ASM Naushad Alam - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Manager at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Allows any number of customizations but lacks functionality for finding root causes
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution allows you to configure and customize how you want to collect information from servers or other systems."
  • "The solution needs to add features for finding loopholes or problems and their root causes."

What is our primary use case?

Our company is a financial organization and we use the solution to check connectivity, CPU utilization, and hard disk utilization for all of our servers. We monitor networks to learn traffic conditions. We use threshold features to compare servers or routers and find each server's size before it reaches 100%. 

The solution is currently installed in our IT division. We have 6,000 employees, 50 divisions, and 500 servers. The solution monitors all firewalls including HCI, Check Point, Palo Alto, Cisco, and VMware. 

What is most valuable?

The solution allows you to configure and customize how you want to collect information from servers or other systems. There are many options for any type of customization such as for servers, health checks, and traffic conditions. 

What needs improvement?

The solution needs to add features for finding loopholes or problems and their root causes. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for three years. 

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have not yet purchased the commercial version so have a lack of technical ability. We do not yet fully know the key points or key features of the solution. We just use what we use along with WhatsUp Gold. 

Based on our use only, stability is rated a seven out of ten. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is definitely scalable and you get those benefits with the commercial version. We are using the freeware version right now but plan to purchase or get the premium support from the OEM.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is not provided with the freeware version so we don't have any support activity with the OEM. 

How was the initial setup?

Another team member handles setup but it is not complicated. 

What about the implementation team?

We implement the solution in-house. First, we install the solution on a VM. Later,  we manage the server and and install the VM there. 

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

The solution is open source so it is free.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We also have been using WhatsUp Gold for ten years. Zappix is a Linux solution and WhatsUp Gold is a Windows solution. 

We have a basic license for WhatsUp Gold and have purchased upgrades. In our country, there is no local expert tied with the OEM. The support team that is provided is not acceptable to us. 

The solution, SolarWinds, and WhatsUp Gold are good for monitoring servers but lack the functionality to find problems or root causes for any system, application, or service. 

ThousandEyes and AppDynamics find actual problems with networks, applications, or services. We are looking more at these products because our goal is to find all loopholes. 

For example, the solution or WhatsUp Gold might identify a packet loss. But ThousandEyes or AppDynamics will drill to the highest problem such as the HTML or a Cisco network problem. This approach is much more interesting. 

What other advice do I have?

The solution is popular in any IT sector because it allows for any number of customizations. 

Since we are using the freeware version, we do not know of other key features or how to use them. It is not necessarily the solution, but maybe instead our lack of knowledge. 

Based on our use, the solution is rated a seven out of ten. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Network Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Beneficial reports, reliable, useful network overview
Pros and Cons
  • "I have found that the reporting feature in Zabbix is most valuable. Additionally, the solution has given us bandwidth options, we are able to see where problems are. For example, we noticed a problem that occurred because of a bad interface going in the wireless VLAN."
  • "The user web interface is a little bit too basic, we need to link Zabbix to Grafana to have more options, such as graphs and charts. The interface needs to be improved. Additionally, there could be better integration with Grafana API."

What is our primary use case?

Before the deployment of Zabbix, we experienced some delays on our internet connection, we decided to deploy it and we registered all our network devices, such as switches. We turned on the firewalls in Zabbix. We linked Zabbix to Grafana to receive a more accurate graph.

How has it helped my organization?

From the use of Zabbix, we are now able to see an overview of our bandwidth consumption, a direct view of what links are being used on our backbone switches, and if there is any unusual peak of traffic on our network devices. Before using Zabbix and Grafana, we didn't have any view of the results of our network. We used to connect individually to every single device and collect the data to analyze but now, we have the opportunity to see graphs and charts of all of the network metrics.

What is most valuable?

I have found that the reporting feature in Zabbix is most valuable. Additionally, the solution has given us bandwidth options, we are able to see where problems are. For example, we noticed a problem that occurred because of a bad interface going in the wireless VLAN.

What needs improvement?

The user web interface is a little bit too basic, we need to link Zabbix to Grafana to have more options, such as graphs and charts. The interface needs to be improved. Additionally, there could be better integration with Grafana API.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Zabbix for a couple of months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Zabbix is very stable. The resource consumptions are okay.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I cannot give too much information about the scalability features because our test environment is not very large. We have a small environment of only some firewalls and switches. We have some servers also, but we did not register them on Zabbix.

We have two users that are using this solution, the CTO and the principal network engineer.

We do not have plans to increase the solution right now but in two years we will.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward.

I only needed to download the application and then deploy it in the VMware Workstation, that was it. Once the virtual appliance is connected to the network, it will automatically receive access via DHCP. Lastly, we use the interface to configure specific ports, the initial deployment is quite simple. 

The time it takes for the deployment takes only a few minutes.

What about the implementation team?

We only require one network engineer for the maintenance of the solution.

What was our ROI?

We have received a return on investment because the solution is free and any gains we make are profit.

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

Zabbix and Grafana are both open source products, we only needed to go to their website and download the application and we began to use them. The solutions are free.

What other advice do I have?

Zabbix is a good and very cost-effective product. It does its job very well. We downloaded it for performance monitoring and it's very effective.

I rate Zabbix an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Buyer's Guide
Zabbix
September 2023
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Information Security Officer at Kenmare Resources Mauritius
Real User
Top 10
Effective monitoring, scalable, and useful online resources
Pros and Cons
  • "We are able to monitor our virtual infrastructure, virtual machines, windows servers, databases, and the network using a simple network management protocol. We are able to pull almost all the metrics that we want, receive notifications, and have them integrate with telegrams for certain devices that are critical, such as UPSs."
  • "Zabbix does not draw automatic mapping of the network, this is something they should add in the future. There is a lot of effort that is involved in tailoring some of the settings which could be made easier."

What is our primary use case?

We are using Zabbix in my workplace to monitor the infrastructure.

What is most valuable?

We are able to monitor our virtual infrastructure, virtual machines, windows servers, databases, and the network using a simple network management protocol. We are able to pull almost all the metrics that we want, receive notifications, and have them integrate with telegrams for certain devices that are critical, such as UPSs.

What needs improvement?

Zabbix does not draw automatic mapping of the network, this is something they should add in the future. There is a lot of effort that is involved in tailoring some of the settings which could be made easier. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Zabbix for approximately four years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Zabbix is scalable because depending on the size of your infrastructure you can have distributed proxies servers across your network that will feed to the main server for the metric. It is similar to branches, where you can have one product for each branch and then the central server speaking in your central location, it works perfectly.

Our entire IT department is using Zabbix, which is 15 people, but we have approximately 600 devices being monitored.

How are customer service and support?

I have never had an issue that I needed to contact support. However, everything I have needed was able to be found online from the community or the Zabbix site manuals. Zabbix does offer support based on a subscription.

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

I was using Centurion previously but I decided to switch to Zaddix because of costs. I was using the community edition of Centurion and it was very limited but with Zabbix, you can have an enterprise-class monitoring solution for free. I did research quickly and then I phoned Zaddix to see if they could solve all my problems without having to pay anything. This is when they confirmed I could and then I switched.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was easy. It took approximately three hours to get the server up and running.

What was our ROI?

By using Zabbix you minimize the cost of operation because you recieve an enterprise-class monitoring solution for free.

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

The solution is free to use but they offer support as a paid service. If you can go read the manuals and do the fine-tuning based on your needs, you do not need to pay anything and you will have a full solution.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have evaluated PRTG and SolarWinds.

What other advice do I have?

You do not need to spend a lot of money on solutions that have similar functionality, such as PRTG or Solar Winds. With Zabbix, you receive a free enterprise-class monitoring solution for free, as long as you know how to use it.

I would recommend this solution to others.

I rate Zabbix a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Matthieu Bouthors - PeerSpot reviewer
Sales Engineer Southern Europe at Netskope
Real User
Top 10
Open-source, with good documentation and a helpful community
Pros and Cons
  • "The initial setup, while not simple, is easier than other products."
  • "The networking monitor is not too easy to work with."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for monitoring issues and availability.

What is most valuable?

This product is very easy to deploy. It is easy to deploy as a Docker if you do not want to do a full deployment. 

The initial setup, while not simple, is easier than other products.

It offers native support of VMware ESXi integration.

The solution is stable.

It's free; it's open-source. 

The documentation has been very useful. The community is quite helpful as well. 

What needs improvement?

The networking monitor is not too easy to work with. It's like switch monitoring. It's okay, yet not perfect. It's something they could improve on. I'm still using SmokePing since the network monitoring isn't so great.

The initial setup isn't exactly easy.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for one year. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I've found the product to be quite stable and reliable. There aren't bugs or glitches. I do not have issues with it crashing or freezing. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I cannot speak to the scalability of the product. My scale is quite small. I've never reached the limit o the server. 

I'm the only one who uses the product right now. I only use it in my personal lab and therefore have no plans to expand usage right now. 

How are customer service and support?

I've never dealt with technical support. I cannot say how helpful or responsive they are. 

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

A long time ago, I used Zenoss. Zenoss basically focused more on larger enterprises. The community version of Zenoss was less well-maintained. Zabbix has a better community. That was a major reason for switching. 

How was the initial setup?

The implementation process was okay. No monitoring tool is easy, I would say. It's not extremely easy, and yet, it's not extremely complex like some of the other tools. There's a moderate level of complexity during deployment. The entire process takes a couple of hours.

For my level of usage, I only need one person, and that is me, to handle any maintenance tasks. 

What about the implementation team?

I handled the implementation personally. I did not need the help of or use integrators or consultants.

What was our ROI?

In terms of ROI, it's been providing faster troubleshooting when there are issues. It provides a good dashboard to show global health. 

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

This is an open-source product, which makes it free to use. 

What other advice do I have?

I'm a customer and end-user. 

We're currently using the latest update of the product. 

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Patrice Delavictoire - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Partner at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Top 10
We can fix issues with our network before they become serious problems
Pros and Cons
  • "I'm supervising all the IT departments, and Zabbix seems quite good for them. It provides graphics and information in real time. We get alerts about crashes on the system, enabling us to quickly repair issues. We can easily find devices with problems."
  • "Zabbix is powerful, but it is difficult to understand initially. There are many things that can be improved, but we might not be using Zabbix to its fullest extent. The software has more features than we need."

What is our primary use case?

We use Zabbix to monitor the configuration and usage of devices on the network, including switches and printers. 

How has it helped my organization?

Zabbix alerts us about problems on the system, including damage to the hardware or network connectivity issues.

What is most valuable?

I'm supervising all the IT departments, and Zabbix seems quite good for them. It provides graphics and information in real time. We get alerts about crashes on the system, enabling us to quickly repair issues. We can easily find devices with problems.

What needs improvement?

Zabbix is powerful, but it is difficult to understand initially. There are many things that can be improved, but we might not be using Zabbix to its fullest extent. The software has more features than we need.

For example, Zabbix can be used for a company monitoring solutions by many vendors. We have only one site and one company, so we can't improve all the possibilities of the software.

Zabbix could add some more cybersecurity features. It isn't the same thing because network monitoring isn't the same as security. Still, it could include something like a VPN or firewall with the solution. It's a free software tool traditionally used for monitoring. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Zabbix for around one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Zabbix is highly stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I rate six out of 10 for scalability.

How are customer service and support?

We don't use technical support. We rely on the documentation. 

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

We previously used Centreon, another open-source solution, about four years ago. I wasn't used to this kind of software, but now I can understand them a little bit better.

How was the initial setup?

I rate Zabbix five out of 10 for ease of setup. It takes about two weeks to deploy. We have many people working from home, which creates some difficulties. Sometimes, people left materials at home when they work at the office, and we didn't have the time to install all the components. That's why it took time.

What was our ROI?

We saved time one equipment intervention, preventing service outages. We had the information about network blackouts before they happened, so we could save our company by changing equipment before we experienced downtime. 

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

Zabbix is an open-source solution, and there aren't any additional costs.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Zabbix eight out of 10. It's a good solution for everyone's needs. Maybe same users that we have, few users for the moment because we don't have a very big important network. I think that Centreon is better, but maybe easier than the subjects to use. This is maybe the best solution for small entities.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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SOC Expert at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Easy to use with good support and a fairly simple setup
Pros and Cons
  • "It meets my organizational needs. It's pretty easy to use."
  • "The product could be more secure and more stable."

What is our primary use case?

In my company, I have a lot of web services on the internet and use it for monitoring. For example, for concurrent sessions, I can count the HTTP requests, or I can use it to monitor the CPU and RAM in my devices, web application devices. 

What is most valuable?

It works well for my business. It meets my organizational needs. It's pretty easy to use.

It's very stable. It's got good reliability.

The pricing is okay.

For us, the support has been fine.

We have found the initial installation not that difficult.

What needs improvement?

The product could be more secure and more stable.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for about four years at this point. It's been a while. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable and reliable. The performance is good. That said, it could always be more stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have more than 200 people on the product and it seems to work well for us. We've never had an issue with scaling. It's good for u and fits our needs.

How are customer service and support?

We haven't had an issue with technical support. We fill out a form when we run into issues. They are largely quite helpful. 

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

I also am familiar with Datadog.

I'm not sure if we used anything before Zabbix.

How was the initial setup?

In terms of initial setup, it's petty straightforward. At the Linux stage, you can introduce the Linux commands. In the environment in Linux, you can install Zabbix pretty easily.

The deployment doesn't take too long. It might take only two weeks.

We do have a team that can manage the deployment and maintenance of Zabbix as needed. Usually, we have one or two managers that are able to handle anything that comes up. The rest of the team is a bit more technical. 

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

We have about 100 active licenses, however, I don't have many other details beyond that in terms of licensing and costs. My understanding is that the pricing is okay.

What other advice do I have?

The product is a standalone in my data center, my local data center.

I would recommend the solution to others. It's been good to us so far and we do have experts in our country.

I'd rate the product at a nine out of ten. We've been pretty happy with it in general.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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PeerSpot user
Senior Contractor at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
Good documentation, easy to set up, and the trigger dependency feature is helpful
Pros and Cons
  • "Zabbix has a roadmap and they are continuously and frequently adding new features."
  • "The reports are not great and should be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We are a solution provider and Zabbix is one of the products that we implement for our clients. I am the senior consultant for Zabbix in my organization.

The use cases are pretty basic. They include memory and disk monitoring, database monitoring, log file monitoring, and application monitoring.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the trigger dependencies.

The documentation is good.

Zabbix has a roadmap and they are continuously and frequently adding new features. Most of the features are good.

What needs improvement?

The reports are not great and should be improved. In other tools, we can schedule reports and fetch them. However, with Zabbix, we cannot export reports. It is possible to export some of the data but our monthly reports, including those for performance and availability, cannot be exported.

This product is not highly available by default. I have read that in the next major version, 6.0, they are planning to do that for the proxies.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Zabbix for between three and four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a very stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This solution is scalable and I have no issues with it in that regard. We have five to six people that use it. They primarily do admin work.

There are two or three who architect and design solutions. We add and manage servers, as well as perform maintenance.

How are customer service and support?

We do not have a Zabbix technical support subscription. We manage it ourselves.

The blogs that are available online are okay.

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

There are a few problems but if they fix them, then Zabbix is a very good tool compared to others. This includes tools that you have to pay for.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup for the Zabbix server is pretty straightforward. 

Initially, it was just a single node, so the deployment didn't take long.

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

This is an open-source solution that can be used free of charge. Support is something that you have to pay extra for.

What other advice do I have?

My advice for anybody who is implementing Zabbix is to read the documentation and go through the use cases before beginning the implementation. Many use cases are available online.

I would rate this solution 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?

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
System Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Top 20
Easy to use and deploy
Pros and Cons
  • "Like other common Linux distributions, some of the most valuable features of this solution are the ease of use and deployment. It's simple and has a lot of packages and a lot of software."
  • "As far as improvements, sometimes I get a bit frustrated when I move from a previous version to a new one because some configuration has changed—I need to investigate the documentation to deal with some configuration. But it doesn't take much time, so it's okay."

What is our primary use case?

We use Ubuntu for the distribution of our products and our web application firewall. Previously, I have also used a desktop version of Ubuntu on my laptop. We use this operating system for our Zabbix server as well, for monitoring, testing, and so on. 

We mostly use a server version, so it's only a command console. There's no graphical interface. 

This solution is deployed both on-premise and on cloud. 

What is most valuable?

Like other common Linux distributions, some of the most valuable features of this solution are the ease of use and deployment. It's simple and has a lot of packages and a lot of software. 

What needs improvement?

As far as improvements, sometimes I get a bit frustrated when I move from a previous version to a new one because some configuration has changed—I need to investigate the documentation to deal with some configuration. But it doesn't take much time, so it's okay. 

I don't have any requests for additional features. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Ubuntu Linux for a little over 10 years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Ubuntu is stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This solution is scalable, but the scalability is more appropriate for hardware, not for the operating system. 

In my company, there are only a few users dealing with the desktop version of the Ubuntu operating system. As far as production environments and testing servers, there are maybe a few dozen users. 

How are customer service and support?

We have never contacted technical support. We've never had any problems which demanded support from the Ubuntu teams. 

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

Before using Ubuntu Linux, I used CentOS, Debian, and Kali Linux. 

How was the initial setup?

The installation is really easy. The timeframe depends on the hardware speed, so it's rather fast. I handled the installation by myself. 

We don't actually have a technical team specific to Ubuntu—they're all IT guys, so we all have good skills for doing things ourselves. 

What about the implementation team?

We implemented this solution through an in-house team. 

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

I'm surprised that Ubuntu Linux has a paid license, even some supporting stuff included. We don't use the paid version, we only use the common edition. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate Ubuntu Linux a 10 out of 10. It's really great. I recommend Ubuntu Linux to others who are looking into implementing this OS. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Zabbix Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: September 2023
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Zabbix Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.