Best Linux System Monitoring GUI Tools – OrcaCore

This tutorial aims to introduce the Best Linux System Monitoring GUI Tools. Every Linux Administrator needs tools to monitor their systems effectively. Here, we present several tools for monitoring servers that can be accessed through a Web GUI. Some are available for free, while others offer trial versions. Let’s begin by understanding what system monitoring entails before diving into the Best Linux System Monitoring GUI Tools.

What is System Monitoring in Linux Server?

System monitoring, in essence, allows you to track every piece of information on your server. Using monitoring tools, you can monitor CPU and memory usage, storage capacity, hardware temperature, network activity, and more.

Here’s a list highlighting the benefits of system monitoring:

Benefits of Linux System Monitoring
Detect all server and network problems.
Find the root cause of failures.
Help in reducing maintenance costs.
Troubleshoot performance issues.
Help update the system before it becomes outdated.
Fix problems automatically when detected.
Ensure servers, services, applications, and the network are always up and running.
Help update the system before it gets outdated.

Now, let’s explore some of the Best Linux System Monitoring GUI Tools. These tools empower Linux administrators to track their servers and protect them from potential issues.

Tool 1 – Zabbix Monitoring Software

One of the Best Linux System Monitoring GUI Tools is Zabbix. It’s a widely popular and utilized open-source monitoring tool capable of numerous tasks. Zabbix can monitor network usage, CPU load, services, and more.

It also supports other operating systems like Windows, macOS, and others.

Zabbix provides a comprehensive dashboard accessible through a Web GUI, allowing you to view your IT components.

Here’s a breakdown of Zabbix’s features and advantages:

Zabbix Monitoring Tool	Features	Advantages
1	Visualization	Nice web interface
2	Zabbix API	Monitor both server and network devices
3	Notification and remediation	Flexibility in decentralizing users
4	Effortless deployments	Easy to manipulate and configure
5	Security and authentication	Supports many Operating Systems
6	Metric collection	Trusted in user authentication
7	Problem detection	Report problems via email and SMS
8	Distributed monitoring	etc.

These features and advantages make Zabbix a powerful monitoring tool for Linux administrators.

Best Linux System Monitoring GUI Tools – Zabbix

Tips: Visit the Orcacore website for Zabbix installation and configuration guides on Linux distributions. Here are the latest stable Zabbix installations on the following servers:

Install Zabbix 6.4 on Ubuntu 22.04

Install Zabbix 6.4 on AlmaLinux 9

Tool 2 – Grafana Analytics and Monitoring Tool

Another excellent monitoring tool is Grafana. This open-source tool analyzes and monitors data, enabling you to track user and app behaviors and system errors. Grafana connects with various data sources, including Graphite, Prometheus, InfluxDB, ElasticSearch, MySQL, and PostgreSQL.

Grafana’s dashboard pulls data from connected data sources, providing numerous features to monitor and analyze your server.

Best Linux System Monitoring GUI Tools – Grafana

Tips: Find Grafana guides on the Orcacore website. The following guides provide Grafana installation and usage:

Install Grafana on Windows Server 2022

Install Grafana on Debian 12 Bookworm

Tool 3 – Prometheus Monitoring System Tool

Prometheus, another entry in the Best Linux System Monitoring GUI Tools, is a free and open-source monitoring and alerting toolkit. It collects and stores metrics as time-series data, recording information with timestamps and optional key-value pairs called labels.

Best Linux System Monitoring GUI Tools – Prometheus

Here’s a list of Prometheus’s key features:

Prometheus Monitoring Tool	Features	Description
1	Multidimensional data model	Using time-series data, identified by metric name and key-value pairs.
2	PromQL	A flexible querying language leveraging the multi-dimensional data model.
3	No reliance on distributed storage	Single server nodes are autonomous.
4	Pull model	Prometheus collects time-series data by actively "pulling" data over HTTP.
5	Pushing time-series data	Available through an intermediary gateway.
6	Monitoring target discovery	Available through static configuration or service discovery.
7	Visualization	Prometheus offers multiple types of graphs and dashboards.

Prometheus can be integrated with Grafana, using Prometheus to collect rich metrics and Grafana to transform them into meaningful visualizations.

Tips: Use the following links for Prometheus server installation examples:

Set up Prometheus Server on AlmaLinux 9

Install and Configure Prometheus on Ubuntu 22.04

Tool 4 – Cacti Network Monitoring and Management Tool

Cacti is an open-source network monitoring and management tool with a graphical interface for RRDTool (Round Robin Tool). It tracks CPU and memory usage, bandwidth, speed, and network activity.

Cacti is a good choice for monitoring your system equipment over time.

Best Linux System Monitoring GUI Tools – Cacti

Tips: Cacti installation can be complex. The following guides can help you configure and access your Cacti dashboard:

Install and Configure Cacti on Ubuntu 22.04

How To Install and Configure Cacti on Centos 7

Install and Configure Cacti on AlmaLinux 8

Tool 5 – Nagios System Monitoring Software

Nagios is another entry among the Best Linux System Monitoring GUI Tools, monitoring networks, applications, and servers. It helps find and fix system issues and protect against future damage.

Here’s a list to help you understand Nagios:

Nagios Monitoring Tool	Features	Advantages
1	Monitor Server Databases	Helps to get rid of periodic testing
2	Gives application-level information	Detects split-second failures
3	Provides active development	Reduces maintenance cost without sacrificing performance
4	Excellent support from communities	Provides timely notification of control and breakdown to management
5	Can be run on any operating systems	Informative and attractive web interfaces
6	Has a ping feature	etc.

These features and benefits make Nagios a solid choice for system monitoring.

Best Linux System Monitoring GUI Tools – Nagios

Tips: Find Nagios installation guides on the Orcacore website. Here are two examples of Nagios setup on Linux:

Nagios Core Installation on Debian 12 Bookworm

Install and Configure Nagios on Rocky Linux 8

Tool 6 – OpenNMS Network Monitoring Platform

OpenNMS is a free and open-source network monitoring and management tool. It provides reliable, scalable performance and network traffic monitoring through a web interface. This is yet another example of one of the Best Linux System Monitoring GUI Tools.

OpenNMS has many features:

OpenNMS Monitoring Tool	Features
1	SNMP Monitoring
2	Auto Discovery
3	IPV6 Support
4	Interface Error Data
5	Passive Fault Detection
6	Fast Polling
7	Clear Correlation
8	Network Discard Data
9	Average Response Time Data
10	Power Supply Monitoring
11	Utilization and Error Rates
12	Reporting

OpenNMS can be easily used via Web GUI.

Best Linux System Monitoring GUI Tools – OpenNMS

Tips: Follow these guides for OpenNMS setup on Linux:

Set up OpenNMS on Ubuntu 20.04

Install and Configure OpenNMS on AlmaLinux 9

Tool 7 – Monitorix Lightweight System Monitoring Tool

Monitorix is a lightweight, free, and open-source monitoring tool for Linux distributions. It monitors CPU load and temperature, network device activity, and network services.

It has an easy setup on Linux distributions, providing simple and Multi-Host monitoring.

Best Linux System Monitoring GUI Tools – Monitorix

Tips: Follow these guides for Monitorix installation and usage:

Install Monitorix on Debian 11

Install Monitorix on AlmaLinux 8

Tool 8 – Monit Manager and Monitoring Tool

Monit is a small, free, open-source monitoring tool for Linux distributions. It monitors and manages processes, files, directories, and services. It also monitors remote hosts’ TCP/IP ports, server protocols, and pings.

You can easily add services to your Monit service manager dashboard.

Best Linux System Monitoring GUI Tools – Monit Manager

Tips: These tutorials provide Monit installation and usage:

Install and Use Monit on AlmaLinux 8

Install and Configure Monit Manager on Ubuntu 20.04

Conclusion

You’ve now explored the Best Linux System Monitoring GUI Tools. Each offers unique features and advantages. This tutorial introduced them in detail and provided installation examples.

What are your thoughts on Linux monitoring? Which tool will you use? Share your ideas and comments!

Visit Monitoring Tutorials for more information about system monitoring.

Alternative Solutions for Linux System Monitoring

While the GUI tools listed above are valuable, alternative approaches can provide equally effective system monitoring. Here are two different methods, including explanations and code examples:

1. Using Command-Line Tools and Custom Scripting

Linux provides powerful command-line tools that, when combined with scripting, can offer a tailored monitoring solution without relying on a full-fledged GUI. This approach is particularly useful for systems with limited resources or when specific metrics need to be tracked.

Explanation:

Command-Line Tools: Utilize tools like top, vmstat, iostat, df, free, netstat, and ss to gather system metrics.
Scripting (Bash/Python): Write scripts to automate metric collection, perform calculations (e.g., CPU usage percentage), set thresholds, and generate alerts.
Data Storage (Optional): Store collected data in a simple text file or a lightweight database (e.g., SQLite) for historical analysis.
Alerting: Implement alerting mechanisms via email, SMS, or integration with messaging platforms (e.g., Slack) when thresholds are breached.

Code Example (Bash):

This script monitors CPU usage and sends an email alert if it exceeds 80%.

#!/bin/bash

# Set threshold
THRESHOLD=80

# Get CPU usage
CPU_USAGE=$(top -bn1 | grep "Cpu(s)" | awk '{print $2 + $4}')

# Check if CPU usage exceeds threshold
if (( $(echo "$CPU_USAGE > $THRESHOLD" | bc -l) )); then
  # Send email alert
  echo "CPU usage is above $THRESHOLD%: $CPU_USAGE%" | mail -s "High CPU Usage Alert" your_email@example.com
fi

echo "CPU Usage: $CPU_USAGE%"

Explanation of the code:

#!/bin/bash: Shebang line specifying the interpreter for the script.
THRESHOLD=80: Sets the CPU usage threshold to 80%.
CPU_USAGE=$(...): Captures CPU usage using top command and awk for parsing.
if (( $(echo "$CPU_USAGE > $THRESHOLD" | bc -l) )): Checks if CPU usage exceeds the threshold using bc for floating-point comparison.
echo "..." | mail ...: Sends an email alert if the threshold is exceeded.
echo "CPU Usage: $CPU_USAGE%": Prints the CPU usage to the console.

2. Using a Terminal-Based Monitoring Tool (e.g., `htop`, `glances`)

Instead of a full GUI, terminal-based monitoring tools provide an interactive and comprehensive view of system resources within the terminal itself.

Explanation:

Terminal-Based Tools: Tools like htop (an improved top), glances, and nmon offer real-time monitoring of CPU, memory, disk I/O, and network activity.
Interactive Interface: These tools provide a dynamic, color-coded display that is easy to interpret and navigate.
Lightweight and Efficient: They consume minimal system resources, making them suitable for monitoring servers with limited capabilities.
Customization: Many terminal-based tools offer customization options to display specific metrics and set alert conditions.

Installation (Example – Ubuntu/Debian for htop):

sudo apt update
sudo apt install htop

Usage:

Simply type htop in the terminal to launch the tool. You can then use the arrow keys to navigate the process list and view detailed information about each process. glances offers a similar interface with even more metrics, including disk I/O and network statistics.

Advantages of Command-Line and Terminal-Based Monitoring:

Lower Overhead: Less resource-intensive compared to GUI-based tools.
Customization: Highly customizable through scripting and configuration.
Remote Access: Works seamlessly over SSH connections.
Automation: Easily integrated into automated scripts and monitoring systems.

By combining command-line tools with scripting or using terminal-based monitoring tools, you can create efficient and tailored solutions for Linux system monitoring without relying on a graphical user interface. These approaches are particularly useful in resource-constrained environments or when a specific set of metrics needs to be tracked.