Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Observium VS Cacti

Compare Observium VS Cacti and see what are their differences

Observium logo Observium

Observium

Cacti logo Cacti

Cacti is a complete network graphing solution. It provides a fast poller, advanced graph templating, multiple data acquisition methods, and user management features.
  • Observium Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-16
  • Cacti Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-04-12

Observium features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Observium offers a clean and intuitive web-based interface, making it easy for users to navigate and monitor their network infrastructure without extensive training.
  • Detailed Network Monitoring
    Observium provides comprehensive monitoring capabilities, including support for a wide range of devices and detailed insights into bandwidth usage, CPU/memory consumption, and other critical metrics.
  • Automatic Discovery
    The platform automatically discovers network devices and adds them to the monitoring dashboard, reducing the manual effort required for setup and maintenance.
  • Wide Compatibility
    Observium is compatible with a large number of network hardware and software vendors, ensuring that users can monitor a diverse set of devices without compatibility issues.
  • Flexible Alerting
    The alerting system in Observium allows users to set up custom alerts based on a variety of conditions, ensuring timely notifications for potential issues.
  • Open Source Option
    Observium offers a free Community Edition with essential features, making it accessible for small businesses and individuals with limited budgets.

Possible disadvantages of Observium

  • Limited Free Version
    While the Community Edition is free, it lacks some advanced features and support available in the paid Professional Edition, potentially limiting its usefulness for larger organizations.
  • Resource Intensive
    Observium can be resource-intensive, requiring significant CPU and memory, especially in large network environments, which can affect performance and scalability.
  • Complex Configuration
    Initial setup and configuration can be complex and may require a certain level of expertise in network management, potentially posing a barrier for less experienced users.
  • Limited Customization
    The customization options for dashboards and reports are somewhat limited in comparison to other network monitoring tools, which may not meet specific user requirements.
  • Support Limitations
    Community support is limited for the free version, and official support services are only available for the paid Professional Edition, which may pose challenges for troubleshooting issues.
  • No Integrated Ticketing
    Observium lacks an integrated ticketing system for issue management, necessitating the use of external tools for end-to-end incident handling and resolution.

Cacti features and specs

  • Open Source
    Cacti is free to use and its source code is open for modification, providing flexibility and cost savings for users.
  • Scalability
    Cacti can handle large amounts of data and scale to monitor numerous devices, making it suitable for both small and large networks.
  • Customization
    Users can create custom reports and graphs to suit specific needs, allowing a tailored monitoring experience.
  • SNMP Support
    Cacti supports the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), enabling it to collect data from a wide range of network devices.
  • Community and Plug-ins
    Cacti has an active community that contributes plugins and extensions, enhancing its functionality and providing support.

Possible disadvantages of Cacti

  • Complex Setup
    Initial setup and configuration can be complex, requiring a steep learning curve for new users.
  • Outdated Interface
    The user interface may appear outdated and less intuitive compared to other modern monitoring tools.
  • Performance
    As the amount of monitored data increases, the performance of Cacti can degrade, necessitating optimization or more robust hardware.
  • Limited Real-Time Monitoring
    Cacti primarily focuses on historical data and may not be as effective for real-time monitoring needs.
  • Dependence on Third-Party Tools
    Some features and functionalities may rely on third-party plugins, which can affect stability and introduce compatibility issues.

Analysis of Observium

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Observium is considered a good option for network monitoring needs. Its combination of comprehensive monitoring features, a user-friendly interface, and broad device support makes it a valuable tool for network administrators.

Why this product is good

  • Observium is highly regarded for its automated network monitoring capabilities. It offers an intuitive interface and supports a wide range of devices, providing detailed insights into network performance. The system's historical data collection and alerting features allow for proactive network management and can help prevent issues before they affect users. Observium is also praised for its ease of installation and minimal maintenance requirements, making it an attractive option for organizations of varying sizes.

Recommended for

  • Small to medium-sized businesses looking for an affordable and effective network monitoring solution.
  • Network administrators who need a tool that supports a wide array of devices and can be quickly deployed.
  • Organizations seeking proactive monitoring tools to prevent network issues and maintain optimal performance.

Observium videos

Observium Video Demo

More videos:

  • Review - Observium Network Monitoring [Automated Installation] 15 min or less
  • Tutorial - How To Install Observium On Ubuntu With Nginx

Cacti videos

CALINE Crazy Cacti Overdrive CP-20 Pedal Review - Syuwari Ritchie

More videos:

  • Review - Caline Crazy Cacti Overdrive Pedal
  • Review - DONT HUG CACTI Fursuit Review!
  • Demo - Introduction to Cacti | The primary features of Cacti

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Observium and Cacti)
Monitoring Tools
48 48%
52% 52
Log Management
36 36%
64% 64
Performance Monitoring
35 35%
65% 65
Network & Admin
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Observium and Cacti

Observium Reviews

The Best Open Source Network Monitoring Tools in 2023
Description: Observium Community is the free version of Observium’s network monitoring solution. With the free version, users can monitor an unlimited number of devices while also taking full advantage of Observium’s network mapping features. The Observium network monitoring platform features automatic discovery of connected devices, ensuring that the map of your network is...
Top 10 PRTG Alternatives for Monitoring Networks and IT Infrastructure
Observium is similar to LibreNMS (which is a fork of it) and comes in Enterprise, Professional and Community Editions, so you have a free version if you want to try it out. It is more a network centric tool instead of a systems monitoring tool.
10 Best Zabbix Alternatives
Unlike other monitoring tools, Observium is easy to install and set up. If you are looking for a viable alternative to Zabbix, Observium is also a good option to consider. Unlike Zabbix, Observium is much easier to set up and customize even though it shares similar requirements. However, Observium does not run on Windows and has no data export.
13 Best Nagios Alternatives for Networks, Servers, IT Systems Monitoring
Many businesses prefer Observium because its features have been automated for the most part. Users can install the software and admins gain immediate visibility in the environment.
Best Linux Network Monitoring Tools for 2020
Observium Community is a Linux network monitoring tool designed for small servers. It provides a compendium of online experts who send its users biannual patches and updates to system software. It’s compatible with a wide variety of operating systems and uses standard SNMP network monitoring. Observium Community operates with an impressive variety of monitoring features, but...

Cacti Reviews

The Best Cacti Monitoring Alternatives
Cacti is one of the most popular open-source network monitoring tools. Cacti allows you to monitor various metrics and look at them from its user-friendly, modern dashboard. Although it has a relatively steep learning curve, many businesses have chosen to make Cacti their network monitoring solution of choice.
The Best Open Source Network Monitoring Tools in 2023
Description: Cacti is an open source network monitoring tool based on RRDTool’s data logging and graphing system. The tool uses network polling and data collection functionality to gather information on devices on networks of any size. This includes the ability to design custom scripts for data collection alongside support for SNMP polling. It then displays this information...
10 Best Open Source Monitoring Software for IT Infrastructure
Cacti is another open-source network monitoring tool that can be installed on Linux or Windows OS. It is connected to RRDTool, which allows us to generate graphs related to relevant network data.
Source: geekflare.com
Best Open Source Network Monitoring Tools and Software (Linux/Windows)
For example, there are many other open source monitoring tools that exist such as OpenNMS, Cacti, and Zennos and you have to consider the benefits of each one from the perspective of your requirement.
Best Linux Network Monitoring Tools for 2020
Cacti has been around for nearly 20 years, and it’s one of the most prominent names in open-source network monitoring software. Cacti allows multiple users to monitor network devices and log network data, and it offers privacy settings to determine which users have access to what items. It also visualizes data by using RRDTool, a data logging and graphing software. Cacti’s...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Observium seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 2 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Observium mentions (2)

  • Documenting Existing Linux Servers
    Environment-wide stats such as disk utilization and load averages can be done using Observium with very minimal effort required to get started (no additional agent required as it monitors using SNMP, and it automatically detects what to monitor on a system / UPS / PDU / etc). Source: over 3 years ago
  • Nagios Monitoring
    If you're looking for a tool that can graph resource utilization for a large number of device types out of the box using SNMP, you might take a look at Observium. Source: over 3 years ago

Cacti mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Cacti yet. Tracking of Cacti recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Observium and Cacti, you can also consider the following products

Zabbix - Track, record, alert and visualize performance and availability of IT resources

LibreNMS - A fully featured network monitoring system that provides a wealth of features and device support.

Datadog - See metrics from all of your apps, tools & services in one place with Datadog's cloud monitoring as a service solution. Try it for free.

Icinga - Icinga is a fork of Nagios and is backward compatible.

Paessler PRTG - An advanced network monitoring solution to monitor network up/downtime, traffic and usage.

Nagios - Complete monitoring and alerting for servers, switches, applications, and services