

There over 2000 network performance monitors that can be accessed through a customizable dashboard. In terms of customization, ManageEngine OpManager Plus also has more than 200 different widgets that you can use to create your own dashboards.

Automation is another invaluable feature offered by ManageEngine OpManager Plus. With automation, you can configure automated responses for troubleshooting. This is managed via the workflow automation view where you can create automated responses without the need for coding. For example, you can select ‘Execute Windows Script’ to respond once certain activity is recognized.

In addition, OpManager Plus has an alerts system. Notifications are sent to the user via email and SMS. Alerts are shown on the All Alarms page where you can view a list of all alarms with supporting information. You can also view pie charts that categorize active alarms as Critical, Trouble, Attention, or Service Down.

There are three versions of OpManager Plus available: the Free, Essential, and Enterprise versions. The free version supports up to 10 devices with basic network monitoring.

The Essential version expands on this by supporting up to 1000 devices with automatic network mapping. The Enterprise version is aimed firmly at larger organizations and supports up to 10,000 devices. Download the 30-day free trial.

  • Utilizes autodiscovery to detect new devices for performance monitoring and inventory management

  • Leverages both ping and SNMP protocol to detect uptime and performance issues

  • Build an automatic network topology map based on devices it probes, good for detecting new devices and rogue access points

  • Has log collection capabilities, allowing it to provide much more detailed information than other simple ping monitors

  • OpManager is a tool designed for IT professionals, non-technical users may find the platform overwhelming

ManageEngine OpManager Plus Download 30-day FREE Trial

9. Paessler PRTG Network Monitor (FREE TRIAL)

PRTG Network Monitor is an infrastructure monitoring platform that can monitor device health and network usage. Technologies supported by PRTG Network Monitor include SNMP, NetFlow, jFlow, sFlow, SSH, WMI, PING, SQL and more.

  • Flexible package
  • Device discovery
  • Free option

The wide variety of technological support provides you with everything you need to have a clear grasp of what is happening on your network. The setup process takes a matter of minutes so that you can deploy quickly.

To keep the monitoring environment up-to-date, PRTG Network Monitor uses automatic network discovery. However, you need to ping IP ranges in order to do this. Once this is done, you are free to start creating sensors to monitor devices throughout your network.

To monitor your network you will need a range of different sensors to monitor different segments of your network. There are over 200 sensors that you can use. For example, there are Bandwidth Monitoring Sensors, SNMP sensors, Linux/Unix/OS X Sensors, and IoT sensors to name a few.

When using PRTG Network Monitor you have complete control over the dashboard. You can use the PRTG map designer to create new dashboards with real-time maps and the status of live devices. You can then generate a link to send so that other key decision-makers can view performance data.

One of the reasons why PRTG Network Monitor is so popular is that it is free for the first 100 sensors. After you exceed the 100 sensor limit you will have to pay for an upgrade.

The paid versions of PRTG Network Monitor start at $1600 (£1,221) for 500 sensors with one server installation and go all the way up to $60,000 (£45,820) for unlimited sensors and five server installations. There is also a 30-day free trial.

  • Uses a combination of packet sniffing, WMI, and SNMP to report network performance data

  • Fully customizable dashboard is great for both lone administrators as well as NOC teams

  • Drag and drop editor makes it easy to build custom views and reports

  • Supports a wide range of alert mediums such as SMS, email, and third-party integrations into platforms like Slack

  • Each sensor is specifically designed to monitor each application, for example, there are prebuilt sensors whose specific purpose is to capture and monitor VoIP activity

  • Supports a freeware version

  • Is a very comprehensive platform with many features and moving parts that require time to learn

Paessler PRTG Network Monitor Download 30-day FREE trial

10. Nagios X

Nagios XI is a network monitoring solution for CentOS, RedHat Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu, and Debian. It has a web-based user interface. To speed up the setup process Nagios XI has configuration wizards that show you how to monitor different segments of your network. The dashboard is customizable and you can use a variety of dials, graphs, and charts to visualize your network’s performance.

  • Networks, servers, and applications
  • Virtual system monitoring
  • Cloud and on-premises

The extendable architecture of Nagios XI is one of the reasons why it is so widely-used. The platforms APIs can be used to integrate third-party applications to enhance the core functionality of the program. The Nagios exchange site has a range of APIs that you can use to add new features. For instance, you can add the Webmetrics api plugin for Nagios to view even more performance metrics.

There are two versions of Nagios XI to purchase: the Standard Edition and the Enterprise Edition. The Standard Edition starts at $1,995 (£1,537) and comes with configuration wizards, reporting, and custom user dashboards.

  • Open-source transparent tool

  • Simple, yet informative interface

  • Flexible alerting options support SMS and email

  • Robust API backend makes it a great option for developers who want to integrate their own custom applications

  • Very generous two-month trial period

  • Open-source version lacks quality support found in paid products

  • Installation can be technical and complex

The Enterprise Edition starts at $3,495 (£2,694) and comes with extra features like capacity planning reports and audit logging. There is also a 60-day free trial version.

11. Zabbix

Zabbix is an open-source network monitoring tool. With Zabbix you can conduct network monitoring, server monitoring, cloud monitoring, application monitoring, and services monitoring.

  • Free to use
  • Customizable and extensible
  • Networks, servers, and applications

Setting up Zabbix doesn’t take too much work either. You can install the program in a matter of minutes and start monitoring with out-of-the-box templates. As you become more confident with the program you can build your own custom templates.

Autodiscovery allows you to periodically discover network devices. This is preferable to manual configurations as it keeps the monitor up-to-date. All you need to do is enter network discovery rules.

When entering network discovery rules you simply enter an IP range and which services to look out for. Once a device is discovered you can then configure notifications, remote scripts, and whether to add or remove a host.

The integration offered by Zabbix is one of its greatest strengths. You can use the API to automate manual event responses and add new monitoring rules that can’t be done with the prepackaged program. There are also additional Zabbix plugins and modules that you can deploy to enhance the basic functions of the product.

Zabbix is a tool that should be considered by those organizations looking for an open source infrastructure monitoring tool. Zabbix is available to download on CentOS, Oracle Linux, Ubuntu, Debian, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, and Raspbian. You can download Zabbix for free.

  • Open-source transparent tool

  • Uses both SNMP and IPMP for a broader monitoring range

  • Can detect new devices and configuration changes immediately

  • Offers useful templates for quick insights

  • Robust notification system supports SMS, email, custom script, and webhook

  • The interface isn’t as intuitive as solutions such as SolarWinds NPM or Site24x7

  • Would like to see better-alerting features, specifically relating to reducing false positives

Related post: Nagios vs Zabbix

12. Icinga 2

Icinga 2 is a web-based network monitoring tool with a customizable user interface. You can create custom views to view different events throughout your physical and virtual infrastructure. In fact, the capabilities of Icinga 2 can monitor entire data centers and cloud services. It is, therefore, an excellent tool for those companies operating within hybrid network environments.

  • Free tool
  • Takes Nagios plug-ins
  • Monitors all stack levels

For configuration, Icinga 2 has its own configuration language. The engine can be complex but it gives you complete control over how you monitor your infrastructure. For instance, you create monitoring objects and use the rule-based engine to dictate just how a network element is monitored. However, there is also a web-based configuration interface if you wish to lay out your configurations in a way that is less difficult.

Icinga 2 modules are Icinga 2’s answer to plugins and add-ons. These modules allow you to enhance the basic functionality of Icinga and monitor new facets of your network. For example, there is an Icinga Module for vSphere which integrates your VMware environment into Icinga.

Likewise, there is an Icinga Module for Graphite that shows you metrics directly in the user interface. These integrations help to extend and enhance the functionality of what is already a very diverse product.

Overall Icinga 2 is a tool that suits those network administrators who are comfortable adopting the configuration language and building their own monitoring environment from scratch. Icinga 2 is available for Debian, RHEL, SLES, Windows, Ubuntu, Fedora, and OpenSUSE. You can download the tool for free.

  • Can be configured via GUI or DSL, making it a good choice for admins who enjoy CLI tools

  • Supports built-in visual reporting

  • Modules allow for different functionality, keeping the base installation sleek and lightweight

  • Can operate cross-platform on Windows and Linux systems

  • Reliant upon the open-source community for support and updates

  • Designed for more technical users, other options have better out-of-box features

Choosing an infrastructure monitoring tool

Though there are many high-performance infrastructure monitoring tools on this list a few stand out on account of their accessibility. SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor, Datadog Infrastructure Monitor, and PRTG Network Monitor are solid choices for organizations of all sizes.

SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor is worth consideration on its low maintenance but high visibility approach to network monitoring. The dashboards are simple to navigate and alerts are easy to configure. Features like the built-in autodiscovery help to make this a low maintenance tool in terms of deployment.

On the other hand, PRTG Network Monitor is an excellent starting tool because of the free version. The user can build up competency with the sensors-based monitoring approach without paying the cost of a full license. The variety of features offered in terms of physical and virtual monitoring is enough to rival any other tool on the market.

Depending on your needs, every tool on this list has something to offer. Whether you’re looking for the sculptability of an open-source tool or the simplicity of a proprietary tool, there are plenty of options available to you.

Recommended reading:

  • Best System Monitoring Software
  • Data Usage Meters Reviewed