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: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
The Zabbix is top because is fundamental easy to manager.