Review: NagMonDroid network monitoring Android app

Network administrators who depend on the Nagios network monitoring tool and have an Android phone will be happy to find out there is a mobile application called NagMonDroid that was created specifically to receive Nagios alerts. If you depend on these alerts to help ensure your network is available, this app could be the difference between missing an alert and seeing everything that is going on.

Requirements

• Android smartphone
• Nagios installation
• External access to status.cgi file on your Nagios installation

Who is the target market?

NagMonDroid is for any administrator who needs to be able to check the status of their Nagios installation at any time. With the ability to set the frequency of checks, the administrator can receive updates as often as needed.

What problem does it solve?

NagMonDroid notifies you instantly if any issues arise with your Nagios-monitored network. No more having to sift through email on your smartphone to find possible notifications — now, it's all there in an easy to use interface.

Standout features

• Free
• Easy to install
• Simple configuration
• User configurable check frequency
• Can be set up to run in the background
• Vibrate upon notification available

What's wrong?

The biggest issue with this tool is that the Nagios server must be accessible from the outside world; this can be considered a pretty serious security risk. Because of this drawback, many users will avoid deploying such a tool. In order to have your Nagios monitor accessible from the outside world, it will require that you some serious security auditing to ensure the network is secure.

Competitive product

• Android Monitor Pro

Bottom line for business

If you use Nagios and have an Android phone, NagMonDroid is a must-have application to keep you constantly updated on your network system's health.

User rating

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