Assignment 1

Project Proposal

The purpose of this project is to design, develop, and implement a cloud-based network monitoring system using Microsoft Azure and Netdata. The project aims to provide a practical demonstration of cloud computing technologies, Linux server administration, web hosting, and real-time system monitoring within a cloud environment.

The monitoring environment is deployed on a Microsoft Azure Ubuntu Linux Virtual Machine configured as a cloud server. The virtual machine hosts a custom website using the Nginx web server and provides users with access to monitoring services through a web-based interface.

Netdata has been implemented as the primary monitoring platform for the project. It collects and displays real-time performance metrics including CPU utilization, memory usage, disk activity, system load, uptime, and network traffic statistics.

The project demonstrates several key cloud computing concepts including virtual machine deployment, server configuration, remote administration using SSH, DNS configuration, HTTPS security implementation, and web application hosting.

One of the major advantages of the system is remote accessibility. Users can access both the project website and monitoring dashboard from any location using a web browser and internet connection.

Overall, this project demonstrates how cloud infrastructure, Linux administration, web hosting technologies, and monitoring tools can be integrated to create a reliable, scalable, and user-friendly cloud-based network monitoring solution.

License Rationale

Netdata is distributed under the GNU General Public License Version 3 (GPLv3), which is a widely used open-source software license. This license allows users to freely access, use, modify, and distribute the software without paying licensing fees.

The GPLv3 license promotes collaboration and innovation by allowing developers to examine the source code and make improvements where required.

For this project, Netdata was selected because it provides comprehensive real-time monitoring capabilities while remaining lightweight and easy to deploy.

The software offers detailed insights into system performance, including CPU utilization, memory consumption, disk operations, network traffic, and overall server health.

Additionally, Netdata provides an intuitive web-based dashboard that requires minimal configuration. Its open-source nature and strong community support make it an ideal monitoring solution for cloud-based environments.

Monitoring Dashboard

Access the live monitoring dashboard to view real-time server statistics including CPU usage, memory consumption, network traffic, disk activity, uptime, and overall system performance.

View Monitoring Dashboard