.. _integration/use-shinken-with:

====================
Use Shinken with ...
====================


Shinken interface 
==================

Administrators need a means to view status data and interact with the system.

If you install Shinken using the :ref:`10 minutes installation <gettingstarted/installations/shinken-installation>` recommended method, you will have the **Shinken WebUI** installed. But it is not mandatory to use it, and you may prefer another interface. There are open-source and commercial web frontends using the **Livestatus API** or an **SQL backend** available to suit any needs.


Web interfaces 
===============

The choice of an interface starts with the method of data exchange: Those based on **Livestatus** and those based on an **SQL backend**.

The most responsive interfaces are the native **WebUI** and those based on **Livestatus**. The most scalable and flexible are those based on **Livestatus**.

**SkonfUI** is a discovery and configuration management UI that is **not production ready** and is meant as a beta preview for developers not users. Sorry.


Direct memory access based interface 
=====================================

* :ref:`Shinken WebUI <integration/webui>`, included in the Shinken installation. Previews the Shinken features in an attractive package. Not meant for distributed deployments or scalability.
   

.. image:: /_static/images/shinken_webui.png
   :scale: 90 %


  
  


Livestatus based interfaces (Networked API) 
============================================

* :ref:`Thruk <integration/thruk-usage>`


.. image:: /_static/images/thruk.png
   :scale: 90 %


* :ref:`Multisite <integration/multisite>`


.. image:: /_static/images/multisite.png
   :scale: 90 %


* Complimentary module: :ref:`Nagvis <integration/nagvis>` (Graphical representation)


.. image:: /_static/images/nagivs.jpg
   :scale: 90 %


Pickle based data export (Network) 
===================================

* Complimentary module: :ref:`Graphite <integration/graphite>` 
*  *Note: Integrated out-of-the-box in :ref:`Shinken WebUI <integrationwithothersoftware\webui>`*


Other 
======

* Complimentary module: :ref:`PNP4Nagios <integration/pnp>` (Graphing interface)


.. image:: /_static/images/pnp.png
   :scale: 90 %


Deprecated: Flat file export 
=============================

* :ref:`Old CGI & VShell <integration/old-cgi-and-vshell>` *Note: The Nagios CGI web interface is deprecated.*


.. image:: /_static/images/nagios.jpg
   :scale: 90 %


Which one is right for me? 
===========================

Try them out and see which one fits best; this is especially easy with the Shinken WebUI and the Livestatus based interfaces.

  * For users just starting out with small to medium installations, **Thruk** or **Shinken's WebUI** are good choices;
  * For maximum scalability, intuitive UI and a solid feature set **Multisite** is recommended. **Thruk** is perl/PHP based UI that is very feature complete which also provides some scalability.