Centreon vs Kibana: What are the differences?

Key Differences: Centreon vs Kibana

Centreon and Kibana are two different tools that serve distinct purposes in the field of IT operations. Below are the key differences between Centreon and Kibana:

1. Feature Set: Centreon is a comprehensive monitoring platform that allows users to monitor various aspects of their IT infrastructure, including network, systems, applications, and databases. On the other hand, Kibana is a data visualization tool that works in conjunction with Elasticsearch for real-time data analysis and visualization.

2. Data Collection: Centreon collects data from various sources such as SNMP, WMI, SSH, and more to provide a holistic view of the IT environment. It supports data collection from a wide range of devices, systems, and applications. In contrast, Kibana relies on Elasticsearch as a data source, making it suitable for analyzing and visualizing data stored in Elasticsearch only.

3. User Interface: Centreon offers a user-friendly web-based interface that provides a centralized view of the monitored infrastructure. It enables users to configure monitoring settings, view alerts, generate reports, and manage the overall monitoring process. On the other hand, Kibana provides a powerful and interactive data visualization interface that allows users to explore, analyze, and create visual representations of data stored in Elasticsearch.

4. Alerting and Notification: Centreon includes advanced alerting capabilities, allowing users to define various thresholds and actions to be taken when specific conditions are met. It supports different notification methods such as email, SMS, and SNMP traps. In contrast, Kibana does not provide native alerting functionality. It mainly focuses on data visualization and analysis rather than proactive monitoring and alerting.

5. Customization and Integration: Centreon offers extensive customization options and supports various integrations, enabling users to adapt the platform to their specific needs. Users can create custom monitoring plugins, dashboards, reports, and more. Kibana also supports customization but is primarily designed to work seamlessly with Elasticsearch and the Elastic Stack.

6. Target Audience: Centreon is widely used by IT administrators and operations teams who require comprehensive monitoring capabilities to ensure the health and performance of their IT infrastructure. Kibana, on the other hand, appeals to data analysts, data scientists, and business intelligence professionals who need advanced data visualization and exploration capabilities for analyzing large datasets.

In summary, Centreon is a comprehensive monitoring platform that provides extensive monitoring capabilities across various IT infrastructure components. It offers a user-friendly interface, alerting capabilities, and supports data collection from a wide range of sources. On the other hand, Kibana is a powerful data visualization tool that works with Elasticsearch, focusing on real-time data analysis and visualization. While Centreon caters to IT administrators, Kibana targets data analysts and business intelligence professionals.