LibreNMS vs Zabbix: Which Network Monitor?
Quick Verdict
LibreNMS is the better choice for network-centric monitoring — switches, routers, firewalls, and other SNMP-enabled infrastructure. Its autodiscovery is unmatched and it works out of the box with 1,500+ device types. Zabbix is stronger for mixed environments where you’re monitoring servers, applications, databases, and network gear together. It’s more flexible but more complex. If your primary concern is network infrastructure, use LibreNMS. If you need a single pane of glass across everything, use Zabbix.
At a Glance
| Aspect | LibreNMS | Zabbix |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Network device monitoring | Universal infrastructure monitoring |
| Primary method | SNMP (agentless) | Zabbix Agent + SNMP + HTTP + JMX |
| Autodiscovery | Excellent (CDP, LLDP, OSPF, BGP, ARP) | Good (network scan, agent auto-registration) |
| Device templates | 1,500+ pre-built | 500+ official templates, thousands community |
| Setup complexity | Moderate (multi-container) | Complex (server + proxy + agents) |
| UI | Modern, RRD-based graphs | Functional but dated (improving in 7.x) |
| License | GPL v3 | GPL v2 (+ commercial support option) |
| Language | PHP | C (server), PHP (frontend) |
| Database | MariaDB/MySQL | PostgreSQL, MySQL, TimescaleDB |
Feature Comparison
| Feature | LibreNMS | Zabbix |
|---|---|---|
| SNMP monitoring | Excellent — native, deep integration | Good — full SNMP support |
| Agent-based monitoring | Limited (SNMP Extend scripts) | Excellent (native Zabbix Agent 2) |
| Network topology maps | Automatic (CDP/LLDP-based) | Manual or via network discovery |
| Weathermaps | Built-in plugin | Community plugin |
| Bandwidth graphing | RRD-based, automatic per interface | Template-driven, customizable |
| Syslog collection | Built-in sidecar | Agent-based or Zabbix proxy |
| SNMP trap handling | Built-in sidecar | Built-in |
| Alert transports | 40+ (Slack, Discord, PagerDuty, etc.) | 15+ built-in + custom media types |
| API | Full REST API | Comprehensive JSON-RPC API |
| Dashboards | Customizable, per-device | Highly customizable, global |
| Clustering | Distributed polling (dispatchers) | Zabbix Proxy for distributed monitoring |
| Container monitoring | Via SNMP or custom scripts | Native Docker monitoring in Agent 2 |
| Cloud monitoring | Limited | AWS, Azure, VMware templates |
| SLA reporting | Built-in | Built-in with custom periods |
| Community | Active, welcoming | Large, enterprise-focused |
SNMP Autodiscovery — Where LibreNMS Shines
LibreNMS’s strongest feature is its hands-off network discovery. Point it at a seed device and it follows protocol adjacency tables:
- CDP/LLDP — discovers directly connected switches and routers
- OSPF/BGP — discovers routing neighbors
- ARP tables — finds hosts on connected subnets
Within minutes of adding your core switch, LibreNMS can map your entire network. Each discovered device automatically gets the correct polling template based on its sysDescr OID. Zabbix can discover networks too, but it requires more configuration and the templates aren’t as plug-and-play for network gear.
Agent Monitoring — Where Zabbix Shines
Zabbix Agent 2 (written in Go) provides deep server monitoring that SNMP can’t match:
- Process-level CPU and memory tracking
- Log file monitoring with pattern matching
- Database query monitoring (MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle)
- Docker container metrics
- Custom check scripts in any language
LibreNMS can monitor server metrics via SNMP (net-snmp package), but the data granularity is lower than what a dedicated agent provides.
Resource Requirements
| Component | LibreNMS | Zabbix |
|---|---|---|
| RAM (50 devices) | 2–4 GB | 2–4 GB |
| RAM (500 devices) | 8–16 GB | 8–16 GB |
| Database | MariaDB 10+ | PostgreSQL 13+ recommended |
| Containers | 4–5 (web, dispatcher, snmptrapd, DB, Redis) | 3+ (server, web, DB, + agents on targets) |
Resource usage is similar at comparable scale. The difference is deployment model: LibreNMS is centralized (all containers on one host), while Zabbix distributes agents across monitored hosts.
Setup Complexity
LibreNMS: Deploy the Docker stack, add your first device, let autodiscovery find the rest. Most network devices work out of the box. The learning curve is moderate — the web UI is intuitive for basic operations.
Zabbix: Deploy the server stack, create hosts, assign templates, optionally deploy agents on each monitored server. The template system is powerful but has a steep learning curve. Configuration is done through the web UI with many nested menus.
Final Verdict
Network infrastructure (switches, routers, firewalls): LibreNMS. The SNMP autodiscovery, 1,500+ device templates, and automatic weathermaps make it the clear winner for network-focused monitoring. You’ll have full visibility into your network within an hour of deployment.
Mixed environments (servers + network + applications + cloud): Zabbix. It’s the Swiss Army knife of monitoring. The agent provides deeper server-level insights, and the template system handles everything from a Cisco switch to a PostgreSQL database to an AWS EC2 instance.
Running both: This is actually common in larger setups. LibreNMS for network device monitoring and Zabbix for server and application monitoring. They complement each other well — LibreNMS handles the network layer while Zabbix handles everything above it.
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