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Zenoss Service Dynamics OverviewUNIXBusinessApplication

Zenoss Service Dynamics is #5 ranked solution in top Event Monitoring tools, #5 ranked solution in top Container Monitoring tools, #7 ranked solution in top Application Infrastructure tools, #10 ranked solution in top Server Monitoring tools, #13 ranked solution in top Cloud Monitoring Software, #18 ranked solution in best Network Monitoring Tools, and #19 ranked solution in Infrastructure Monitoring tools. PeerSpot users give Zenoss Service Dynamics an average rating of 10 out of 10. Zenoss Service Dynamics is most commonly compared to Zabbix: Zenoss Service Dynamics vs Zabbix. Zenoss Service Dynamics is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 69% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a computer software company, accounting for 36% of all views.
Buyer's Guide

Download the Application Infrastructure Buyer's Guide including reviews and more. Updated: June 2022

What is Zenoss Service Dynamics?

Zenoss Service Dynamics (ZSD) is a software-defined IT operations platform that provides

deep performance insights through real-time analytics to help your organization optimize any IT environment by building granular and intelligent infrastructure relationship models. ZSD has a highly flexible user interface, provides immediate root-cause analysis, helps prevent IT disruptions, offers intelligent automation, and also includes optimized infrastructure performance. The solution can be delivered as on-premises software or as a Zenoss-hosted service (ZaaS).

Zenoss Service Dynamics Features

ZSD has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

  • Real-time service model: This feature is designed to help your organization understand the relationships and interdependencies between the IT services you are responsible for delivering and your constantly changing infrastructure.
  • Operational analytics: The solution offers in-depth operational analytics reporting based on a normalized and centralized data store. With its operational analytics, you can view historical performance and event management trends month over month, quarter over quarter, and year over year. You can do this by using your own custom report or by using one of the solution’s out-of-box reports.
  • Root-cause analysis: ZSD allows you to conduct root-cause analysis of performance and availability issues for services, which reduces event storms to a prioritized list of most likely events.
  • Predictive reporting: Using this feature, you can filter out insignificant outliers, then generate projections that help you proactively manage future capacity requirements that are based on historical usage data.

Zenoss Service Dynamics Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing ZSD. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

  • Gain total visibility of overall IT service health with intelligent dashboards and reports.
  • Eliminate risk associated with digital transformation.
  • Use real-time modeling to gain awareness of end-to-end infrastructure-related risks.
  • View performance and anomalies across all on-premises and cloud infrastructures.
  • Apply consistent monitoring policies across all cloud and on-premises systems.
  • Enable agile IT while eliminating employee fatigue by reducing alerts.
  • Future-proof your monitoring platform to run at any scale.
  • Get AIOps insights to predict service health and performance issues.
  • Collaborate across teams to coordinate investigation and problem-solving.
  • Deliver management as a service for DevOps teams.
  • Leverage AI and machine learning for predictive analytics.

Reviews from Real Users

PeerSpot user Aldo-P., Security Architect at ITSur, says, “The solution has a variety of great features. The dashboard is excellent. With it, I can see everything from one place. It gives me a full picture of my networks and I can quickly see if there are any trouble areas to note. The user experience is excellent. Within the solution is a piece of software called Twill, which is very good. It's like dynamic monitoring. Twill provides a great user experience. I can put the URL from a website and I can send the user and password on that. Overall, it's a great solution, and I consider it to be one of the best. The initial setup is very easy. The product offers good documentation that helps with initial training.”

Zenoss Service Dynamics Customers

2degrees, Rackspace, State of North Dakota, El Paso Independent School District, NWN Corporation

Zenoss Service Dynamics Video

Archived Zenoss Service Dynamics Reviews (more than two years old)

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Principal Infra Developer at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
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Agentless monitoring means it uses the available, standard protocols, like TCP, UDP, WMI, and WinRM
Pros and Cons
  • "They have also accommodated many state-of-the-art technologies like Docker and ZooKeeper."
  • "There is room for improvement with the administrative part. They introduced Control Center to manage things in Zenoss 5. The services that Zenoss provides remained the same, but the administrative part, since they introduced Docker, etc., has become a little complex"

What is our primary use case?

As a Zenoss partner, the use cases have varied, based on the requirements. When I started using it in 2012, we were asked to migrate a set of technologies, like Windows and Linux monitoring, infrastructure monitoring, from different tools like SolarWinds and Tivoli to Zenoss, so that we would have a single pane for unified monitoring; a global operations manager. That, in turn, was integrated with ITSM tools like ServiceNow or CA.  When I joined a different organization, it was used mostly for direct monitoring of vSphere and NetApp, with Windows and Linux of course, and some integration with SolarWinds and trap-based integrations. Internally we integrated it with ServiceNow. I implement that, integrate it, and hand it over to the daily support team. We implement some customers on-prem and some customers we do using AWS or Azure cloud. It varies.

What is most valuable?

One of the most valuable features is the way it tries to discover technologies. It doesn't use any out-of-the-box things. It specifically uses the available, standard protocols, like TCP, UDP, WMI, and WinRM. It makes use of whatever underlying technologies are there. That is one advantage of being an agentless monitoring tool. It has also accommodated many state-of-the-art technologies, such as Docker and ZooKeeper. In addition, it gives you a lot of handy options to integrate with external systems. Being Linux-based, it's easier for me to customize and co-ordinate, because I have a Linux-based background.

What needs improvement?

There is room for improvement with the administrative part. They introduced Control Center to manage things in Zenoss 5. The services that Zenoss provides remained the same, but the administrative part, since they introduced Docker, etc., has become a little complex. I know it's interesting to get new features, but it didn't add value to the customer. It made the administration task a little more complex but I have gotten used to it over the last year. Also, application performance monitoring is an area that Zenoss has not touched much. I would like to see them focus more on this area. There is a need for application monitoring and mobile Android monitoring. If they can develop those kinds of areas that would make our business more up to date and we could cover more customers.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been working on Zenoss Service Dynamics since 2012. I started with Zenoss 4.2. Later I moved on and got experience with Zenoss 5. I implemented that. Right now I'm using 6.x, the latest one.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable most of the way. I would rate that at eight out of 10. But it still requires more implementation and development.

How are customer service and support?

I have always had satisfactory support from them. I even have some personal favorites. People there are very friendly and very responsive and they provide an on-demand service. It doesn't matter whether you are a platinum customer or what type of customer you are. They are always rational and provide solutions on time.

How was the initial setup?

The setup is not straightforward because Zenoss is more like building-blocks that are given to you. They will give you all the features that are available in the technology. If you want to build something, you use your own hands, use your own brain, and build it. That is more the approach. The more you get your hands on it, the more you can mold it into anything that you want. I've seen customers — whenever Zenoss does yearly forums for the product — who are using it more efficiently than I do because they have more programming skills.  On the other hand, that is one of the advantages that Zenoss has. They give it to you in a format so you can do anything that you decide. That is one advantage of Zenoss.

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

It is very cost-effective compared to the tools I worked with in the past. The company is gaining a lot with respect to the cost factor. It provides agentless monitoring and in a very cheap way.

What other advice do I have?

Whenever a customer needs to monitor or manage multiple systems that need to be integrated into a single platform, and they need the cost to be very effective, I would recommend Zenoss. I have worked on Zenoss for big, commercial enterprises, with customers who have 20,000 employees , where I have to monitor 7,000 to 14,000 CIFs. I have also worked with customers who only have 16 VMs that I need to monitor.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
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Faycal Noushi - PeerSpot reviewer
CEO/Founder at Zen Networks
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
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A flexible centralizing monitoring solution suitable for hybrid environments
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is the flexible discovery mechanism."
  • "The inclusion of a feature to show a graphical view of the network would be a helpful improvement."

What is our primary use case?

We are a system integrator and this is one of the solutions that we provide for our customers.

We have experience with several versions of this software, and the one we are using depends on our clients. 

We are using a lot of modules in a hybrid cloud deployment. We have used this solution in both a classical data center and a private cloud. Amazon is normally the cloud provider that we use.

How has it helped my organization?

Our primary use case for this solution is flexible centralized monitoring.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the flexible discovery mechanism.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see greater importance placed on the open-source version of this solution.

This solution is complex for beginners so it takes some time to learn.

The inclusion of a feature to show a graphical view of the network would be a helpful improvement.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using this solution for eight years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a very stable solution. We have been using it for years and although it is sometimes high maintenance, it has evolved with our needs.

How are customer service and technical support?

I would rate the technical support a seven out of ten.

How was the initial setup?

The complexity of the initial setup depends on which version is being implemented. For the versions that I have seen, the complexity is somewhere in the middle.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Compared to other solutions such as Nagios, this is the most flexible one.

What other advice do I have?

My advice for anyone who is implementing this solution is to have patience because the learning curve at the beginning is steep. It is the most flexible solution of this type, but it takes time to adapt.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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June 2022
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Kalin Hadzhivelikov - PeerSpot reviewer
Consulting Cloud Architect at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Real User
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Custom built integration feature enables you to see the especially critical items
Pros and Cons
  • "The custom built integration is one of the most valuable features because you can see all the especially critical items."
  • "There was a problem with Zenoss and storage monitoring."

What is our primary use case?

Our environment for Zenoss Service Dynamics is custom-made. We have connected to a cloud system. On the other hand, they are more service-oriented than our data center.

What is most valuable?

The custom built integration is one of the most valuable features because you can see all the especially critical items. You can choose to ignore others or to take action. It's good when all the notifications are coming into one system. You can take action if needed.

What needs improvement?

Zenoss Service Dynamics is good at the moment. I don't see anything that needs to be improved. In terms of monitoring, they need some sort of customization options. It should be more intuitive. 

Zenoss Service Dynamics is quite complex, i.e. the number of required corrections, etc.

There was a problem with Zenoss and storage monitoring. Either this was because of some specifics of the storage hardware or some specifics of the Zenoss software. Zenoss has virtually excluded storage integration from their support.

Zenoss has built in a number of add-ons, some of them unique to their needs and some that can be customized for a particular product. Zenoss sometimes can be too complex.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have used Zenoss Service Dynamics for about five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Zenoss Service Dynamics is quite stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Zenoss Service Dynamics is working with thousands of optics. The scalability is quite good. This one is integrated with sixteen different systems.

There is a group that is defined in Zenoss Service Dynamics so anyone who is defined in the group can log into the Zenoss website for views. Most of the requests are coming directly to the sixteen systems. Maybe 50-60 or more of those are on hold by us.

How are customer service and technical support?

Zenoss tech support answered relatively quickly. All the solutions are good. I do not have direct experience with them, but good responsiveness. They are relatively quick in response times.

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

Before Zenoss Service Dynamics, we previously used IBM products.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was easy but complex. I made some investigations because of life. We were looking for other options. 

It was kind of a little challenge to configure it. It had plenty of configuration flaws. Zenoss Service Dynamics needs to define automation. It was relatively hard to manage this part.

The deployment usually is not that hard, maybe a day. The customization will take most of the time, i.e. the number of plug-ins available. In total, it's probably a month or more to install.

What other advice do I have?

Zenoss Service Dynamics is a good product. They need some sort of customer issue support from the company. Whatever they need to build, we have to think about using it.

I'll give Zenoss Service Dynamics a ten out of ten. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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PankajSoni - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Consultant at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Consultant
Leaderboard
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​Its Docker Container concept is amazing although threshold parameters should be percentages not raw values​

What is most valuable?

Its Docker Container concept is mind blowing. It is the first monitoring tool which comes with Docker features.

What needs improvement?

Now it is stable, but they should design threshold parameters in percentage instead of raw values.

For how long have I used the solution?

Two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Yes.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No issues in tools.

How are customer service and technical support?

Zenoss support is good.

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

It is fully dependent on costing and customer and architect.

How was the initial setup?

It is straightforward.

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

It depends on the customer, what he wants.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Yes, I evaluate products and check all requirements before choosing it.

What other advice do I have?

Before implementation, please clear all the customer requirements, then choose products accordingly.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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SS
CTO, Partner at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Real User
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It is scalable and customizable - and more complex.

Valuable Features

  • Very scalable
  • Very customizable

Improvements to My Organization

  • Deep integration
  • Automation of processes via customizations

Room for Improvement

  • Simplified installation
  • Improved consistency of monitoring templates

Use of Solution

I have been using it since 2011.

Deployment Issues

Deployment is overly complicated.

Customer Service and Technical Support

Technical support is 3/10, poor:

  • Incomplete and poor documentation
  • Undocumented processes
  • Inconsistent solutions to problems depending on source

Initial Setup

Setup is very complicated; pruning to desired monitors is very easy and efficient.

Implementation Team

An internal team implemented it.

Carefully plan the partition sizes and scaling ahead of time. Don't skimp on the memory. Do not mess with the local NATing or iptables!

Pricing, Setup Cost and Licensing

Paid annually for Zenoss ZSD, this solution is expensive at low-volume rates; Zenoss Core is free and meets most low-volume customer needs.

Other Solutions Considered

We regularly evaluate new solutions since we're an implementer in this space. Zenoss is more complex than LogicMonitor, but scalable and hugely customizable.

Other Advice

Carefully choose between Zenoss Core (OSS/free) and Zenoss ZSD; Core will meet most customers’ uses very well.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: My company is an implementation partner and certified by Zenoss.
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Application Infrastructure Report and find out what your peers are saying about Zenoss, Microsoft, Azul Systems, and more!
Updated: June 2022
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Application Infrastructure Report and find out what your peers are saying about Zenoss, Microsoft, Azul Systems, and more!
Buyer's Guide
Application Infrastructure
June 2022
DOWNLOAD NOW
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