LibreNMS vs Netdisco

LibreNMS is a free, self-hosted network monitoring system with device support. It can discover networks using CDP, FDP, LLDP, OSPF, BGP, SNMP, and ARP. Customizable alerts can be sent through email, IRC, Slack, and other transports, while the API can manage installations, create graphs, and retrieve data. Distributed polling supports horizontal scaling. Documented functions include VLAN, ARP and FDB collection, traffic billing, syslog, service monitoring, and customizable dashboards. Integrations include Oxidized, RANCID, NfSen, Smokeping, Graylog, and Nagios plugins. Authentication choices include MySQL, LDAP, Active Directory, and HTTP, with two-factor authentication also documented. Installation guides cover CentOS and Ubuntu, and Docker images are available. Native iPhone and Android apps provide core functionality, and an online demo is available before installation. Community help is offered through Discord and a forum; commercial SLA-backed support and consultancy are available through partners.

Netdisco is free, self-hosted network management software for administrators of small through very large networks. It gathers IP and MAC address data into PostgreSQL through SNMP, command-line interfaces, or device APIs. A lookup by MAC address or IP can show the connected switch port, which administrators can disable or change for VLAN or PoE status. Netdisco inventories hardware by model, vendor, software, and operating system, and preserves historical system IP and location data. It can draw network diagrams and expose search and retrieval through an API. The distribution includes a web interface, backend daemon, and command-line interface; the maker says it runs on Linux or Unix and provides Docker images. Installation requires Perl 5.10 or later and PostgreSQL 9.6 or later. The first setup requires manually discovering a network device that knows its neighbors. Plugins can add interface or backend commands and actions.