Today's software applications require developers, testers, and SysAdmins to work together (DevSecOps) more seamlessly than ever before. Badly configured services or a single line of code can cause slowdowns that can be crippling for end-users. This is where infrastructure and application monitoring comes in.
Monitoring Linux server performance metrics is crucial for SysAdmins. This helps them keep an eye on their mail servers and caches, web/application server servers, and other Linux servers. Include server OS health analysis, resources usage (disk I/O, memory swap, CPU), network check, Firewall/Security and MySQL performance. ), PHP (PHP–FPM, OpCache).
I started keeping a list of the Top 100 Server Monitoring & Application Monitoring solutions (APM) almost two years ago. The list contains BOTH free and paid Linux Server Monitoring and APM solutions. A growing number of solutions offer free accounts, or are completely free and open-source. Also, refer to our previous articles on observability.
Datadog: Modern monitoring and analytics
Datadog is an infrastructure management service ideal for IT shops that can fully leverage its automation, application programming interface (API), and data analysis capabilities. Datadog also offers many connectors (350+), dashboards, alerts, and alerts which smaller companies will find useful. Free accounts include core collection, visualization, discussion group support, 1-day metrics retention, and up to five hosts.
Nginx amplify: Linux Server Monitoring + MySQL Free
Nginx Amplify has a free version, but I have been told they will eventually charge for it. Nginx Amplify provides a SaaS-based monitoring solution for the Nginx HTTP servers. With NGINX Amplify, you can monitor performance, keep track of infrastructure assets, and improve server configuration via analysis. Nginx Amplify monitors the underlying OS, application server (like PHP-FPM), database servers (MySQL) and other components. The control panel displays information on security- and performance-related issues. It has been my tool of choice for nearly two years to monitor Nginx performance and full-page caching via fastcgi_cache. Enjoy it while it is completely free!
Netdata: Get control of your servers. Simple. Effective. Free
You can monitor the status of your applications and systems with interactive web dashboards. Performance/health alarms are also available. Out of the box, Netdata supports MySQL, Memcached, Redis, Nginx and others. You can also integrate modules and plugins with Netdata. They are free and open-source.
Munin: Open-source Linux server monitoring program
Munin is a system monitoring and network monitoring software application. This is a self-hosted solution for monitoring your Linux server, network and many other applications/services. Open-source and free.
Additional options for Linux server monitoring/APM
Last updated: April 3rd 2022
AppDynamics is now offering a free trial for a period of 15 days. Cacti – Open Source, free. Collectd - free, Open Source project. Goaccess.io Open Source HTTP Monitoring. (Nginx, Apache, etc.) Grafana - Scale observation with any or all of the stack pieces Icinga - Open Source Monitoring. Influxdb allows you to quickly and efficiently build time-series-based apps. Monit - free, Open Source software. Monitorix – Free, Open Source Software, very lightweight Nagios - You can download + install Nagios core for free. After a 14-day trial, New Relic offers a free plan. Prometheus Open Source Software. Self-hosted. Telegraf – Open-source tool that collects metrics for stacks, sensors, systems, and more Zabbix - Free Open Source Software No hidden charges or limits More... (Post your suggestions in our comments section below).
Monitoring solutions are not free.
APM and server monitoring are crucial to maintaining a performant and functional infrastructure. Upgrade to paid solutions to monitor your applications at code-level with minimal overhead. WEBARCHIVE This allows you to monitor them in real-time, or within minutes. (100+ Top Server Monitoring and Application Monitoring Tools).
You can start free, but it's okay to upgrade as your traffic, infrastructure, and monitoring requirements grow. It may be best to choose and combine premium options that are within your budget. AppDynamics and Datadog, New Relic, for example, allow you to upgrade or purchase premium add-ons services.