Challenge
 

Our client has a large, distributed server environment across two data centers, which was being monitored using a commercial tool. The platform served as a central monitoring system, encompassing monitoring of various layers, especially system, hardware, virtualization, database, and applications.

In order to optimize costs, the client decided to seek an alternative solution. It was expected to be less expensive while allowing for a more flexible approach to expanding the platform with new monitoring capabilities.

Solution

After reviewing the requirements, we proposed the implementation of an open-source technology stack based on the Zabbix platform (as the core monitoring system) and Grafana as a module for presenting and visualizing data. Any other requirements that were not natively available in the Zabbix software were met by implementing dedicated extensions and services to enhance the functionalities.
 

Outcomes

During the four-month implementation, we successfully migrated the monitoring from a commercial platform to the Zabbix platform. Additionally, Hawatel expanded Zabbix with new features that were not available in the previous platform.

As part of the implementation, we conducted a migration that covered approximately a thousand servers (MS Windows/GNU Linux) and network devices. We developed and implemented mechanisms to monitor disk arrays from popular manufacturers such as IBM, Hitachi, and NetApp. Additionally, we implemented monitoring mechanisms for popular Microsoft services such as Active Directory, IIS, MS Exchange, File Server, and RDS Terminals. We also integrated with systems like HPE OneView, IBM Storage, and VMware.

Finally, we introduced a mechanism for flexible configuration of alarm notifications via email and SMS channels and developed around 40 dedicated views in the Grafana visualization platform, categorized for each team.

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