Troubleshoot at the Speed of Your Infrastructure

It depends on your primary use case. Replace Sumo Logic with Netdata when your focus is real-time infrastructure monitoring, DevOps troubleshooting, and predictable costs. Keep Sumo Logic when you need enterprise SIEM, advanced log analytics, or compliance-focused workflows. Use both when you need real-time metrics (Netdata) plus log-based security (Sumo Logic) - they complement each other without interference.

Netdata uses fixed per-node pricing with unlimited metrics, logs, and users. Sumo Logic uses consumption-based pricing (credits per GB scanned) that can become unpredictable at scale. Organizations typically see 90% cost reduction when using Netdata for infrastructure monitoring. P90 billing means incident spikes and load testing don’t inflate your bill - you’re charged for sustained usage, not peaks.

Netdata: 60 seconds to first dashboard with zero query language required - point-and-click interface, auto-generated dashboards, instant value. Sumo Logic: 2-4 weeks training with complex query language, manual dashboard building, and certifications. Netdata democratizes observability - junior engineers get the same powerful tools as senior staff.

Yes, perfectly. Install Netdata Agent with one command - it won’t interfere with existing Sumo Logic log forwarding. Both collect different data types for different purposes: Netdata collects per-second metrics from systems/applications, Sumo Logic collects logs for analysis. No conflict, no duplication, both run independently. Many organizations use Netdata for real-time DevOps troubleshooting while keeping Sumo Logic for security/compliance.

Netdata: Planned Q2 2026 with OpenTelemetry trace support in development. Sumo Logic: Available now with distributed tracing capabilities. Until Netdata’s tracing release, use Netdata for infrastructure metrics and troubleshooting, and Sumo Logic or other tools for distributed tracing. Netdata provides application-level insights through metrics (APM-like visibility) today.

Netdata: Sub-2-second total latency (per-second collection + 1-second visualization). Sumo Logic: 5-10 minutes typical with users reporting significant delays. This difference is critical - most operational anomalies last 2-10 seconds. Sumo Logic’s delays mean you see the aftermath, not the cause. Netdata captures transient issues that minute-level monitoring averages away, enabling 80% faster MTTR.

Netdata doesn’t provide: Enterprise SIEM (1,000+ rules, UEBA, threat intelligence), advanced log query language (Sumo Logic’s pipe-based syntax), or long-term log archival (Sumo Logic’s tiered storage). Netdata excels at: Real-time infrastructure monitoring, per-second metrics, instant troubleshooting, predictable costs, and data sovereignty. Choose based on primary need: infrastructure performance (Netdata) or log-based security (Sumo Logic).

Netdata: 60 seconds with one-line command, auto-discovery, instant dashboards, zero configuration. Sumo Logic: Days to weeks with complex collector configuration, manual setup, and configuration challenges. Netdata’s deployment approach enables complete enterprise monitoring operational in days, not months. Sumo Logic typically requires weeks to months for full deployment.

Netdata ships with 400+ pre-configured component-level alerts that automatically attach to discovered components. These alerts use intelligent thresholds with rolling windows rather than fixed values, providing accurate and actionable notifications. Separately, Netdata’s ML-based anomaly detection (18 models per metric with 99% false positive reduction) provides another signal for identifying unusual behavior - it’s a complementary capability, not a replacement for well-configured alerts.

Absolutely. Zero-risk trial: (1) Install Netdata Agent with one command, (2) It auto-discovers infrastructure automatically, (3) No interference with Sumo Logic log forwarding, (4) Both run independently, (5) Evaluate during next incident - compare troubleshooting speed. No migration, no disruption, just instant value. Many organizations start with Netdata for DevOps teams while security teams keep Sumo Logic for SIEM.

Netdata: Complete control with all observability data staying on your infrastructure. On-premise and air-gapped deployment options available. GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS compliance by design. Works offline during internet outages. Sumo Logic: SaaS only with no on-premise deployment option. All data centralized in vendor’s cloud. For regulated industries or data sovereignty requirements, Netdata provides the control you need.

Netdata: Linear scalability to 100,000+ nodes with distributed architecture. No throttling, 100% data completeness, constant performance regardless of scale. Proven at 4.5+ billion metrics/second globally. Sumo Logic: Throttling issues with universal throttling affecting all accounts. HTTP sources experience data loss when throttled. Performance degrades with large datasets.

Netdata: Edge-based ML with 18 unsupervised models per metric training automatically at the edge. Zero configuration, 15 minutes to first detection, 99% false positive reduction in anomaly detection through consensus. Sumo Logic: Cloud-based ML requiring 60-day training, weekly retraining, and extensive manual tuning. Netdata’s ML trains continuously (every 3 hours) with zero human intervention.

Perfect! Security teams should keep Sumo Logic for SIEM, compliance, and log-based security analytics. DevOps/SRE teams can use Netdata for real-time infrastructure monitoring. Both teams get the right tool for their specific needs. This is the most common deployment pattern - Netdata for DevOps troubleshooting, Sumo Logic for security operations. No conflict, complementary strengths.

Netdata: 150-200MB RAM typical with <5% CPU single core. Most energy-efficient monitoring solution (University of Amsterdam validated). 97% less disk I/O than Prometheus in Netdata’s benchmark testing. Sumo Logic: 512MB-4GB RAM depending on file count, with higher CPU utilization at scale. Netdata’s efficiency enables monitoring on resource-constrained systems.