Tink vs systemd Exporter
systemd_exporter is Prometheus's usual unit scrape: a :9558 /metrics endpoint of systemd_unit_state gauges. That is not a mechanic. Tink installs in one command, watches the Linux server, explains what is wrong, and helps you fix it.
systemd_exporter exposes unit gauges. Tink answers “why is this VPS sick?”
Accidental sysadmins land on systemd_exporter because every Linux + Prometheus diagram starts with a unit scrape. Then the volume fills, nginx dies, and Grafana is quiet — the unit still says active, so nothing fired. A filling /var is a Tink warning; it is not an exporter job.
Tink is the other job: detect the issue on the machine, say why it happened in plain English, propose the command, and run it only after you approve. Keep systemd_exporter if you already operate Prometheus and need unit gauges. Use Tink if you run Linux servers and want a mechanic.
| Feature | Tink | systemd Exporter |
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | 30 seconds (one curl | sh command) | Hours — binary, D-Bus access, unit include/exclude regexes, :9558, prometheus.yml scrape job, dashboards, and Alertmanager |
| What you get | Working monitoring, diagnosis, and approved fixes | A systemd scrape target. Host disk fill, nginx, Postgres, and certs stay your problem until PromQL fires and you SSH in |
| Pricing | Free (Scout) / $9 / $29 per machine per month | Free software (Apache 2.0). You still pay for Prometheus, Grafana, Alertmanager, and the engineer who writes the rules |
| Hidden costs | None — fully managed | A noisy unit-state series, failed-unit cardinality, D-Bus permissions, and a second tool to tell you the box is sick |
| Monitoring approach | Agent on the server — CPU, disk, services, logs, certs, ports | systemd_unit_state and systemd_system_running gauges. systemd_exporter does not watch host fill or a quiet cert unless you added another exporter |
| Configuration | None after install — heuristics and AI | --systemd.unit-include, --systemd.unit-exclude, scrape intervals, and which PromQL actually pages you |
| Plain-English diagnosis | Yes — AI explains root cause, impact, and fix | You graph systemd_unit_state{state="failed"} in Grafana, then SSH in to change the box |
| Fix execution | Proposes and executes approved commands with an audit trail | Export only — systemd_exporter cannot restart a failed unit, free disk, or rotate a cert |
| Alerting | Built-in across 8 channels | Not a systemd Exporter job — Prometheus rules and Alertmanager have to fire |
| Predictive alerts | Yes — disk fills in ~6 days, memory and CPU trends | Not an exporter job — a unit-state scrape does not forecast a quiet volume filling up |
| SSH brute-force detection | Built-in — parses auth.log every scan | Only if you ship auth.log elsewhere, parse it, write a query, and wire an alert downstream |
| Machine offline detection | Agent presence monitoring with multi-channel alerts | Silence if systemd_exporter dies — unless you built an up{job="systemd"} deadman check |
| Public status page | Shareable URL with 90-day history | None — systemd_exporter has no customer-facing status page |
| Weekly fleet digest | Automated Monday digest + daily brief when issues are open | None — a unit scrape target is not a plain-English fleet narrative |
| On-call tracking | Built-in /oncall command + incident acknowledgment | Not included — wire Alertmanager into PagerDuty or another incident tool |
| Conversation interface | Telegram, WhatsApp, web dashboard, CLI | curl :9558/metrics and Grafana. No mechanic you text when nginx.service failed and /var filled overnight |
| Learning curve | None — works after install | Steep — D-Bus, unit regexes, PromQL, scrape configs, and which rule actually pages |
| Best for | Freelancers, small teams, accidental sysadmins (1-50 Linux servers) | Teams that already run Prometheus and need systemd scrapes, not a sick-VPS mechanic |
When systemd Exporter is the right choice
Keep systemd_exporter when you already want that exact job:
- Prometheus unit scrapes — you need systemd_unit_state in PromQL, not a mechanic.
- Per-unit failed-state gauges — timer last-trigger and socket accept counts matter more than host nginx, certs, and SSH on a quiet VPS.
- An existing Prometheus + Grafana stack — systemd_exporter already ships, dashboards already graph, and someone owns Alertmanager.
- Hosts that only export — you already run systemd_exporter next to the units, not a sick-box SSH loop.
The real cost of “just run systemd_exporter”
A unit exporter is in every Linux + Prometheus diagram. A working ops loop for five Linux boxes is not:
- An exported active state still means you SSH in and change the box by hand
- Host fill, nginx, certs, and SSH brute-force never appear unless you scraped those signals and Alertmanager paged
- A filling /var is a Tink disk warning on every scan — systemd_exporter will keep scraping unit state
- A single VPS with a dead systemd_exporter still needs a mechanic, not another scrape job
For a 5-server team, Tink Mechanic at $45/month is cheaper than systemd_exporter plus the engineer who keeps Prometheus scrape alive, and every scan includes a diagnosis a quiet /metrics endpoint will not type.
No prometheus.yml homework. No silent host. One command install.
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