With a convenient web interface and a flexible design, the Zenoss monitoring tool is winning converts around the world. Zenoss has an impressive list of features that seem to grow every month. The tool does a great job as a status monitor, and it even supports Nagios plugins. The Zenoss system is also good for monitoring performance and trending (Figure 1). The tool comes stocked with defaults for various types of devices, such as Linux boxes, switches, routers, and even Windows machines, and additional features are easy to add. In the grand tradition of *nix environments, Zenoss is designed with a modular architecture. To add new functionality, just plug in a new module (a ZenPack, in the parlance of the Zenoss masters).

Syslog Server

One function I find especially useful is Zenoss' syslog server. Zenoss will take standard syslog output and act as a syslog server. This means that, in addition to checking status and monitoring performance, you can also view log information, which is often the best way to see cause and effect. Your Windows machines aren't left out of the logging loop either because Zenoss handles Windows event logging via WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation.

Protocols

Zenoss supports monitoring and management technologies such as SNMP, WMI, ping, portscan, and ssh-based monitoring.

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