Tuning in with Hobbit, Nagios, and monit
FREE MONITOR
Open source tools such as Hobbit, Nagios, and monit provide system monitoring for large or small networks.
If you look after more than one computer, eventually you’ll realize you could benefit from some form of automatic monitoring – certainly after someone surprises you with the announcement that a system you are responsible for just crashed. In addition to reducing the response time for a downed system, system monitoring can also help you identify problems in advance – before the situation becomes an emergency. Even if you only have one computer, advanced notification that your disks are getting full or that sshd is down can save considerable time and stress.
If you have a specific service or situation you want to monitor, you could, of course, brew your own custom monitoring script and trigger it with cron. However, you really do not need to go reinventing wheels when several open source applications will handle the job for you. In this article, I look at three of the main contenders – Hobbit, Nagios, and monit. All are open source and freely available. All have good points and limitations. The ideal solution depends on your network, your experience, and your needs.
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Find SysAdmin Jobs
News
-
MNT Seeks Financial Backing for New Seven-Inch Linux Laptop
MNT Pocket Reform is a tiny laptop that is modular, upgradable, recyclable, reusable, and ships with Debian Linux.
-
Ubuntu Flatpak Remix Adds Flatpak Support Preinstalled
If you're looking for a version of Ubuntu that includes Flatpak support out of the box, there's one clear option.
-
Gnome 44 Release Candidate Now Available
The Gnome 44 release candidate has officially arrived and adds a few changes into the mix.
-
Flathub Vying to Become the Standard Linux App Store
If the Flathub team has any say in the matter, their product will become the default tool for installing Linux apps in 2023.
-
Debian 12 to Ship with KDE Plasma 5.27
The Debian development team has shifted to the latest version of KDE for their testing branch.
-
Planet Computers Launches ARM-based Linux Desktop PCs
The firm that originally released a line of mobile keyboards has taken a different direction and has developed a new line of out-of-the-box mini Linux desktop computers.
-
Ubuntu No Longer Shipping with Flatpak
In a move that probably won’t come as a shock to many, Ubuntu and all of its official spins will no longer ship with Flatpak installed.
-
openSUSE Leap 15.5 Beta Now Available
The final version of the Leap 15 series of openSUSE is available for beta testing and offers only new software versions.
-
Linux Kernel 6.2 Released with New Hardware Support
Find out what's new in the most recent release from Linus Torvalds and the Linux kernel team.
-
Kubuntu Focus Team Releases New Mini Desktop
The team behind Kubuntu Focus has released a new NX GEN 2 mini desktop PC powered by Linux.