Agent-based vs. Agentless monitoring
| Attribute | Site24x7 Agent-based Monitoring | Site24x7 Agentless Monitoring |
|---|---|---|
| Methodology | Install Site24x7's Full-Stack monitoring agent on every server. | Install Site24x7's On-Premise Poller on the server's network. |
| How it works | The agent collects data by executing commands and WMI queries directly in each server's operating system. | The On-Premise Poller connects to servers and collects data using SNMP or WMI. Note: Every server must enable SNMP or WMI protocol to communicate with the On-Premise Poller. |
| Installation methods |
1. Install a Site24x7 full stack agent individually on every server.
2. Bulk installation methods for Windows and Linux are available. |
Install the On-Premise Poller on your server network and add an individual server IP address/hostname or by specifying the IP range. |
| Connectivity to the internet | Access to the internet is not mandatory for all servers. Agents in the intranet servers can send the data to Site24x7 through a proxy server or via a midserver connected to the internet. | Outbound access to the internet for the On-Premise Poller is sufficient to collect server metrics. |
| Data transfer to Site24x7 | A one-way HTTPS connection that sends data to Site24x7 using the secure SSL protocol. | The On-Premise Poller uses an HTTPS connection to send data to Site24x7. |
| Credentials | Does not require credentials for basic server monitoring; however, credentials are required for application monitoring (e.g., databases). | Requires SNMP or WMI credentials. Supported versions: SNMPv1/v2 and SNMP v3. |
| Dedicated server | Does not require a dedicated server for Site24x7. | Requires one dedicated server machine for running the On-Premise Poller. We support a maximum of 500 servers per Poller. |
| Log management | For log management, use the AppLogs agent to access the logs in the local and remote server. | Cannot access the application logs without an agent. |
| Supported OS types | Windows, Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, AIX and Solaris. | Any server that supports SNMP or WMI protocol can add the agentless server. |
| Metrics | ||
| CPU metrics | ||
| CPU utilization |  |
|
| CPU utilization by core | |
 |
| Idle time, wait time, hardware, and software interrupts time | |
|
| Memory metrics | ||
| Memory utilization | |
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| Swap memory utilization | |
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| Memory pages (in/out/faults) | |
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| Disk metrics | ||
| Disk utilization | |
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| Individual disk utilization | |
|
| Disk I/O speed | |
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| Disk idle and busy percentage | |
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| Disk Latency | |
|
| Process monitoring | ||
| Process CPU Utilization | |
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| Process memory Utilization (percentage) | |
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| Process memory Utilization (bytes) | |
|
| Process instance count | |
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| Process thread and handle count | |
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| Top processes by CPU/memory | |
|
| Services monitoring | ||
| CPU Utilization (percentage) | |
|
| Memory Utilization (percentage) | |
|
| Uptime | |
|
| Thread count and handle count | |
|
| Users monitoring | ||
| CPU Utilization (percentage) | |
|
| Memory Utilization (percentage) | |
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| Memory Utilization (Bytes) | |
|
| Performance counters | ||
| Custom performance metrics | Yes. Through custom plugins that collect data through supported scripting languages. | Yes. Supports custom SNMP counters (tabular and scalar). |
| Interfaces | ||
| I/O traffic | |
|
| Packets received and transmitted | |
|
| Errors count | |
|
| Errors percentage | |
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| Discard count | |
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| Discard percentage | |
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| Network throughput | |
|
| Admin/Operational state | |
|
| Plugins | ||
| Integrates with plugins | |
|
| Resource checks | ||
| File, directory, syslog, event log, URL, Port, NTP checks | |
|
| Microsoft Applications | ||
| IIS, SQL, Exchange, BizTalk, SharePoint, Office 365, Active Directory, Failover Cluster, Hyper-V, Windows update and Windows Backup | |
|
| Database Monitoring | ||
| Database Monitoring | |
|
| Container Monitoring | ||
| Container Monitoring | |
|
| Kubernetes/OpenShift Monitoring | ||
| Kubernetes/OpenShift Monitoring | |
|
| IT automation | ||
| Incident remediation through the configuration of scripts/commands that get executed automatically on downtime. | |
|
| Alerting and reporting | ||
| SMS, email and voice call | |
|
| Performance reports | |
|
| Pricing | ||
| Licensing model | Each full stack monitoring agent is considered as two basic monitors. | Each server monitor is considered two basic monitors. |
This Comparison was updated on 23 June, 2026. All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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