With Nagios XI 2026, one of the biggest improvements is the official integration of Mod Gearman — a distributed job-processing system that lets you offload checks from your main Nagios XI server to worker nodes.

This change transforms Nagios XI from a single-node monitoring solution into a scalable distributed monitoring platform, capable of handling large environments with thousands of checks efficiently.

In this guide, we’ll walk through how to enable, configure, and manage Mod Gearman in Nagios XI 2026.

What Is Mod Gearman?

Mod Gearman acts as a bridge between Nagios XI and multiple worker nodes. Instead of running every check on the XI server, you can distribute them across other systems.

This improves performance, redundancy, and scalability — especially useful in multi-datacenter, cloud, or hybrid setups.

In short:

• Nagios XI server = Scheduler and results receiver
• Gearman Workers = Execute checks in parallel across servers

Why Use Mod Gearman in XI 2026

In previous versions, Mod Gearman setup required manual configuration and community scripts. Now it’s:
Built-in and supported by Nagios Enterprises
Configurable from the GUI under Admin > Distributed Monitoring
Includes prebuilt templates for workers and server configuration
Compatible with Smart Dashboards and reports

Step-by-Step: Enabling Mod Gearman

Step 1: Verify Installation

Nagios XI 2026 ships with Mod Gearman pre-installed. To confirm, go to:
Admin → System Extensions → Mod Gearman
If not active, click Enable Module.

You can also check from the command line:

systemctl status mod-gearman

Step 2: Enable the Mod Gearman Broker Module

In the Nagios XI web UI:

1. Navigate to Admin → Monitoring Configuration → Core Config Manager.
2. Open Nagios Core Configuration Options.
3. Enable Broker Module: mod_gearman.o.
4. Apply configuration and restart Nagios Core.

Step 3: Configure the Gearman Server

Edit /usr/local/nagios/etc/mod_gearman.cfg and adjust:

server=localhost
keyfile=/usr/local/nagiosxi/etc/keys/mod_gearman.key
logfile=/var/log/mod_gearman/mod_gearman.log

Then restart the service:

systemctl restart mod-gearman

Step 4: Add Worker Nodes

On remote worker servers (Linux-based systems):

1. Install Mod Gearman worker

   yum install mod-gearman-worker
   

   or on Debian/Ubuntu:

   apt install mod-gearman-worker
   

2. Configure worker to connect to the XI server:
   Edit /etc/mod_gearman_worker.conf:

   server=<NagiosXI-IP>
   keyfile=/usr/local/nagiosxi/etc/keys/mod_gearman.key
   eventhandler=yes
   hostcheck=yes
   servicecheck=yes
   

3. Start the worker service:

   systemctl enable mod-gearman-worker
   systemctl start mod-gearman-worker
   

You can add as many workers as you need for distributed performance.

Step 5: Validate the Setup

Back in the Nagios XI dashboard:

• Go to Admin → Distributed Monitoring → Worker Status.
• Verify connected workers and job load.
• You should see checks begin to offload from the XI core server to workers.

Advanced Configuration Tips

Security Best Practices

• Use keyfile-based authentication between XI and workers.
• Run workers in restricted network zones with only required ports open.
• Regularly review /var/log/mod_gearman/mod_gearman.log for errors.
• Keep XI and worker systems patched and synchronized (NTP).

Performance Impact

Organizations with large Nagios XI deployments have reported:

• 40–60% reduction in load on the main XI server.
• Up to 3× faster check execution cycles.
• Linear scalability when adding new workers.

This makes Mod Gearman an essential part of enterprise-grade monitoring with Nagios XI 2026.

Final Thoughts

With Mod Gearman officially supported, Nagios XI 2026 finally offers a native distributed monitoring architecture that’s stable, well-integrated, and easy to maintain.

Whether you’re managing a few hundred checks or tens of thousands, Mod Gearman allows you to scale horizontally while keeping your Nagios XI server responsive and efficient.

If you’re upgrading to XI 2026, enabling Mod Gearman should be one of your first post-installation steps — it’s the key to unlocking Nagios’ true enterprise scalability.