<s>
Xymon	B-Protocol
,	O
a	O
network	O
monitoring	O
application	O
using	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
operates	O
under	O
the	O
GNU	B-License
General	I-License
Public	I-License
License	I-License
;	O
its	O
central	O
server	O
runs	O
on	O
Unix	B-Application
and	O
Linux	B-Application
hosts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
application	O
was	O
inspired	O
by	O
the	O
open-source	B-Application
version	O
of	O
Big	B-Protocol
Brother	I-Protocol
,	O
a	O
network	O
monitoring	O
application	O
,	O
and	O
maintains	O
backward	B-General_Concept
compatibility	I-General_Concept
with	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Between	O
2002	O
and	O
2004	O
Henrik	O
Storner	O
wrote	O
an	O
open-source	B-Application
software	I-Application
add-on	O
called	O
bbgen	O
toolkit	O
,	O
then	O
in	O
March	O
2005	O
a	O
stand-alone	O
version	O
was	O
released	O
called	O
Hobbit	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Versions	O
of	O
this	O
were	O
released	O
between	O
2005	O
and	O
2008	O
,	O
but	O
since	O
a	O
prior	O
user	O
of	O
the	O
trademark	O
"	O
Hobbit	B-Protocol
"	O
existed	O
,	O
the	O
tool	O
was	O
finally	O
renamed	O
Xymon	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2012	O
,	O
Quest	O
Software	O
discontinued	O
development	O
of	O
Big	B-Protocol
Brother	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xymon	B-Protocol
offers	O
graphical	O
monitoring	O
,	O
showing	O
the	O
status	O
of	O
various	O
network	O
services	O
of	O
each	O
device	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
application	O
and	O
operating	O
system	O
metrics	O
such	O
as	O
listing	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
mail	O
messages	O
queued	O
after	O
a	O
defined	O
level	O
of	O
downtime	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Xymon	B-Protocol
supports	O
the	O
generation	O
of	O
alarms	O
sent	O
by	O
email	O
,	O
and	O
can	O
also	O
use	O
external	O
tools	O
to	O
send	O
messages	O
via	O
other	O
means	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
SMS	B-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Networked	O
hosts	O
and	O
devices	O
are	O
monitored	O
by	O
a	O
Xymon	B-Protocol
server	O
using	O
network	O
probes	O
supporting	O
a	O
large	O
and	O
extensible	O
range	O
of	O
protocols	O
,	O
including	O
SMTP	O
,	O
HTTP/S	O
and	O
DNS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hosts	O
that	O
use	O
a	O
supported	O
operating	O
system	O
can	O
also	O
run	O
a	O
Xymon	B-Protocol
client	O
(	O
also	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
)	O
,	O
to	O
additionally	O
collect	O
operating	O
system	O
and	O
application	O
monitoring	O
metrics	O
and	O
report	O
them	O
to	O
the	O
Xymon	B-Protocol
server	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Clients	O
are	O
available	O
for	O
Unix	B-Application
and	O
Linux	B-Application
(	O
in	O
formats	O
including	O
source	O
tarball	B-Application
,	O
RPM	B-Application
and	O
Debian	O
package	O
)	O
from	O
the	O
Xymon	B-Protocol
download	O
site	O
at	O
SourceForge	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	O
hosts	O
can	O
use	O
the	O
Big	B-Protocol
Brother	I-Protocol
client	O
for	O
Windows	O
,	O
the	O
BBWin	O
client	O
or	O
the	O
WinPSClient	O
written	O
in	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
PowerShell	I-Application
scripting	O
language	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Plugins	B-Application
extend	O
monitoring	O
to	O
new	O
types	O
of	O
applications	O
and	O
services	O
,	O
and	O
many	O
extension	O
scripts	O
for	O
Big	B-Protocol
Brother	I-Protocol
will	O
run	O
unchanged	O
on	O
Xymon	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
