The fundamental difference is that the latter is free software (as its name indicates) and adheres to the four freedoms that define this type of software: freedom to use, change and distribute versions without changes or with changes. This means that we can have complete control of the tool.

Why is this so important in the case of a monitoring tool, like LibreNMS, used by a company like EdgeUno?

At EdgeUno we use LibreNMS to read and organize network device ports. It automatically labels and groups ports by customer, peering, and transit.

Therefore, this is a tool that collects, groups and manages data through a module that allows adding ports from different routers and different locations in order to produce invoicing, which is something that other tools do not allow.

If EdgeUno used a proprietary tool, with support or with any model in which third parties close and control the source code, it could not guarantee the security of the data that is collected to generate invoicing; much less the privacy and anonymity of your customers’ traffic.

This is because although EdgeUno has physical control of its servers, proprietary software makes the infrastructure vulnerable, taking into consideration that programs that include maintenance tend to include back doors with access to specific fragments of source code reserved for developers.

On the other hand, it should be noted that free tools are not designed to solve specific requirements that a company may have. A free tool does not offer a comprehensive solution. It is undeniable that there are problems that proprietary tools may have already resolved.

For example, in LibreNMS, an installation with distributed pollers cannot be performed on networks like ours, since the nodes must have latencies that are less than 5 ms, which makes it impossible to have a remote node in another geographical location.

However, as we previously indicated when talking about Proxmox, the difficulty becomes an opportunity for the creation and technical strengthening of the teams within the logic of this type of software. So, we solved this case by installing autonomous nodes in each location and using the tool’s API to generate precise integrations.

In the case of network and Internet companies, there is a widespread idea that there is adequate support in the options offered by the large software companies that sell proprietary tools. Likewise, it is still a common idea that if you use free software, it’s only because you want to save money.

However, these free tools can be just as robust and secure as their proprietary competition and, additionally, they can offer other important advantages to a company, as is the case with EdgeUno.

Two of these advantages are adaptability and control over the technologies used.

Why Proxmox?

Both points are linked to the abilities that technical teams have to be innovative and develop the tools they use – such has been the experience with Proxmox.

This completely Open Source hypervisor has been the best option to generate clouds and highly available virtual server clusters. Such clusters are generated in quite a short time and can be controlled easily since it offers a pleasant and quite intuitive environment via the web.

Its power allows us to easily offer elastic virtual servers that take full advantage of the physical capacities of the hardware hosted throughout our data centers.

Being a completely free tool derived from Debian-Linux, it also has a console for command administration, which is a highly desirable feature. The Console allows easy access to the programming of the tool in its bases and fosters the ability for technical teams to solve problems through novel adaptations, without the need to request external support that could compromise the reliability and security of the data of the customers or the company.

As technicians continue to find that tools must always be moldable, elements must adapt to the needs at hand, it also improves the company’s responsiveness to the challenges that arise in their normal development in the face of competition or in front of the orders of its clients.

Another feature that has been important for a company like EdgeUno, has been the ease of use of the Proxmox API in integration with other technologies.

We have been able to create reporting dashboards of the different phases of our processes, such as storage and monitoring. Development teams have been able to generate dialogues between Proxmox and other free technologies such as LibreNMS, to advance in the systematization and automation of processes.

These dialogues between tools, as well as other adaptations generated in the code to solve problems found in the normal development of our activities, are in the process of being released to the communities that have contributed to such codes.

From this perspective, companies can pursue their own interests and constantly innovate, contributing to the addition of the tools that are useful to them, and thus creating a circular retribution dynamic where such contributions can be the starting point for new characteristics that improve their performance.