open source

Nagios Enterprise Network Monitoring

Large IT shops use enterprise-class network and application monitoring on a daily basis. Implementations of suites such as HP OpenView, CA, and others can run in to hundreds of thousands of dollars and required expert knowledge. While it will meet your every need, smaller shops typically cannot afford this kind of investment.
There are also many mid-sized IT management applications targeted toward the MSP model. Kaseya is one that is excellent. There are also strong offerings from Microsoft.
However, what can you do if you have zero budget? Its time to turn to Open Source…
Nagios is an enterprise-class network and application monitoring solution that runs on various Linux platforms and Apache webserver. Installation and configuration, while well documented, will be challenging for novice Linux users. However, once installed and working, this package will cover your needs out of the box. If not, there is a large community developing plugins of every flavor, including environmental monitoring device support. Nagios also has hooks that can be connected to other packages suck as Splunk for advanced indexing, search, etc.
Nagios runs very well in a virtualized environment, just one more reason to check it out (no need for additional server hardware!).

http://www.nagios.org
http://www.splunk.com
http://www.apache.org
http://www.kaseya.com
http://www.openview.hp.com
http://www.ca.com

5 Open Source Sites For Business Tools

It can be challenging to find business tools if you do not know where to start looking. Here is a list of some of the tools I have used. These sites all offer free or very low cost tools.

  1. OpenSource – Repository of info for the Open Source Initiative. Has current news, projects, etc.

  2. Openfiler – Excellent network storage operating system. Converts any old server into FREE storage. Supports industry standard storage protocols. High availability clustering and replication.

  3. Asterisk – Open Source PBX and telephony platform. Packed with many features critical to day-to-day business operations. Available as standalone installation, clustering, VMware appliance. Supports IP softphones and IP desk phones. Can be integrated with existing PBX equipment.

  4. Nagios – Enterprise network monitoring and reporting. Very flexible. Supports monitoring of Windows, linux, Unix, networking devices, printers, etc.

  5. Nessus – Security scanner for Windows, linux, Unix. Can be used for remote external intrusion testing. Scan reports will offer suggestions for increasing security based on findings.

Open Source Solutions For Business

In these tough economic times, IT budgets are being slashed everywhere. Fortunately this does not mean all projects have to come to a halt. Many vendors offer a Lite version at reduced or no cost. Another alternative is to use Open Source tools. These tools are generally “free” and can support enterprise IT departments. A quick Google search reveals that there is a tool for every need. A good place to start is: http://sourceforge.net