The familiar problem — the affordable fix
Sooner or later it is the same story in every small business: the file server hangs overnight, the backup hasn't delivered in three days, the printer reports "cartridge empty" only once the client is already waiting. Cloud monitoring, subscription after subscription, doesn't fix that — monthly license fees, somebody else's data center, and nobody who really knows your environment.
The alternative is your own monitoring hub in-house: a small server that watches everything connected to your network. It has run for years at customer sites and in our own shop, keeps evolving, and is fully documented. No ongoing license obligation — and your data stays in the building.
What it can do
🚨 Outage alerts in minutes
Servers, PCs, NAS, printers, services: when something goes down or runs hot, it is on your screen minutes later — not only when nobody can work anymore.
📊 One overview you understand
A single portal shows every machine with status, load, disk and its latest report. Green, amber, red — daily work needs nothing more. Drill down into details whenever you like.
🖥️ Remote support built in
Connect straight from the portal to the machine — Windows and Linux. No separate tool, no remote-support subscriptions, and the user at the far end sees and confirms every session.
⚙️ Control with a click
Reboot, shut down, map a network drive, restart services, run defined maintenance scripts — all cleanly logged, showing who did what and when.
💤 Wake machines from sleep
Wake-on-LAN integrated: the field laptop powers up from the office portal before the meeting even starts. Scheduled maintenance runs without night shifts.
🧰 A client in two minutes
One single starter script per operating system — downloaded from the hub's login page, pre-filled with your address. Windows: double-click. Linux: one command. Agent, tray app and remote support are set up in a single pass.
🖨️ Printers and appliances covered
Printers, NAS and networked appliances report in too; consumables and availability show up right in the overview.
📋 Reportable and expandable
Uptime, availability and history — on request the basis for maintenance reports and investment planning. New device types can be added later.
How the system is built
The heart of it is a single hub — a small, frugal machine (a new device or a serviceable ex-office PC) running Debian Linux. The monitoring engine, the portal interface and the remote-support service run on it as clean services that come back up on their own after a reboot. The monitored machines report actively to the hub — nothing is let in from the outside into your network.
| Component | What it does | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| Hub (Debian 13) | collects measurements, serves the portal, keeps remote support ready | one screen in the office or on your own PC |
| Windows clients | make PCs report in and become remotely controllable | quietly in the background, two-minute install |
| Linux clients | the same for servers, NAS and workshop PCs | one script, one reboot |
| Portal | overview, detail view, control, downloads | only inside your local network |
Requirements
- A machine for the hub: any x86-64 PC or mini server; 8 GB RAM and 15 GB of free space is the bare minimum, more is comfortable. A second-hand off-lease PC works fine too.
- Operating system: Debian — stable, free, long-term support. The current installer image (netinst ISO) comes straight from the Debian project:
Debian 13 "trixie" netinst (amd64) — the link checks itself; the number in the filename is always the latest point release. - Network connection: the hub belongs on cable — Wi-Fi works in a pinch but is not recommended.
- Internet for the initial setup: the assistant pulls Docker, Node.js and the monitoring components from official sources. After that, the hub can keep running without internet (the measurements come from your own network).
- Installation package: current build (approx. 80 MB) — the download area is password-protected; your access key comes from IT-Technik Hoffmann with the order. The package itself deliberately contains no credentials; every installation generates its own (see Security).
End-user guide — step by step
Written for the person responsible for IT in a small office. Everything in a single pass, no hand-editing of configuration files. Not sure you want to do it yourself? We set the hub up for you too — asking costs nothing.
Step 1 — Prepare the USB stick
Download the Debian netinst ISO (link above, approx. 650 MB) and write it to a USB stick of at least 8 GB — easiest with Balena Etcher (Windows/Mac/Linux) or Rufus (Windows).
Step 2 — Install Debian
Boot from the stick and install Debian with the standard settings: use the disk empty, a normal standard system without a desktop interface, create a user with admin rights, enable SSH when asked. Done. The hub needs no screen — from now on it runs through the portal.
Step 3 — Check the network
The hub needs a fixed address on your own network (for example via a DHCP reservation in the router). Write that address down — it becomes the portal address later.
Step 4 — Bring in the installation package
You receive the package itmon-zentrale-setup-<>Datum>.tar.gz from us — download the current version here (the browser will ask for the download-area password), bring it along on a USB stick, or pull it directly from the terminal of the freshly installed hub — with the user itmon and the password you received from us:
wget --user=itmon --password=FROM-US \
https://hoffmann-markus.4lima.de/it-monitoring/files/itmon-zentrale-setup-aktuell.tar.gz \
-O itmon-zentrale-setup.tar.gzWithout wget, curl does the same job:
curl -L --user itmon:FROM-US -o itmon-zentrale-setup.tar.gz \
https://hoffmann-markus.4lima.de/it-monitoring/files/itmon-zentrale-setup-aktuell.tar.gzThe filename …-aktuell always points to the newest build — it never needs updating. Once downloaded, unpack it: tar xzf itmon-zentrale-setup.tar.gz. The package contains the self-installer — it sets up Docker, the database, the portal and remote support in one pass and asks nothing along the way. On first start the installer automatically fetches the remote-support agent files from this page; in networks without open GitHub access, that makes the system fully functional. Installing completely offline? Take the full build from the USB stick (same filename, with agentbuilds added inside the package).
If sudo is missing or your user has no admin rights (common on Debian when no sudo user was created during installation): log in as root once and add the user afterwards
su - # root shell, asks for the root password
apt install sudo # only if sudo is missing entirely
adduser IhrBenutzer sudo # replace "IhrBenutzer" with your own login nameThen log out and back in once — afterwards sudo works. Alternatively: every command in this guide can also be run directly in the root shell (just su -, then drop the sudo at the start of the line) — for a dedicated monitoring hub, that is actually the cleaner way.
Step 5 — Run the installer
cd itmon-zentrale-setup-*
sudo bash install-center.shThe assistant reports every step. It generates new, one-of-a-kind credentials for your system specifically — shown on screen and additionally saved to a file.
Important: When the assistant prints "WARNING", take a quick read — the message is usually harmless (e.g. "remote support is still loading"), but reading it costs two seconds. After remote support starts for the first time, please give it a minute: on its first run the service creates its keys and tool files.
Step 6 — Secure the credentials
The installer shows a file with all the passwords. Back it up right away: password manager, or a USB stick in a safe place. Without this file, access to the hub cannot be restored. It is generated fresh for every system and stored nowhere — not even with us.
Step 7 — Open and configure the portal
In the browser: http://<address>:8097 — the portal address is shown at the end of the installation. Login by password only. Via "Add computer" you now attach your first devices; the ready-made Windows and Linux client setups download straight from the login page (pre-filled with your address). Under "Design" you fill in your tray details once — display name, company name, support phone number, IT service provider and logo. They apply to all clients: whatever you enter here appears in every machine's contact window without you having to touch the machine; individual devices may deviate from it.
Step 8 — Roll out the clients
Windows: grab the zip from the hub's login page, unpack it, double-click ITMon-Setup.cmd — a menu walks you through and obtains admin rights on its own. Linux: sudo bash ITMon-Setup.sh — same principle. Both setups are repeatable: a second run only refreshes the configuration. A step-by-step client installation guide (including the important "create computer" step in the portal) is available as HTML: Install a client in five minutes. If the client runs centrally managed antivirus (e.g. Bitdefender GravityZone): provide the exclusion guide as HTML — so the installation completes without disabling protection. Afterwards, every client reports to the hub on its own and appears in the overview — assigned to your device group. Change the tray details in the hub later, and the client picks them up the next time the tray starts — no machine reboot required for that.
Step 9 — Function test
Reboot one client machine: within a few minutes it must be green again in the portal. Then reboot the hub itself — it too must come all the way back up on its own (the installer enables autostart for every service). If you feel adventurous, pull a client's network cable: the alert must appear within a few minutes.
Security — and why this guide can be public
The temptation is obvious: publish the credentials, ports and configuration samples along with a guide. That is exactly what we deliberately do not do. This page is written so that nobody can attack a system with it alone — ours included:
Security by design
- No public secrets: this guide names no passwords, no account initials, no internal paths and no service details. Every installation generates its own one-of-a-kind credentials on first start — there is no default password anyone could look up.
- The installation package contains no secrets: it may sit out in public, because on your system's first start it generates new, one-of-a-kind credentials. Once downloaded, the package is as individual at your place as a fresh operating system — shared passwords do not exist.
- Local operation: by design the hub is reachable only on your own network; nothing listens on the open internet. Remote access is an extra that is set up deliberately — never as a side effect.
- Known foundations: Debian, Docker, official packages — no backend that only we understand. The source code of our own development stays with the publisher; change requests are discussed, not simply built in.
- Password upkeep built in: the portal offers the password change itself; the credentials file stays local, in your hands.
If your system ever does look compromised: disconnect the hub from the network, ignore the manual, call us — we help you rebuild.
Quality in practice
The system runs in our own shop and at customer sites — watching servers, workstations, NAS and printers. The installer is proven on completely fresh systems: installation from zero including the database, autostart verified with a real reboot, portal function-tested after every run. Each step reports in plain language what it is doing; errors stay visible on screen instead of being swallowed. We keep the version status and test logs in the project and deliver them along with it.
Publisher and operation
The system, the portal and the installer are own developments of IT-Technik Hoffmann. We handle setup, handover and — if you want it — ongoing operation under a maintenance contract: we watch your hub for you and reach out before you would notice anything.