NetXMS 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 | NetXMS | Smokeping |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 78 · Good | 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 | bare-metal, docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 403 | ★ 1,967 |
| First released | 2004 | 2003 |
| Replaces | SolarWinds, PRTG | PRTG |
What are NetXMS and Smokeping?
NetXMS
NetXMS is an open-source network and infrastructure monitoring system with auto-discovery, event correlation, and a flexible alerting engine. It scales from small networks to large distributed environments.
- Network auto-discovery
- Event correlation
- Distributed monitoring
- SNMP and agent support
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
NetXMS vs Smokeping: key differences
NetXMS 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 NetXMS. Smokeping has the considerably larger community, at 1,967 GitHub stars versus 403.
Why pick each one
Choose NetXMS if…
- Powerful event processing
- Scales to large networks
Watch out for
- Steep learning curve
- Desktop console for full features
Choose Smokeping if…
- Excellent for connection quality
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- Single-purpose tool
- Dated UI
Frequently asked questions
Is NetXMS or Smokeping better?
Smokeping is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider NetXMS if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are NetXMS and Smokeping free and open-source?
Yes. NetXMS is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Smokeping under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run NetXMS and Smokeping with Docker?
NetXMS: yes. Smokeping: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, NetXMS or Smokeping?
Smokeping has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for NetXMS. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.