Netdata provides complete infrastructure observability without any application code changes, SDK installation, or application restarts. We monitor processes, containers, networks, and logs through kernel-level instrumentation (eBPF), process tree analysis (apps.plugin), direct log access (systemd-journal, Windows Event Log and macOS unified logs queried in place), and log collection from files, syslog and Kubernetes through Netdata’s OpenTelemetry logs pipeline. This is genuinely zero-code - no modifications to your applications required.

Application APM tools require installing agents and restarting applications despite zero-code claims. They focus on application traces and require language-specific instrumentation. Netdata monitors infrastructure - OS, kernel, processes, containers, networks - without touching applications. We provide the foundation layer that APM tools assume exists. Use both for complete observability.

Yes. Netdata monitors any process regardless of whether you can modify it - system services, third-party applications, legacy software, shell scripts, interpreted languages. apps.plugin tracks resource usage for all processes, eBPF captures kernel-level behavior, and auto-discovery detects services automatically.

Minimal. Netdata uses <5% CPU and 150-200 MB RAM for standalone deployments. eBPF overhead is typically under 1% CPU. The University of Amsterdam study confirmed Netdata is the most energy-efficient monitoring solution despite collecting per-second data and running ML at the edge.

Netdata’s zero-code coverage is infrastructure observability - the foundation layer. Distributed tracing does need instrumentation. Once your services emit OpenTelemetry traces, send them over OTLP to the same Netdata agent and explore them in the Traces tab of Netdata Cloud. For code-level profiling, use dedicated APM tools.

eBPF attaches to internal kernel functions without kernel modules, capturing syscalls, network operations, filesystem I/O, and memory management for all processes. Provides per-application attribution with minimal overhead. Requires Linux kernel 4.11+ and runs on host only - does not run inside containers or Kubernetes. Gracefully degrades if unavailable.

Yes for infrastructure-level monitoring. apps.plugin monitors any process automatically. For application-specific metrics (databases, web servers, message brokers), auto-discovery detects standard ports and services. Custom applications may require minimal configuration for service-specific metrics but process-level monitoring works immediately.

Netdata reads systemd-journal and Windows Event Log files directly from disk - no log shipping, no parsing, no indexing infrastructure. The OS automatically indexes every field in every log entry. We provide query interface, field statistics, and histograms. Eliminates 90% of traditional log platform costs.

Yes. cgroups.plugin monitors containers through kernel resource accounting - independent of what runs inside. Tracks CPU, memory, network, disk I/O, and lifecycle events for Docker, Kubernetes, LXC, Podman. eBPF provides additional kernel-level insights on the host. Application-specific metrics require service detection.

Minimal. Netdata auto-discovers infrastructure and generates dashboards automatically. Configuration needed only for services requiring authentication (databases, APIs), custom application metrics, retention settings, or advanced alert customization. Most deployments run with default configuration.

Netdata complements APM tools by providing infrastructure foundation they miss. Keep your APM for code profiling, or send your OpenTelemetry traces to Netdata as well. Add Netdata for kernel-level visibility, process monitoring, container tracking, and zero-pipeline logs. Many customers run both for complete observability.

Yes. Netdata monitors Windows processes, services, performance counters, and Event Logs without code changes. Windows Event Log integration provides zero-pipeline log management. eBPF is Linux-only but Windows monitoring works through native APIs and performance counters.

apps.plugin captures short-lived processes that exit before polling intervals - critical for shell scripts, cron jobs, CI/CD pipelines. Aggregates resource usage from exited processes. No data loss for ephemeral workloads or subprocess storms.

60 seconds from installation to complete infrastructure visibility. Auto-discovery detects services, algorithmic dashboards generate automatically, and ML begins training. First anomaly detection available after 15 minutes baseline. No configuration, dashboard building, or alert tuning required.

Netdata provides infrastructure observability without code changes. For custom business logic metrics (purchase completions, user engagement, financial transactions), manual instrumentation is required. Distributed tracing works with OpenTelemetry SDK instrumentation, sent over OTLP to the Netdata agent. Code-level profiling requires APM tools.