Update Netdata README with improved structure (#20265)
Co-authored-by: ilyam8 <ilya@netdata.cloud>
kanelatechnical committed
May 9, 2025 at 18:46 UTC
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README.md
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@@ -34,22 +34,15 @@
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<hr class="solid">
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-MENU: **[GETTING STARTED](#getting-started)** | **[HOW IT WORKS](#how-it-works)** | **[FAQ](#faq)** | **[DOCS](#book-documentation)** | **[COMMUNITY](#tada-community)** | **[CONTRIBUTE](#pray-contribute)** | **[LICENSE](#scroll-license)**
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+MENU: **[WHO WE ARE](#who-we-are)** | **[KEY FEATURES](#key-features)** | **[GETTING STARTED](#getting-started)** | **[HOW IT WORKS](#how-it-works)** | **[FAQ](#faq)** | **[DOCS](#book-documentation)** | **[COMMUNITY](#tada-community)** | **[CONTRIBUTE](#pray-contribute)** | **[LICENSE](#scroll-license)**
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> [!WARNING]
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> People **get addicted to Netdata.**
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-> Once you use it on your systems, **there's no going back!**
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+> Once you use it on your systems, *there's no going back.*
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[]()
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-## Most Energy-Efficient Monitoring Tool
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-
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-<p align="center">
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-<img src="https://github.com/netdata/netdata/assets/139226121/4f64cbb6-05e4-48e3-b7c0-d1b79e37e219" alt="Energy efficiency" width="800"/>
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-</p>
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-
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-According to the [University of Amsterdam study](https://www.ivanomalavolta.com/files/papers/ICSOC_2023.pdf), Netdata is "the most energy-efficient tool" for monitoring Docker-based systems. The study also shows Netdata excels in CPU usage, RAM usage, and execution time compared to other monitoring solutions.
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-
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---
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## WHO WE ARE
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With Netdata, you get real-time, per-second updates. Clear **insights at a glance**, no complexity.
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+<details>
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+ <summary><strong>All heroes have a great origin story. Click to discover ours.</strong></summary>
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+ <br/>
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+
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+In 2013, at the company where Costa Tsaousis was COO, a significant percentage of their cloud-based transactions failed silently, severely impacting business performance.
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+Costa and his team tried every troubleshooting tool available at the time. None could identify the root cause. As Costa later wrote:
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+“*I couldn’t believe that monitoring systems provide so few metrics and with such low resolution, scale so badly, and cost so much to run.*”
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+Frustrated, he decided to build his own monitoring tool, starting from scratch.
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+That decision led to countless late nights and weekends. It also sparked a fundamental shift in how infrastructure monitoring and troubleshooting are approached, both in method and in cost.
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+</details>
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+### Most Energy-Efficient Monitoring Tool
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+
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+<p align="center">
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+<a href="https://www.ivanomalavolta.com/files/papers/ICSOC_2023.pdf#gh-dark-mode-only">
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+ <img src="https://github.com/netdata/netdata/assets/139226121/7118757a-38fb-48d7-b12a-53e709a8e8c0" alt="Energy Efficiency" width="800"/>
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+</a>
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+<a href="https://www.ivanomalavolta.com/files/papers/ICSOC_2023.pdf#gh-light-mode-only">
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+ <img src="https://github.com/netdata/netdata/assets/139226121/4f64cbb6-05e4-48e3-b7c0-d1b79e37e219" alt="Energy efficiency" width="800"/>
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+</a>
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+</p>
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+
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+According to the [University of Amsterdam study](https://www.ivanomalavolta.com/files/papers/ICSOC_2023.pdf), Netdata is the most energy-efficient tool for monitoring Docker-based systems. The study also shows Netdata excels in CPU usage, RAM usage, and execution time compared to other monitoring solutions.
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---
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## Key Features
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```mermaid
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flowchart TB
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- A[Netdata Agent]
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+ A[Netdata Agent]:::mainNode
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A1(Collect):::green --> A
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A2(Store):::green --> A
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A3(Learn):::green --> A
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A8(Query):::green --> A
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A9(Score):::green --> A
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- classDef green fill:#bbf3bb,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px
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- ```
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+ classDef green fill:#bbf3bb,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px,color:#000
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+ classDef mainNode fill:#f0f0f0,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px,color:#333
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+```
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With each Agent you can:
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## CNCF Membership
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<p align="center">
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- <img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cncf/artwork/master/other/cncf/horizontal/black/cncf-black.svg" alt="CNCF" width="300">
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+ <picture>
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+ <source media="(prefers-color-scheme: dark)" srcset="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cncf/artwork/master/other/cncf/horizontal/white/cncf-white.svg">
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+ <source media="(prefers-color-scheme: light)" srcset="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cncf/artwork/master/other/cncf/horizontal/color/cncf-color.svg">
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+ <img alt="CNCF Logo" src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cncf/artwork/master/other/cncf/horizontal/color/cncf-color.svg" width="300">
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+ </picture>
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<br />
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Netdata actively supports and is a member of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF).<br />
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It is one of the most starred projects in the <a href="https://landscape.cncf.io/?item=observability-and-analysis--observability--netdata">CNCF landscape</a>.
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<details>
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<summary><strong>Is Netdata secure?</strong></summary>
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+<br/>
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Yes. Netdata follows [OpenSSF best practices](https://bestpractices.coreinfrastructure.org/en/projects/2231), has a security-first design, and is regularly audited by the community.
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@@ -275,6 +302,7 @@ Yes. Netdata follows [OpenSSF best practices](https://bestpractices.coreinfrastr
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<details>
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<summary><strong>Does Netdata use a lot of resources?</strong></summary>
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No. Even with ML and per-second metrics, Netdata uses minimal resources.
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<details>
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<summary><strong>How much data retention is possible?</strong></summary>
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As much as your disk allows.
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<details>
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<summary><strong>Can Netdata scale to many servers?</strong></summary>
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Yes. With Netdata you can:
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<details>
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<summary><strong>Is disk I/O a concern?</strong></summary>
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No. Netdata minimizes disk usage:
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<details>
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<summary><strong>How is Netdata different from Prometheus + Grafana?</strong></summary>
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+<br/>
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With Netdata you get a complete monitoring solution—not just tools.
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<details>
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<summary><strong>How is Netdata different from commercial SaaS tools?</strong></summary>
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With Netdata you can store all metrics on your infrastructure—no sampling, no aggregation, no loss.
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<details>
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<summary><strong>Can Netdata run alongside Nagios, Zabbix, etc.?</strong></summary>
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Yes. You can use Netdata together with traditional tools.
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<details>
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<summary><strong>What if I feel overwhelmed?</strong></summary>
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You can start small:
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<details>
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<summary><strong>Do I have to use Netdata Cloud?</strong></summary>
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No. Netdata Cloud is optional.
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<details>
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<summary><strong>What telemetry does Netdata collect?</strong></summary>
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Anonymous telemetry helps improve the product. You can disable it:
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<details>
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<summary><strong>Who uses Netdata?</strong></summary>
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You'll join users including:
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