Icinga 2 vs Smokeping
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted monitoring & status options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Icinga 2 | Smokeping |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 86 · Excellent | 69 · Good |
| Category | Monitoring & Status | Monitoring & Status |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | C++ | Perl |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,239 | ★ 1,967 |
| First released | 2014 | 2003 |
| Replaces | SolarWinds, PRTG | PRTG |
What are Icinga 2 and Smokeping?
Icinga 2
Icinga 2 is a modern monitoring system that checks the availability of network resources and notifies users of outages. It is Nagios-compatible, scales across clusters, and pairs with Icinga Web for a polished interface.
- Distributed cluster monitoring
- REST API for automation
- Nagios plugin compatibility
- Modern Icinga Web UI
Smokeping
SmokePing measures network latency and packet loss, storing and graphing the results to reveal connection quality over time. Its distinctive smoke graphs visualize jitter and loss for troubleshooting.
- Latency and packet loss graphs
- Distinctive smoke visualization
- Multiple probe types
- Alerting on degradation
Icinga 2 vs Smokeping: key differences
Icinga 2 is written in C++, while Smokeping is built with Perl. Smokeping is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Icinga 2. Smokeping is the more established project (first released 2003), while Icinga 2 arrived in 2014.
Why pick each one
Choose Icinga 2 if…
- Scales to large environments
- Active development and community
Watch out for
- Steep initial setup
- Multiple components to manage
Choose Smokeping if…
- Excellent for connection quality
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- Single-purpose tool
- Dated UI
Frequently asked questions
Is Icinga 2 or Smokeping better?
Neither is universally better. Icinga 2 has the larger community, while Smokeping is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Icinga 2 and Smokeping free and open-source?
Yes. Icinga 2 is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Smokeping under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Icinga 2 and Smokeping with Docker?
Icinga 2: yes. Smokeping: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Icinga 2 or Smokeping?
Smokeping has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Icinga 2. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.