Monitoring has reduced outages and improves proactive issue resolution across our infrastructure
What is our primary use case?
I am using Nagios Core on CentOS for monitoring, and it is primarily used for monitoring the IT infrastructure like servers, applications, and network devices. It will provide alerts and performance status, so I can detect and resolve issues before they become critical.
For the servers, we have already configured Nagios Core on CentOS, so it will help me to monitor CPU usage, MySQL database availability, network latency between CentOS and external endpoints, SSL certificate expiry, and performance visibility. I can set up alerts and see the same in the dashboards, response time, and all those things. It will also help me monitor the web server.
Regarding a customized challenge, there was one case scenario where the server was continuously hanging, which caused many issues for our customers. During that time, we set up Nagios Core on CentOS on the CentOS server. We got a real-time scenario and provided some particular use cases and critical scenarios. In that case, it helped us a lot to find out what the issue was. Other than basic monitoring, we can use custom plugins. I was able to run my scripts in Python, and it helped to do disruptive monitoring. Also, whenever Apache fails, it will automatically restart Apache or clear the cache whenever a memory spike is happening. We can check this during batch jobs that were scheduled at night. We set up a particular scenario where it should allow higher CPU usage during the batch jobs at night. It helped with the integration with Grafana for visualization, so it helped a lot. We also group multiple checks into a single business service. For example, the e-commerce site depends on the web server, database, and payment gateway. It helped to run all those things. This is the main scenario regarding the custom plugins, event handlers, and integration with Grafana to visualize the response time across the services and group all services into the business process called customer portal. We know if the entire app is healthy or not.
What is most valuable?
Regarding monitoring, it is a common feature with Nagios Core on CentOS. The best features I felt were the extensive plugins. There were hundreds or thousands of readymade check plugins. It is the ability to write my own scripts for anything unique to my environment. The main feature is that I get notifications by email, SMS, or integration with escalation policies, so the right person gets the right alerts at the right time. That is the main thing. The web interface, particularly the Nagios Core on CentOS dashboard, is user-friendly, and we are able to view the status, logs, and trends. That helps us a lot. It also automates fixes. For example, as I said before, if the high CPU usage comes in the night, it will allow it. If any particular batch jobs are running, it will allow the high CPU usage, and it helps to automate the restart of services, clear cache, or trigger scripts whenever an issue arises. It also scales across multiple sites and data centers, feeding results into the central Nagios Core on CentOS instances. Also visibility and control. The dashboards and reports give us a clear picture of the system's health, so it helps a lot. Mainly, as it is open-source software, it is free to use, and these many features are included, so it is a value-added thing. Our customer was very happy because he is very concerned about the budget. Due to that, he needed a free tool, so Nagios Core on CentOS helped us a lot to accomplish his requirement with great satisfaction.
Nagios Core on CentOS is very stable, and we are very happy about that one.
Nagios Core on CentOS is very scalable because whenever new servers have been added, we can add the service without any issues. It reduces repetitive configuration when monitoring hundreds of hosts and services. Multiple Nagios Core on CentOS instances can monitor different regions and data centers. It helped a lot. Because of this, it improves performance under heavy loads. It also automates fixes and prevents manual interventions. It helped a lot, and we are very happy about Nagios Core on CentOS's scalability and efficiency.
I will definitely refer Nagios Core on CentOS. First of all, it is free software. Second, it is reliable and scalable. It is very scalable whenever we are adding new services and features. Because of that, we do not need to worry. If we configure everything at the first time, we do not need to spend so much time on Nagios Core on CentOS. Because there are no license costs, it is ideal for startups and mid-sized companies. One of my friends has a startup company, and I referred Nagios Core on CentOS to him. Because of the thousands of plugins, he is very happy about it. Because of the monitoring, flexible alerting, and scalability, I will definitely suggest Nagios Core on CentOS to others.
Regarding this review, you have asked about the Nagios Core on CentOS integration. As I said before, because of the high reliability, high scalability, the plugins, and overall being open source, it helps a lot to monitor our systems, and it helps us a lot regarding our proactiveness.
What needs improvement?
Regarding complexity, I think there is no feature like InfluxDB AI, so it may require more expertise to configure. There are also some migration challenges in adopting the new dashboards, so it takes some time to train the staff, but it is not a big concern. I think it is better to add some advanced features. I do not think there are so many things that need to be improved in Nagios Core on CentOS. If it is better to customize the dashboard or if we can get something like a modern view, it will be helpful for the dashboard. I felt very happy with Nagios Core on CentOS.
Why I took off one point is that I think it is better suited for a small or medium setup. If large enterprises can use Nagios Core on CentOS, it will be helpful. It also requires manual editing of the config file, so it is a little bit time-consuming. The web interface is functional, but compared to some other latest AI monitoring platforms, it is a little bit lacking. I think the AI platform would score higher, but it is good. The reporting is just basic, so if we compare it with Grafana, it needs richer insights.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Nagios Core on CentOS for five years.
How are customer service and support?
At most times, we did not reach out for customer support because there are community forums. Active users were posting newer issues, and they will post the solutions also. Community forums helped us a lot. Because of the documentation regarding installation, configuration, and troubleshooting, it helped a lot and avoids confusion. In recent times, we did not contact Nagios Core on CentOS customer care. We usually use the community forums, documentation, etc.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I think we have used Datadog for monitoring. It cost around, I do not remember how much, but it is more than $1,000, within $1,000 to $5,000, I think. Because of this, we were able to save that much money.
What other advice do I have?
Nagios Core on CentOS is not just a technical tool. I feel that it helps the business grow a lot by reducing downtime and improving visibility. Because of this, we were able to perform proactive actions, which strengthens both operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. Previously, we were manually monitoring everything, so it caused many issues and manual errors, and we lost a lot of time. Automatic monitoring helps us to save many hours per week for the system admins. Because of the instant alerts, it helped us find an issue within minutes. Otherwise, it would take hours to find it. Problems are detected and reported immediately, which helped a lot. Because of the automation, automated recovery actions such as if an HTTP service or some other service fails, it will restart automatically. It can cut the troubleshooting time, so we can avoid P1 and P2 issues, and later we can check the logs and find the issues. We use the time to find the reason. It helped us a lot in improving efficiency and our mental health. The dashboard, as I said, was very clear and good. It is one interface for all hosts and services, so it is a best feature, and it saves time compared to logging into multiple systems. Reporting automation also helps us keep the SLA and uptime reports. Uptime reports are generated automatically, so it saves us from gathering manual data. Before Nagios Core on CentOS, we spent around ten to fifteen hours per week on manual checks for all services and everything. But after Nagios Core on CentOS, because of the automation, it is reduced to two to three hours. I think that is roughly forty to fifty hours per month.
It is deployed on-premises as well as in the cloud. We are using Nagios Core on CentOS in the AWS cloud. We are also using it on-premises. On the basis of cloud, we are using Nagios Core on CentOS on AWS. We have directly deployed Nagios Core on CentOS in AWS.
Regarding Nagios Core on CentOS, it is completely free. So we do not need to spend any money on that one. I think Nagios XI has some payment, but I have not used it until now, so it did not cost any money for spending on Nagios Core on CentOS. I think everything is good regarding Nagios Core on CentOS.
If it goes well this way and if Nagios Core on CentOS can keep the stability regarding the licensing, meaning the free software, the scalability, and the additional thousands of plugins, if Nagios Core on CentOS keeps improving as they have done for these many years, we are very happy about that. I am very happy to continue the Nagios Core on CentOS usage to monitor my service and do the scalability. It will help me a lot to find out the issues, and it helps me regarding my proactiveness. I give this product a rating of nine out of ten. Please continue maintaining this high standard, and I am very happy about Nagios Core on CentOS usage.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Monitoring has reduced downtime and now quickly identifies disk, service, and load issues
What is our primary use case?
My main use case for Nagios Core on CentOS is checking disk usage, services, and load of the server.
A specific example of how I have used Nagios Core on CentOS in my environment is when I had one server that was a standard server that had been shut down due to server load, and with the help of Nagios Core on CentOS, we checked the basis of the issue, which was helpful.
The database services had been down, and we received help from Nagios Core on CentOS in addressing that situation.
What is most valuable?
The best features that Nagios Core on CentOS offers are that we can add services in the configuration files, and we have post-monitoring with a manual that checks for about thirty items.
Nagios Core on CentOS has impacted my organization positively because it is impactful to the business. If the production server is down, Nagios Core on CentOS will check certain services, which impacts production.
Regarding specific outcomes, Nagios Core on CentOS has helped reduce downtime. The downtime for the production service that was down took only one hour, which is helpful for our organization.
What needs improvement?
To improve Nagios Core on CentOS, we need to consolidate the many pages we see on the interface into a single page because we cannot check information across multiple pages efficiently.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Nagios Core on CentOS for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Nagios Core on CentOS is not stable.
The stability issues I have experienced with Nagios Core on CentOS are that we need to make it a single page interface, similar to Zabbix.
How are customer service and support?
I did not take help from customer support for Nagios Core on CentOS, as we manage it on our own.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I did not previously use a different solution before Nagios Core on CentOS.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that it is good, with very cheap costs, and licensing is very easy for the organization.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before choosing Nagios Core on CentOS, I evaluated other options, specifically Zabbix.
What other advice do I have?
My advice for others looking into using Nagios Core on CentOS is that it is good, but we should set only one page for the services and disk devices. I would rate this product an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Nagios Core 4 is Excellent
What do you like best about the product?
Nagios, for me, is the swiss army knife of monitoring. The design of nagios monitoring is a breath of fresh air. There are other monitoring systems where you can monitor equipment in ways the original author of the software thought you should do it. Still, because of nagios' design to use command-line oriented interfaces to monitoring, you can touch anything and get valuable information from it, and parse it into graphs, etc with standard plugins.
What do you dislike about the product?
I dislike the steep learning curve. I've been using Nagios for some time, so it's relatively easy for me, but I have colleagues who have never used systems like nagios before and they have a hard time getting up to speed with it. Related tools such as NagioSQL can really help to get you going with usable configs, but ultimately you need something like that or your own scripts that you may create, to add services & hosts.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
We use nagios for solving problems with internal and external systems that need guaranteed uptime. In our infrastructure, there are internal & external systems, and we use nagios to gather status and performance data so that we know if/when things happen. The fact that nagios is able to send us alerts via sms or email, or anything else that can be addressed from a command line interface, is absolutely awesome. Once colleagues get familiar with the configuration, or once they learn the rules of the plugin environment, they can start setting up monitoring for services which are actually composite-services. For example, it's one thing to monitor if a mail server is up and running, it's quite another to know that the mail users are getting their mail in a timely fashion from the outside. Compositing services together and monitoring them from nagios makes it possible to get an idea of "this is what the end user really experiences" rather than just raw numbers.
Recommendations to others considering the product:
It has a bit of a learning curve. I would recommend using a tool such as NagioSQL to create config files. The config files are definitely not meant to be created by a human, they should be machine generated because of the complexity and dependencies involved.