At a time when VARs and MSPs are trying to monitor and manage every piece of IT for their customers, most channel partners are quite late to the Docker monitoring and management discussion.
Docker is a software container technology that makes it easier for corporate IT departments and ISVs to roll out and maintain software. "As a rapidly emerging technology in the DevOps toolkit, containerization is the obvious choice to help the digital enterprise build, release and run its software faster than ever before," asserts Capgemini.
At first glance, Docker and related container technology is mostly an enterprise discussion. But container technology is already starting to impact smaller businesses that push applications out to the cloud, along with service providers that assist end-customers with DevOps and more.
Docker Monitoring and Management Tools
Not by coincidence, a growing list of Docker monitoring and management tools has caught on with customers and service providers. Among the options:
- CAdvisor, which analyzes resource usage and performance characteristics of running containers.
- Data Dog, a startup that we've covered multiple times.
- Prometheus, an open source service monitoring system that's increasingly popular for Docker monitoring.
- Scout, an application monitoring platform that calls itself an alternative to New Relic. The company's "docker-scout" container provides an "instant monitoring environment" for your host and containers.
- The sensu open source monitoring framework, where you should look for hiroakis/docker-sensu-server container.
- Sysdig, a hosted service that tracks storage, visualization, alerting and more.
Usman Ismail does a fantastic job comparing the pros and cons of those Docker monitoring offerings.
But I can't help but wonder: Where are the traditional RMM (remote monitoring and management) software companies? Most have yet to launch Docker-related monitoring and management capabilities, perhaps because so many of their MSP customers still focus on traditional PC and server management.
Additional Docker Management Tools
Still, there are some emerging Docker tools from the traditional RMM camps. For instance, N-able parent SolarWinds offers Librato monitoring for Docker. And more and more MSPs are plugging into Amazon's cloud, where tools like the EC2 Container Service provider Docker management. The story is similar for Microsoft Azure, where the Azure Container Service is now in preview to customers.
The bottom line? Docker containers are seemingly everywhere. Docker management tools are proliferating within corporate IT departments and out in the cloud. Time for MSPs to plug in and study the market, or get left behind managing physical hardware...
