OpenNMS: A Platform for Innovation, Not Just a Product

When I joined OpenNMS, one of the first things that struck me was the sheer depth of innovation happening across the team—not just in the codebase, but in how our engineers are using the platform to solve real-world problems. What Marshall Massengill, OpenNMS Principal Solutions Delivery Architect, recently demonstrated with his solar panel monitoring project is a perfect example of this spirit in action.

At its core, OpenNMS is not just a network monitoring tool. It’s a platform—a highly extensible one—that empowers users to collect, enrich, and act on data from virtually any source.

Most of our customers start with OpenNMS for traditional SNMP-based network monitoring. But that’s just the beginning. OpenNMS supports a wide range of collectors, including HTTP, JMX, and Prometheus. This means we can ingest metrics from modern cloud-native systems, IoT devices, and even homegrown applications.

Marshall’s project is a great case in point. He used the Enphase Collector project by dlmcpaul to pull real-time data from his Enphase solar panel system, then configured OpenNMS to collect that data using the Prometheus Collector. From there, he visualized it in Grafana and even set up thresholds for alerting. That’s not just cool—it’s practical innovation.

What makes OpenNMS truly powerful is what happens after the data is collected. We don’t just store metrics—we enrich them. We correlate them with events, apply thresholds, and integrate them into broader operational contexts. Whether it’s a solar panel, a hospital’s patient monitoring system, or a cloud-native application, OpenNMS can bring that data into a unified view.

This is especially important as we look to expand our footprint in healthcare and other verticals. For example, we’re exploring how to monitor critical lab equipment like PCR machines—devices that don’t speak SNMP but still generate valuable operational data. With OpenNMS, we can build custom collectors, apply predictive analytics, and help prevent downtime.

The future of network and infrastructure monitoring isn’t just about collecting more data—it’s about collecting the right data and making it actionable. OpenNMS is uniquely positioned to lead in this space because of its:

We’re also investing in AI and machine learning to take this even further, enabling predictive insights that help IT teams act before problems occur.

What excites me most is that innovation at OpenNMS doesn’t just come from the top down. It comes from engineers like Marshall, who are constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with the tools we already have. That dual force—platform development and creative application—is what makes OpenNMS such a powerful ecosystem.

If you’re an existing customer using OpenNMS for SNMP monitoring, I encourage you to explore what else the platform can do. And if you’re new to OpenNMS, know that you’re not just adopting a product—you’re joining a community of innovators.