Keeping an eye on a Linux server is important, especially when the server is running applications, databases, websites, or other services. CPU usage suddenly becomes high. Memory starts running low. Disk space is almost full. Network traffic increases unexpectedly. Without a monitoring tool, finding the actual problem can take a lot of time.
This is where Monitorix can help.
Monitorix is a free and open-source monitoring tool designed to collect system and network information from Linux and UNIX-based systems. It presents the collected information through easy-to-understand graphs, making it much easier to see what is happening on your server.Monitorix is designed for monitoring Linux/UNIX servers and includes a built-in HTTP server for viewing monitoring graphs.
Why Use Monitorix for Linux Server Monitoring?
One of the biggest advantages of Monitorix is its simplicity.
Monitorix can help you:
- Monitor CPU and memory usage.
- Check system load and running processes.
- Monitor disk usage and I/O activity.
- Track network traffic.
- Monitor disk temperatures and health.
- Keep an eye on services such as SSH, FTP, SMTP, and others.
- Monitor Apache and MySQL statistics.
- View Fail2ban statistics.
- Monitor multiple remote servers.
- View historical data by day, week, month, or year.
- Zoom into graphs when you need more detail.
Installing Monitorix on Almalinux
Let’s look at a basic installation process. Monitorix packages and dependencies may be available through the EPEL repository.
First, install EPEL.
| yum install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-9.noarch.rpm |
Note: RHEL/CentOS package availability changes over time. For newer distributions, always check the current Monitorix and EPEL documentation before using an older installation command.
How to Install Monitorix and Its Required Packages?
After enabling EPEL, install the required dependencies:
| yum install rrdtool rrdtool-perl perl-libwww-perl perl-MailTools perl-CGI perl-DBI perl-XML-Simple perl-Config-General perl-IO-Socket-SSL perl-HTTP-Server-Simple wget perl-FindBin perl-lib |
Now install Monitorix:
| yum install monitorix |
If the installation completes successfully, Monitorix should now be available on your server.
Configure Monitorix
The main configuration file is: /etc/monitorix/monitorix.conf
| vi /etc/monitorix/monitorix.conf |
The configuration file allows you to control different parts of Monitorix.
For example, you can enable or disable specific monitoring graphs and adjust settings according to your environment.
Before making changes, it is a good idea to keep a backup of the original configuration:
| cp /etc/monitorix/monitorix.conf /etc/monitorix/monitorix.conf.bak |
That way, you can easily restore the original configuration if something goes wrong.
How to Start and Enable the Monitorix Service?
Once the configuration is ready, enable and start Monitorix to start automatically when the server boots:
| systemctl enable monitorix systemctl start monitorix systemctl status monitorix |
If everything is working correctly, you should see the service in an active state.
Monitorix will then begin collecting system information based on its configuration.
Access the Monitorix Dashboard
Once Monitorix has started collecting data, open a web browser and visit:
| http://Server-IP:8080/monitorix/ |
Keep in mind that it can take some time before meaningful graphs appear because Monitorix needs to collect data first.
Monitoring Multiple Servers
Another useful feature is Multihost monitoring. If you manage several Linux servers, you can configure Monitorix to monitor remote systems and view their statistics from a central location.
Monitor Multiple Linux Servers with Monitorix
Another useful feature is Multihost monitoring. If you manage several Linux servers, you can configure Monitorix to monitor remote systems and view their statistics from a central location.
This can be useful for administrators who need visibility into the performance of multiple servers.
When Do You Need Professional Server Management?
Monitorix can help you identify issues such as high CPU usage, memory pressure, disk activity, network traffic changes, and service-related problems.
However, monitoring a problem and resolving the underlying cause are two different things. Server performance issues may require detailed investigation, configuration changes, security checks, or ongoing server administration.
If your Linux server is experiencing performance issues, resource problems, security concerns, or service failures, Professional server support can help identify and resolve the underlying issues.
Final Thoughts
Monitorix is a simple, lightweight, and open-source solution for Linux server monitoring. It provides useful graphs for CPU, memory, disk, network activity, and other system and service statistics.
For small and medium-sized environments, test servers, personal infrastructure, and Linux administration labs, Monitorix can provide a useful overview of server health without requiring a complicated monitoring stack.
If you need help with Linux server monitoring, troubleshooting, security, optimization, or ongoing server management, Skynats can provide expert server management and technical support.
