Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring
Cloud-scale infrastructure monitoring with real-time dashboards and AIOps.
Checkmk
Unified monitoring for servers, containers, and cloud workloads
Checkmk delivers scalable, low‑resource IT monitoring across physical, virtual, container and cloud environments, offering a free Raw edition and advanced Enterprise/Cloud features for automation and dashboards.
Overview
Overview
Checkmk is a comprehensive IT monitoring platform that works across on‑premise servers, virtual machines, containers, and major public clouds. It targets system administrators, DevOps teams, and managed service providers who need a single solution for infrastructure and application observability.
Capabilities & Deployment
The core engine provides agent‑based and agentless data collection, a web UI, and hundreds of plugins. The free Raw edition supplies the essential monitoring stack, while Enterprise adds distributed monitoring, built‑in dashboards, automated agent management, and integrations such as LDAP and REST APIs. Cloud‑focused editions extend support to Kubernetes, AWS, Azure, and GCP, leveraging OpenTelemetry, push agents, and auto‑registration. Installations are available as native DEB/RPM packages for major Linux distributions, Docker containers, or as virtual/physical appliances, giving flexibility for on‑prem or SaaS deployments.
Extensibility
A vibrant community contributes additional plugins, and the platform’s modular architecture allows custom checks and dashboards, making it adaptable to diverse monitoring requirements.
Highlights
Unified monitoring across physical, virtual, container, and cloud layers
Extensible plugin ecosystem with hundreds of official and community checks
Scalable distributed architecture for large‑scale environments
Integrated dashboards and automation in Enterprise and Cloud editions
Pros
- Free Raw edition provides a fully functional monitoring core
- Low resource consumption suitable for modest hardware
- Broad OS support and Docker deployment options
- Rich set of plugins for diverse technologies
Considerations
- Advanced features require a commercial Enterprise or Cloud license
- Initial configuration of distributed monitoring can be complex
- Professional support is limited to paid editions
- Learning curve for custom plugin development
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Fit guide
Great for
- Small to medium IT environments needing basic, reliable monitoring
- Enterprises requiring distributed monitoring, automation, and dashboards
- Cloud‑native teams managing Kubernetes and public‑cloud workloads
- Managed service providers overseeing multiple customer infrastructures
Not ideal when
- Organizations that prefer a fully managed SaaS without self‑hosting
- Teams lacking Linux or container expertise for installation
- Environments that need only a minimal, out‑of‑the‑box solution
- Projects that require proprietary vendor‑locked features
How teams use it
Server health monitoring
Real‑time alerts and performance metrics across physical and virtual servers
Kubernetes cluster observability
Automatic discovery, OpenTelemetry metric collection, and dashboards for pods and services
Managed service provider multi‑tenant monitoring
Isolated dashboards per client with consolidated reporting and access controls
Compliance and audit reporting
Automated reports integrating LDAP and REST data to satisfy regulatory requirements
Tech snapshot
Python80%
C++5%
TypeScript3%
Vue3%
Shell2%
Rust2%
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Checkmk Raw and Enterprise?
Raw is a free, open‑source edition with core monitoring, while Enterprise adds distributed monitoring, built‑in dashboards, automated agent management, and enterprise integrations.
Which operating systems are supported for installation?
Official packages exist for RedHat‑based distributions, Ubuntu/Debian, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, as well as Docker containers.
Can Checkmk be run as a Docker container?
Yes, all editions provide Docker images that can be deployed on any container‑compatible host.
How does Checkmk collect metrics from cloud services?
The Cloud editions support native integrations for AWS, Azure, GCP, and use OpenTelemetry and push agents for dynamic environments.
Is there a free trial for the Enterprise or Cloud editions?
Both Enterprise and Cloud (self‑hosted) offer free demo versions that can be downloaded for evaluation.
Project at a glance
Active- Stars
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- Watchers
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LicenseGPL-2.0
Repo age6 years old
Last commityesterday
Primary languagePython
Last synced yesterday