More and more networking pros need to familiarize themselves with Linux because the operating system underpins so many enterprise tools and platforms including software-defined networking and SD-WANs, cloud networking, network automation, and configuration management.And in the decades since it was first introduced, the number of distributions of Linux has blossomed as developers create versions that meet the needs of specific interest groups. While all the versions share a common core, they each have distinguishing characteristic suited to designated purposes.[ Also see Invaluable tips and tricks for troubleshooting Linux. ]
This article takes a look at five of them – Debian, Fedora, CentOS, RHEL, and Ubuntu - how to acquire and install them, and an assessment of what they might best be suited for.To read this article in full, please click here
Network management tools have come a long way from the early command-line products with arcane, text-based configuration files that kept everyone except the resident (typically Linux) guru in the dark. Today’s management tools, replete with desktop or web-based GUIs, easy installs and configuration wizards, are far more accessible. With each iteration vendors find ways to make these tools more powerful and easier to use. For this review, we evaluated newer versions of three established open-source network management products – OpenNMS, Zenoss Core and NetXMS – as well as a relative newcomer, Sensu Core. All four products are free and open source.To read this article in full, please click here
Network management tools have come a long way from the early command-line products with arcane, text-based configuration files that kept everyone except the resident (typically Linux) guru in the dark. Today’s management tools, replete with desktop or web-based GUIs, easy installs and configuration wizards, are far more accessible. With each iteration vendors find ways to make these tools more powerful and easier to use. For this review, we evaluated newer versions of three established open-source network management products – OpenNMS, Zenoss Core and NetXMS – as well as a relative newcomer, Sensu Core. All four products are free and open source.To read this article in full, please click here
We took a look at open-source Zabbix network monitoring software version 3.4.9 and found it to be a solid, straightforward offering that’s easy to install, provides the configurability and granularity that enterprises demand, and delivers fast discovery.To read this article in full, please click here(Insider Story)
We took a look at open-source Zabbix network monitoring software version 3.4.9 and found it to be a solid, straightforward offering that’s easy to install, provides the configurability and granularity that enterprises demand, and delivers fast discovery.To read this article in full, please click here(Insider Story)
The free and open-source network monitoring software Nagios Core has a long and strong reputation, providing the base for other monitoring suites - Icinga, Naemon and OP5 among them – and a history dating back to 2002 when it launched under the name NetSaint.For this review we tested Nagios Core version 4.4.2 for Linux, which monitors common network services such as HTTP, SMTP, POP3, NNTP and PING.There’s a Windows port that’s a plugin, but many users say it’s unstable. The version we tested also tracks the usage of host resources such as processor load, memory and disk utilization.[ Also see reviews of Icinga and Observium network-monitoring software. | For regularly scheduled insights sign up for Network World newsletters. ]
Hardware requirements vary depending on the number and types of items being monitored, but generally speaking Nagios recommends a server configuration with at least two or four cores, 4-8 GB of RAM and adequate storage for the intended application.To read this article in full, please click here
The free and open-source network monitoring software Nagios Core has a long and strong reputation, providing the base for other monitoring suites - Icinga, Naemon and OP5 among them – and a history dating back to 2002 when it launched under the name NetSaint.For this review we tested Nagios Core version 4.4.2 for Linux, which monitors common network services such as HTTP, SMTP, POP3, NNTP and PING.There’s a Windows port that’s a plugin, but many users say it’s unstable. The version we tested also tracks the usage of host resources such as processor load, memory and disk utilization.[ Also see reviews of Icinga and Observium network-monitoring software. | For regularly scheduled insights sign up for Network World newsletters. ]
Hardware requirements vary depending on the number and types of items being monitored, but generally speaking Nagios recommends a server configuration with at least two or four cores, 4-8 GB of RAM and adequate storage for the intended application.To read this article in full, please click here
Continuing our quest for robust, enterprise-grade open source network monitoring, we tested Icinga Core 2 (version 2.8.1) and the stand-alone Icinga Web 2 interface. Created in 2009 as a fork of the Nagios network monitoring tool, Icinga has come a long way.We found Icinga to be a powerful monitoring tool with many great features. The Core install is straightforward and basic monitoring is easy with either pre-configured templates or plugins. However, we discovered that the Web install is a bit more complicated and could stand to be streamlined.
[ Don’t miss customer reviews of top remote access tools and see the most powerful IoT companies . | Get daily insights by signing up for Network World newsletters. ]
Icinga runs on most of the popular Linux distros and the vendor provides detailed installation instructions for Ubuntu, Debian, Red Hat (including CentOS and Fedora) and SUSE/SLES. Icinga does not publish specific hardware requirements, but our installation ran well on a quad-core processor with 4 GB RAM and this is probably be a good starting point for a basic installation.To read this article in full, please click here
Continuing our quest for robust, enterprise-grade open source network monitoring, we tested Icinga Core 2 (version 2.8.1) and the stand-alone Icinga Web 2 interface. Created in 2009 as a fork of the Nagios network monitoring tool, Icinga has come a long way.We found Icinga to be a powerful monitoring tool with many great features. The Core install is straightforward and basic monitoring is easy with either pre-configured templates or plugins. However, we discovered that the Web install is a bit more complicated and could stand to be streamlined.
[ Don’t miss customer reviews of top remote access tools and see the most powerful IoT companies . | Get daily insights by signing up for Network World newsletters. ]
Icinga runs on most of the popular Linux distros and the vendor provides detailed installation instructions for Ubuntu, Debian, Red Hat (including CentOS and Fedora) and SUSE/SLES. Icinga does not publish specific hardware requirements, but our installation ran well on a quad-core processor with 4 GB RAM and this is probably be a good starting point for a basic installation.To read this article in full, please click here
Open source network-monitoring tools continue to gain in popularity, and Observium came up on our radar as an enterprise-grade offering. Deployed worldwide by large organizations like eBay, PayPal, Twitter and the US Department of Energy, Observium is capable of handling tens of thousands of devices. The client list is impressive, but our test reveals what’s really under the hood.Observium runs on Linux but can monitor Windows and many other device types. The vendor recommends running Observium on Ubuntu/Debian, but it will also work on distros such as Red Hat/CentOS.[ Don’t miss customer reviews of top remote access tools and see the most powerful IoT companies . | Get daily insights by signing up for Network World newsletters. ]
Since Apache and MySQL are prerequisites for Observium, your server needs to meet the hardware requirements to run them. In our test, a quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM and adequate storage provided enough horsepower to run our medium-size test environment.To read this article in full, please click here
Machine-to-machine (M2M) communication is a significant and growing subset of the larger Internet of Things (IoT) movement, so you have to ask, “Is my network ready for machine-to-machine (M2M) devices?”To read this article in full, please click here(Insider Story)
Machine-to-machine (M2M) communication is a significant and growing subset of the larger Internet of Things (IoT) movement, so you have to ask, “Is my network ready for machine-to-machine (M2M) devices?”To read this article in full, please click here(Insider Story)
Legacy manual and barcode systems are still in widespread use, but many organizations are turning to the internet of things, specifically RFID tags, to streamline asset tracking in the data center.To read this article in full, please click here(Insider Story)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is a multi-purpose server that has long been popular with Internet Service Providers for various Web-based workloads, but it’s well suited for enterprises as well, and even small businesses.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Ubuntu is one of the most popular versions of Linux, with a very substantial market base, especially in the cloud.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Ubuntu is one of the most popular versions of Linux, with a very substantial market base, especially in the cloud.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Oracle Linux has been around for more than 10 years, but has been gaining market share and the company says it has over 14,000 customers world-wide.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
If you need comprehensive support, the comfort of having a well-established Linux vendor on your side and you have the budget to pay for it, then you should give Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.4 a careful look.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Susan Perschke