Monitor servers with PHP

I am developing a tool in PHP allowing me to monitor one or more remote servers with their IP addresses.

I tried to use SNMP but I can not. The agent is difficult to put in place and I do not understand the results of PHP functions return me .

I 'm looking for an alternative to this protocol that allows me to have data quickly and easily .

I need to be able to monitor any server running Windows or Linux.

If you have an idea, I 'm interested. I'm stuck on this problem for two weeks .

Thank you !