What is the difference in operation between Prometheus and Zabbix?

Prometheus and Zabbix are monitoring systems, but they differ in architecture and data collection approach.

• Prometheus focuses on collecting metrics using a pull model: it periodically scrapes exporters or applications that provide metrics in a Prometheus-compatible format. This allows flexible and efficient collection of time-series data. Prometheus stores data in its own TSDB (time-series database) and is well-suited for monitoring microservices and dynamic environments. Its built-in alerting system is based on rules that are evaluated against the collected metrics.

• Zabbix uses both push and pull models: agents on servers can send data to the Zabbix server, or the server can poll the agents. Zabbix supports a wide range of data types (metrics, logs, events), has a built-in discovery mechanism, and configuration management. It is more oriented towards traditional infrastructure and monitoring the status of hosts and services.

In summary:

• Prometheus is better suited for monitoring metrics in cloud and container environments with dynamic changes.
• Zabbix is convenient for comprehensive infrastructure monitoring with diverse data types and events.