Hey everyone! I'm on the hunt for a monitoring tool that works well with a Windows-only environment since I'm unlikely to get the go-ahead for a Linux solution. I've tried a range of options in the past like PRTG, SolarWinds, Zabbix, and others, but I'm currently feeling the pinch with PRTG's licensing costs as we monitor around 200 devices and 5,000 sensors. We mainly rely on SNMP, ping, certificate checks, and HTTPS monitoring, along with some custom scripts in PowerShell and Python. I've looked at CheckMK deployed on VMware, but I need something solidly Windows-based or an appliance. I know Zabbix has an appliance option, but I've heard it's not recommended for production. Any recommendations?
3 Answers
Regarding your note about Zabbix appliances not being for production, could you dive a bit deeper? I'd love to understand the concerns there.
I heard deploying a pre-configured appliance is a great option for minimal setup, but I've been told it's mainly for testing. Why does your organization shy away from Linux systems?
The Zabbix appliance is often recommended just for demo purposes, not in production due to stability concerns. But a fully set-up Zabbix instance on its own server can work well, and they even offer various levels of support.
Netcrunch might be worth considering if you're looking for Windows-based alternatives. It resembles PRTG and is designed specifically for Windows. Just a heads up, it is a paid solution, though. Check it out here: [Netcrunch Overview](https://www.adremsoft.com/netcrunch/overview/)
I just built a new Zabbix VM in about 15 minutes, and if your team insists on Windows, you could run it in a Hyper-V VM to mimic a Windows server. It’s an easy workaround!
If you're aiming for a pre-configured appliance, Zabbix's option is often for testing rather than production. The self-contained appliance is built on Alma Linux, which is frequently highlighted for demo purposes. Setting up Zabbix on a dedicated server, though, tends to be fine for production.