Introduction
Managing your IT infrastructure can be a daunting task, from ensuring network availability to tracking network performance. Of course, no one wants to end up with a tool that falls short in these critical areas. That's why many businesses turn to open-source network monitoring tools like Icinga and Centreon to help them keep their IT systems running smoothly. In this blog post, the Flare Compare team takes you through an unbiased comparison of Icinga vs Centreon. We'll help you understand the strengths, weaknesses, and unique features of both tools so you can choose the right one for your business.
Ease of Use
When it comes to ease of use, Centreon takes the prize. It has a relatively easy-to-use web interface that's perfect for beginners, though advanced users may find it a bit limiting. Icinga, on the other hand, is a bit more challenging to set up and use, but it's more customizable than Centreon. If you have the time to invest in learning the tool, Icinga is a great choice.
Monitoring Capabilities
Both Icinga and Centreon offer a broad range of monitoring capabilities, allowing you to keep an eye on your entire IT infrastructure. Both tools can monitor servers, network devices, and applications. However, Icinga's modular architecture enables users to customize it to monitor anything they want. This feature makes Icinga a better choice for larger, more complex IT infrastructures.
Performance
When it comes to performance, Icinga is faster than Centreon in terms of how quickly it can detect and report issues. It uses SQL as its primary database storage, which is faster than Centreon's RRDtool. Icinga can hold more historical data and provides better reporting data than Centreon.
Scalability
If you plan on monitoring a vast IT infrastructure, Icinga is the better choice. It can handle more devices and can scale up to meet your business's needs. Centreon is also scalable, but not to the level of Icinga.
Community Support
Both Icinga and Centreon have active communities that develop and maintain these tools. However, Icinga's community is more active, which translates to more plugins, integrations, and frequent updates to keep up with modern technologies.
Price
Both tools are open source and free to use, but support and maintenance services come at a cost. While Centreon has a paid enterprise version, Icinga does not. However, with Icinga, you can pay for third-party support if you need it.
Conclusion
Both Icinga and Centreon have their strengths and weaknesses. If you're looking for a tool that's easy to use and perfect for small to medium businesses, Centreon is a great choice. However, if you're managing more complex infrastructures, require more scalability, and customization options, we recommend Icinga.