Open source management software makers Zenoss and GroundWork Open Source continue to enhance their respective products to the point that it's getting more and more difficult to distinguish the open source wares from commercial management products.

Recently, Zenoss announced Version 2.1 of its flagship Core software. The upgrade included features that dip into Web 2.0 technologies such as Maps integration and AJAX-based network map visualization. The software also provides native management of Java-based applications and personalized dashboards.

Industry watchers have pegged Zenoss as a more than adequate replacement for large management frameworks.

"Zenoss looks like a strong competitor for large frameworks," reads a Forrester Research report. "Combining open source and other sources, Zenoss Core is a complete solution that monitors all components, including applications, at the event, performance, and configuration level."

The software downloads to a single Linux server and collects data from multiple platforms without a proxy server being needed. For instance, the software uses existing agents, SNMP and Windows Management Instrumentation to collect data across cross-platform systems. The company provides its open source software for free under the Mozilla public license and offers commercial support packages. Zenoss also sells an enterprise edition of its product.

Separately, GroundWork Open Source is set to announce updates to its GroundWork Monitor Open Source platform that include support for Ubuntu and other Linux distributions based on the Debian installation system. The news is significant in that GroundWork provides its users with best practices for managing various network devices and systems, which can speed product deployment and make for more efficient management, industry watchers note.

"Configuring network monitoring can be a fiddly business, and many overworked administrators struggle to cope with ever-growing networks," writes Forrester Research senior analyst Michael Goulde in a recent report. "GroundWork sells default profiles for monitoring different appliances that specify the collection of the most important events for particular functions. This saves administrators time and makes the noncommercial base products more usable."

Denise Dubie is senior editor with Network World.