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This section covers the overall configuration process for GroundWork Monitor Open Source. GroundWork bases this software on Nagios®, an open source network-management application, and enables you to more easily and rapidly set-up and maintain your IT system by allowing you to configure it through the Configuration web-based interface rather than having to manually edit actual configuration files. Configuration is the first step in working with GroundWork Monitor Open Source. This section will detail configuration of the monitoring environment.
Section Contents
|
Setup | Determine how users access Monarch. Are users required to login? If so, how long can their session be idle before it expires? |
User Groups | Determine user rolls. Set the interface(s) to display (EZ/Main) and which functions are available to a group of users. |
Users | Add users and assign user groups to set access. |
Setting Secutiry Mode and Timeout
Setup
- Select Conrol from the Configuration Main menu options.
- Select Setup.
- In the Setup screen, select the Login authentication mode (see Table 5.1.2b.) and set the Session timeout seconds. The maximum timeout value is 48 hours (172800 seconds).
- Select Save. Selecting Cancel will exit the Setup screen without saving.
Figure 5.1.2a. Setting the security mode and timeout
Table 5.1.2b. Login authentication
None There is no login and anyone given the correct URL will have complete access to everything. (Not recommended). Active Users are asked to login to begin a new session or when the timeout value is exceeded in an existing session. A session will expire after a period of inactivity equal to or greater than the Session timeout seconds value in Setup. The maximum timeout value is 48 hours (172800 seconds). Access rules are determined by User group membership (see below). Passive Single sign on method: This option assumes Monarch is embedded in another tool such as a portal. The external source can call Monarch by passing the name value pair user_acct=USERNAME or by setting the Apache REMOTE_USER value to USERNAME. There is no session timeout, but access rules are determined by User group membership (see below).
Defining/Managing User Groups
User groups
- Select Conrol from the Configuration Main menu options.
- Select User groups.
- Select New to create a new group or Modify to change an existing group.
- In the User Group screen, fill in the name and the description.
- Select Add for a new group or Set Access Values. Selecting Cancel/Close will exit the User groups screen without saving.
Figure 5.1.2b. Defining/Managing User Groups
Access Values – General
- Use the tabs at the top of the form to navigate between access panes.
- Select Save to save changes before navigating to a different pane.
Figure 5.1.2c. Access Values – General
Table 5.1.2c. Access Values – General
Design Manage | For each option check Add, Modify, and/or Delete to grant the level of access desired. |
Groups | See below. |
Tools | Check each option to grant access. |
Control | Check each option to grant access. |
EZ | See below. |
Access Values – Groups
- Select the Groups tab.
- Set properties (see table 5.1.2d. below).
- Select Save to save changes before navigating to another tab.
Figure 5.1.2d. Access Values – Groups
Table 5.1.2d. Seting Group Access
Groups and macros | Check Manage to make the Groups option available. Members of the user group will by default have complete access to groups they or other members of the user group create. |
Admistered groups | Check one or more groups to grant access. |
Access Values – EZ Interface
- Select the EZ tab.
- Set properties (see table 5.1.2e. below).
- Select Save to save changes before navigating to another tab.
Figure 5.1.2e. Access Values – EZ
Table 5.1.2e. Setting EZ Access
Enable EZ | You must check enable to make the EZ interface available to users. |
View option | Select the default interface. To make EZ the only view available to the group, select the EZ option. Select EZ-Main to make the EZ interface the default view when users login, and select Main-EZ to make the main view the default. |
EZ options | Check the options available to users of the EZ interface. |
Defining/Managing Users
Users
- Select Conrol from the Configuration Main menu options.
- Select Users.
- Select New to create a new group or Modify to change an existing user.
- In the User screen, set the user’s propertires and add user groups to grant access.
- Select Add for a new user or Save. Selecting Cancel/Close will exit the user screen without saving.
Figure 5.1.2f. User Account
Chapter 3 Configuration EZ – Getting Started
Chapter Contents
- Defining Hosts
- Defining Host Groups
- Configuring Profiles
- Setting Up Notifications
- Using Commit
- Using Setup
This chapter will get you started with configuration using the feature Configuration EZ. Configuration EZ allows you to more easily configure your monitoring system by providing access to the most commonly used configuration functions. As the main prerequisite for EZ to be effective, Host Profiles must already be defined. An advanced Administrator can use the standard Configuration option to define all the settings associated with a Host Profile. The task of assigning and implementing Profiles to the monitoring system can be accomplished using EZ.
There are several options one may use to get started with an initial configuration. One can simply use the existing commands, Services, and Profiles to set up monitoring on Hosts, import an existing Nagios® configuration, or configure Nagios® in the usual way using text files, and load the results.
The Configuration EZ option makes use of the Profiles to simplify the addition of new Hosts. Once Host and Service Profiles are selected and configured, they are available to be used in Configuration EZ. The Administrator can import delimited text files, run guided network discovery, or simply input Host details with the new Host wizard. Once input, these Hosts can be assigned to Profiles, and implemented in the system. The Configuration EZ application is provided under a separate application option to allow delegation of simple changes to various Administrators. The advanced options such as setting up new Services and Service Profiles, or making global changes can be performed by another system Administrator with the advanced knowledge needed.
Finally, one can set up a Nagios® server in the usual way, and import configurations as described above. This method is sometimes preferable for Nagios® users simply because it avoids the need to learn how Configuration works before getting to use it on a large number of Hosts and Services, and because the act of loading an existing configuration creates all the Service definitions that can then be used to create Profiles. It is a matter of choice, which is what Open Source is all about. The functions EZ provides are:
Table 5.2.0. Configuration EZ Functions
Hosts | Defining new Hosts for the monitoring system. There are three methods available: 1) manually entering Host information using the Configuration EZ web pages, 2) using the Import option to load data from a comma separated file, or 3) using the Discover option to autodiscover devices. |
Host Groups | Adding new Host Groups and assigning Hosts to Host Groups. |
Profiles | Assigning Profiles to Hosts. |
Notifications | Defining Notification parameters such as Time Periods and Contacts. |
Commit | Checking your configuration with a Pre Flight Check and committing your changes to Nagios® with the Commit option. |
Setup | Set the default parameters. |
Defining Hosts
Defining a Host Manually
- Select Hosts from the Configuration EZ menu options.
- Select New.
- In the Host screen, enter the properties, see Table 5.2.1a..
- Select Save. Selecting Cancel will exit the Host screen without saving. Delete removes the Host.
Figure 5.2.1a. Defining a New Host
Table 5.2.1a. Host
Name [Required] Host name. If the Address directive in a Host definition is not specified, the name of the Host will be used as its address. Recommended practice: Do not include spaces in Host names, if necessary use “_”. Alias [Required] This directive is used to define a longer name or description used to identify the Host. It is provided in order to allow you to more easily identify a particular Host. Address [Required] This directive is used to define the address of the Host. Normally, this is an IP address, although it could really be anything you want (so long as it can be used to check the status of the Host). You can use a FQDN to identify the Host instead of an IP address, but if DNS Services are not available this could cause problems. When used properly, the $HOSTADDRESS$ macro will contain this address. Note: If you do not specify an address directive in a Host definition, the name of the Host will be used as its address. A word of caution about doing this, however – if DNS fails, most of your Service checks will fail because the plugins will be unable to resolve the Host name. Host Groups [Required] Each Host that you define must be a member of at least one Host Group – even if it is the only Host in that Group. Hosts can be in more than one Host Group. When a Host goes down, becomes unreachable, or recovers, Nagios® will find which Host Group(s) the Host is a member of, get the Contact Group for each of those Host Groups, and notify all Contacts associated with those Contact Groups. Host Profile [Optional] Host Profiles can be used to aid the design and management of Hosts.
Defining Hosts Using Import
If you have Host information in a file, such as a spreadsheet, the Import tool will allow you to upload that file to the GroundWork Monitor server, map file fields to Host definitions, and selectively import the new Host definitions into the configuration database. The minimum data that is required for the Import tool includes Name, Alias and Address.
- Select Hosts from the Configuration EZ menu options.
- Select Import.
- In the Import Host Wizard screen, Step 1: Upload File, select or enter the file field delimiter. Typically this is “,” for comma separated files. Enter or select the Upload File. This is a file on your system that will be uploaded to the server and processed. Use the browse option to navigate to your file. When finished, select Next to go to the next page.
Figure 5.2.1b1. Step 1: Upload File
- In the next screen, Step 2: Set Schema, you can assign the fields in your file to the Host parameters. The first line of your file is shown for reference. For each field in your file, select the Host parameter from the drop down list. Assign the name, address and alias fields to the appropriate fields. When finished, select Next to go to the next page.
Figure 5.2.1b2. Step 2: Set Schema
- In Step 3: Process Hosts the Hosts discovered from the scan are displayed. Notice the Sort Keys color coded import status. An orange box indicates that the Host was missing data or was unable to be imported, the Blue box indicates the Host exists in your monitoring configuration already (Hosts can be overwritten), and the White box indicates a good Host to import. You may also sort the list of discovered Hosts by selecting the Name, Alias, Address, OS, Profile, or Other titles in the Sort columns section.
- Check the boxes of the Hosts you wish to import.
- In the Host Profile section, select the Host Profile to apply to the selected Hosts.
- Select Add to add the selected Hosts to the monitoring system configuration.
- Select Discard to remove from the list the Hosts you don’t want to monitor or those you do not want to process because they may already be in the system. The Hosts added will be displayed in the navigation tree under Hosts. Hosts that have been associated with a Host Group will be displayed within a Host Group, other Hosts not associated with a Host Group are listed under unassigned.
Figure 5.2.1b3. Step 3: Process Hosts
Defining Hosts Using Discover
The Configuration Discover option uses network discovery protocols to automatically generate a list of Hosts which you may import. The Nmap tool is used to scan the ports of the designated IP address range. Based on this scan, a list of Hosts including the Host name, IP address, and operating system are displayed. You may then select the Hosts you wish to import into the monitoring system configuration. Note: The system must be configured to enable reverse DNS lookups in order to generate the correct Host name, if not, the IP address will be used as the Host name.
- Select Hosts from the Configuration EZ menu options.
- Select Discover.
- In the Discover Host Wizard screen, Step 1: Scan Parameters, enter the start and end range of the IP addresses to be scanned.
- Select Next to start the scan.
Figure 5.2.1c1. Step 1: Scan Parameters
- In the next screen, Step 2: Scanning, you will see the results as each network address is scanned. You may stop the scan at any time by selecting Cancel. As each scan is complete, you will see the Host name, IP address, operating system and status. When the scan is finished, select Next to go to Step 3: Process Hosts.
Figure 5.2.1c2. Step 2: Scanning
- In Step 3: Process Hosts the Hosts discovered from the scan are displayed. Notice the Sort Keys color coded import status. An orange box indicates that the Host was missing data or was unable to be imported, the Blue box indicates the Host exists in your monitoring configuration already (Hosts can be overwritten), and the White box indicates a good Host to import. You may also sort the list of discovered Hosts by selecting the Name, Alias, Address, OS, Profile, or Other titles in the Sort columns section.
- Check the boxes of the Hosts you wish to import.
- In the Host Profile section, select the Host Profile to apply to the selected Hosts.
- Select Add to add the selected Hosts to the monitoring system configuration.
- Select Discard to remove from the list the Hosts you don’t want to monitor or those you do not want to process because they may already be in the system. The Hosts added will be displayed in the navigation tree under Hosts. Hosts that have been associated with a Host Group will be displayed within a Host Group, other Hosts not associated with a Host Group are listed under unassigned.
Figure 5.2.1c3. Step 3: Process Hosts
Modifying Existing Hosts
Once a Host is imported using any other methods above, you can modify the Host settings. To find a Host, expand the Host node in the navigation tree, then select Host from the list. An alternate way of finding a Host is to use the Search option. Start typing the name of the Host you want. As you type each letter, a list of Hosts that match will dynamically appear. You can then select the name the Host in the list. Once you select a Host, you can modify the Alias, IP Address, Host Group or Host Profile for that Host.
Figure 5.2.1c4. Modifying Existing Hosts
Defining Host Groups
This option allows you to create a new Host Group, and assign existing Hosts to a Host Group.
- Select Hosts Groups from the Configuration EZ menu options.
- Select New.
- In the Host Group screen, enter the properties, see Table 5.2.2a..
- Select Add to save the new Host Group.
Figure 5.2.2a. Creating a New Host Group
Table 5.2.2a. Host Group
Name [Required] Host Group name. Alias [Required] This directive is used to define a longer name or description used to identify the Host Group. It is provided in order to allow you to more easily identify a particular Host Group. Hosts [Required] This is a list of the short names of Hosts that should be included in this Host Group.
Configuring Profiles
This option allows you to assign existing Host Profiles to Hosts.
- Select Profiles from the Configuration EZ menu options.
- Expand the Profiles drop-down menu.
- Select the Profile to be configured.
- In the Host Profile screen, enter the properties, see Table 5.2.3a.
- Select Add to go to the Host Profile screen.
Figure 5.2.3a. New Host Profile
Table 5.2.3a. New Host Profile
Name [Required] Name of the Host Profile. Host Profile [Required] Host Profiles can be used to aid the design and management of Hosts. Hosts List of Hosts to add to Host Profile.
Setting Up Notifications
In Configuration EZ you can use the Notifications option to add and change basic contact data including turning Notifications on or off, creating Time Periods for Notifications, and defining Notification Contacts. To set up Notifications you will need to associate a Contact with a Host or Service, or set up an Escalation Tree. You can set up Escalation Trees so that some groups get notified for a while and others are escalated to. These trees define who gets notified and when, and you can then assign the tree to individual Hosts, Services, or Host and Service Groups.
You can dive into these areas further using the Configuration option to manage the assignment of Contacts to Contact Groups. Just create a Contact Group and add Contacts to it. This group can then be assigned to Host Groups, which will make the members default Contacts for all Host problems that are detected within the group. You can do the same with Services, Service Groups, and Hosts, if you prefer. Note: Services require the default Contact Group to be assigned for Notifications to occur unless you are using Escalations. For more information see Section 4 Configuring GroundWork Monitor Open Source in this guide.
Step 1 – Defining a New Time Period
- Select Notifications from the Configuration menu options.
- Expand the Time Periods drop-down menu.
- Select New to create a new Time Period.
- In the Time Period screen, enter the properties, see Table 5.2.4a..
- Select Add to add the new Time Period. You will be prompted in the next screen that the Time Period has been saved.
Figure 5.2.4a. Time Period Properties
Table 5.2.4a. Time Period
Name Time Period name. Alias [Required] This directive is a longer name or description used to identify the time period. Sunday-Saturday [Optional] The Sunday through Saturday directives are comma-delimited lists of time ranges that are ‘valid’ times for a particular day of the week. Notice that there are seven different days for which you can define time ranges (Sunday through Saturday). Each time range is in the form of HH: MM-HH: MM, where hours are specified on a 24 hour clock. For example, 00: 15-24: 00 means 12: 15am in the morning for this day until 12: 20am midnight (a 23 hour, 45 minute total time range). If you wish to exclude an entire day from the Time Period, simply do not include it in the timeperiod definition.
Step 2 – Defining a New Contact
- Select Notifications from the Configuration EZ menu options.
- Expand the Contacts drop-down menu.
- Select New.
- In the Contact Properties screen, enter the properties, see Table 5.2.4b..
- Select Add.
- You will be prompted that the Contact has been added. Select Continue.Note: To modify or delete a Contact select Modify. You will then be able to edit and Save a modified Contact. Select Delete to remove a selected Contact, Rename to change the name, or Cancel to exit out without any changes.
Figure 5.2.4b. Contact Properties
Table 5.2.4b. Contact
Name Contact name. Notification Period [Required] Select the period for which this Contact is available to receive Notifications. Alias [Required] This directive is used to define a longer name or description for the Contact. Under the rights circumstances, the $CONTACTALIAS$ macro will contain this value. Email [Optional] This directive is used to define an email address for the Contact. Depending on how you configure your Notification commands, it can be used to send out an alert email to the Contact. Under the right circumstances, the $CONTACTEMAIL$ macro will contain this value. Pager [Optional] This directive is used to define a pager number for the Contact. It can also be an email address to a pager gateway (i.e. pagejoe@pagenet.com). Depending on how you configure your Notification commands, it can be used to send out an alert page to the Contact. Under the right circumstances, the $CONTACTPAGER$ macro will contain this value.
Step 3 – Turning On Notifications
- Select Notifications from the Configuration EZ menu options.
- Click on the Notifications option.
- Select off or on from the Notifications drop-down box.
- Select Close
Figure 5.2.4c. Notifications
Using Commit
Any changes made with the configuration tool are not effective until the change is committed. This option provides the processes for committing changes to the monitoring system.
Note: Before committing, your are advised to run the Preflight Test option. This option will check the configuration for errors, but will not implement the change. If there are any errors, they will be listed in the Nagios® Pre Flight Test window after the PreFlight Test option is selected.
To implement the change, select the Commit option on the navigation tree. You will be presented with an option to Abort, Backup or Commit. The Backup option will make a copy of the current Nagios® configuration files (before the changes are applied) and execute a database dump of the monarch configuration database. By default, these are placed in a timestamped directory in /usr/local/groundwork/monarch/backup
. If needed, you can restore to any backup configuration by copying the Nagios® configuration files to the /usr/local/groundwork/nagios/etc directory
, and/or restoring the monarch MySQL database with the dumped backup file.
- Select Commit from the Configuration EZ menu options.
- Select Commit.
- In the Nagios® Commit screen you will be prompted first to Backup the active Nagios® configuration.
- Select Commit to overwrite the active Nagios® configuration and restart Nagios®.
Figure 5.2.5a. Nagios® Commit
Table 5.2.5a. Nagios® Commit
Commit Select Commit to Overwrite your active Nagios® configuration and restarts Nagios®. Backup Select Backup to backup Nagios® records in the database. Abort Abort or cancel loading of Nagios® records.
Using Setup
This option allows you to set up default values that will be applied when new definitions are created.
- Select Setup from the Configuration EZ menu options.
- Select the Setup option.
- In the Configuration Defaults screen, enter the properties, see Table 5.2.6a..
- Select Save.
Figure 5.2.6a. Configuration Defaults
Table 5.2.6a. Configuration Defaults
Host Profile [Required] Select the appropriate Host Profile for all Hosts added with this tool. This should in most circumstances be a simple ping Profile. Contact Group [Required] Select the appropriate Contact Group for all Contacts added with this tool. Contact Template [Required] Select the appropriate Contact template for all Contacts added with this tool.
Chapter 4 Advanced Configuration – Configuring Services
Chapter Contents
This chapter will focus on Service configuration. This reference is intended to provide you with a more detail look into all aspect of Service configuration. Each How to takes you step by step through the configuration process. Before starting, check the list below each How to to view any required prerequisites.
Services
A Service definition is used to identify a Service that runs on a Host. A Service can be an actual Service that runs on the Host (POP, SMTP, HTTP, etc.) or some other type of metric associated with the Host (response to a ping, number of logged in users, free disk space, etc.). A Service incorporates multiple definitions (Service Template, Check Command, Command Line, Service Dependencies, Service Extended Info, and Service Groups. These How To’s will take you through the process of defining a new Service, cloning an existing Service, searching existing Services, and viewing a list of available Services. You will need to start with any listed prerequisites.
Service Templates
A Service Template is useful when you have common attributes for multiple Services. A Service Template incorporates multiple Service detail directives and Service Check definitions. This How To will take you through the process of defining a new Service Template.
Example: In a Service Template (generic-win-disk-c
), the Check command check_nt_disk
has a Command Line of $USER1$/check_nt -H $HOSTADDRESS$ -p 1248 -v USEDDISKSPACE -l $ARG1$ -w $ARG2$ -c $ARG3$
where the values are set to check_nt_disk!C!85!95
, which becomes the default Command Line value for a Service check_disk_c
. Now, if you want to create a Service check_disk_d
, you can select the Service Template generic-win-disk-c
, uncheck Inherit all values from template, and replace the C parameter with a D.
Service Dependencies
Service Dependencies allow you to suppress Notifications and active checks of Services based on the status of one or more other Services.
Service Extended Info
Service Extended Info Templates are basically used to make the output from the status and extinfo CGIs look good. They have no effect on monitoring and are completely optional. This How To will take you through the steps to create an Extended Service Info Template.
Service Groups
A Service Group definition is used to group one or more Services together for the purposes of simplifying Notifications. When a Service goes down, becomes unreachable, or recovers, Nagios® will find which Service Group(s) the Service is a member of, get the Contact Group for each of those Service Groups, and notify all Contacts associated with those Contact Groups. Service Groups allow for flexibility in determining who gets paged for what kind of problems. Service Groups allow you to group Services together for display purposes in the CGIs and can be referenced in Service Dependency and Service Escalation definitions to make configuration a bit easier. This How To will take you through the steps to create a new Service Group. The prerequisites for Service Groups are defined Hosts with Services and Services assigned to Hosts.
Chapter 5 Advanced Configuration – Configuring Profiles
This chapter will focus on Profile configuration. This reference is intended to provide you with a more detail look into all aspect of Profile configuration. Each How to takes you step by step through the configuration process. Before starting, check the list below each How to to view any required prerequisites.
Chapter Contents
Host Profiles
Host Profiles store Host Templates and Service Profiles. Once you have a Host Profile you can apply this combined definition to a number of Hosts, for example to 50 specific web servers. Host Profiles are not associated with a specific Host. This concept will allow you to generically define the different roles of the different devices you are monitoring and easily apply them. Once the Host Profile is define you may want to change one of the parameters which then would be applied to all of the specified Hosts. You can make a change to either the Host Profile, the Service Profile, or in the Service, which will then be applied to all Hosts.
Service Profiles
A Service Profile is a collection of multiple Services. Once you have a Service Profile you can combine this with a Host Template and create a Host Profile. With GroundWork Monitor Open Source, you get a preloaded set of Service Checks for multiple types of servers, devices, etc. that you can use out of the box. Service Profiles encapsulate a set of standard Services with Plugins and Best Practices that can be applied toward monitoring specific devices or protocols. The advantages of using a Service Profile is that it is pre-integrated. Using Profiles, you can quickly configure GroundWork Monitor Open Source to monitor groups of devices the same way. This How To will take you through the process of defining a new Service Profile including Step 1 – New Service Profile; assigning a name and assigning a configuration file, and Step 2 – Defining the Service Profile properties.
Importing Profiles
Profiles, which contain both pre-defined and user-definable monitoring parameter settings, can be imported into Configuration for use in designing and managing Hosts and Services. Profiles can be exported by the Export button in the Profile Detail screen making Profiles portable and enabling the sharing of files.
Chapter 6 Advanced Configuration – Configuring Hosts
This chapter will focus on Host configuration. This reference is intended to provide you with a more detail look into all aspect of Host configuration. Each How to will take you step by step through each procedure. Before starting, check the list below each How to to view any required prerequisites.
Chapter Contents
Hosts
A Host definition is used to define a physical server, workstations, device, etc. that resides on your network. This How To will take you through the process of defining a new Host to be monitored. You will need to start with the prerequisites. To create a Host you will continue through several steps including defining Host Vitals, Host Attributes 1 and 2, and Selecting Host Services to add specific Services to this Host. When creating a new Host if a Host Profile is chosen the fields Parents, Host Groups, Extended Host Info, Host Escalation Tree, and Service Escalation Tree will be automatically populated and can be modified.
Host Templates
Host Templates store common object properties that are used to define multiple Hosts. Templates are used to reduce the number of repetitive entries when defining objects. For example, when defining a new Host you would first create a Host Template with common properties. Then, to define a specific Host, you apply the properties using a Host Template.
Host Groups
A Host Group definition is used to group one or more Hosts together for the purposes of simplifying Notifications. Each Host that you define must be a member of at least one Host Group – even if it is the only Host in that Group. Hosts can be in more than one Host Group. When a Host goes down, becomes unreachable, or recovers, Nagios® will find which Host Group(s) the Host is a member of, get the Contact Group for each of those Host Groups, and notify all Contacts associated with those Contact Groups. Host Groups allow for flexibility in determining who gets paged for what kind of problems.
Parent/Child
Parents Hosts are typically routers, switches, firewalls, etc. that lie between the monitoring Host and a remote Host. A router, switch, etc. which is closest to the remote Host is considered to be that Host’s Parent. If this Host is on the same network segment as the Host doing the monitoring (without any intermediate routers, etc.) the Host is considered to be on the local network and will not have a parent Host.
Extended Host Info Templates
Extended Host information entries are basically used to make the output from the status, statusmap, statuswrl, and extinfo CGIs look good. They have no effect on monitoring and are completely optional. For example, Figure 5.5.1a. below shows a server icon next to each Host. This icon image is designated in the Extended Host Info Template as server.png in the Status Map Image property field.
- How Do I Create Extended Host Info Templates?
Figure 5.5.1a. Extended Host Info Template – Status Map Image
Host Dependencies
Host Dependencies allow you to suppress Notifications for Hosts based on the status of one or more other Hosts. Service Dependencies allow you to suppress Notifications and active checks of Services based on the status of one or more other Services.
Chapter 7 Advanced Configuration – Managing Hosts
This chapter will focus on managing Host configuration. After creating new Hosts using the New Host Wizard or cloning Hosts you can use the search feature to find a previously defined Host or you can expand the Hosts option in the navigation tree and select an existing Host. Once a defined Host has been selected you have access to manage Host Detail, Host and Service Profiles, Parents, Host Groups, Escalations, and Services from one screen. Each Host management tab is listed below, click on the link to get step by step instructions for modifying Host properties.
Chapter Contents
- Managing Host Detail
- Managing Host Profiles
- Managing Host – Parents
- Managing Host – Host Groups
- Managing Host – Escalations
- Managing Host – Services
Managing Host Detail
The Host Detail tab in the Manage Host screen lists the defined Host name, Alias, Address of the Host, and the pre selected Host template properties which are all editable. Click Set Inheritance to set all directive to inherit values from the selected template. Uncheck the left checkbox on the directive in the lower half of the screen to override the template values.
Managing Host Profiles
The Profile tab in the Manage Host screen enables you to assign and apply Host Profiles and Service Profiles. After making changes, use the refresh button to update the Service list on this page. Also, make sure you select the appropriate Service option before selecting Apply. You can either select Replace Existing Services which will remove all Services from the current Host and replace them with the ones you have selected. Merge with Existing Services will leave any existing Services unchanged. Assigning a Host Profile from the Profile tab in Manage Host creates the association so that the Host can be managed from the Profile and will have no other effect on the Host configuration.
Managing Host – Parents
The Parents tab in the Manage Host screen lets you assign Parent Host(s) to a Host definition. Parent child relationships may also be managed directly by going to Hosts>Parent Child. Parent Hosts are typically routers, switches, firewalls, etc. that lie between the monitoring Host and a remote Host.
Managing Host – Host Groups
The Host Groups tab in the Manage Host screen is used to assign defined Host Groups to a Host definition. Host Groups may also be managed directly by going to Hosts>Host Groups. When a Host goes down, becomes unreachable, or recovers, Nagios® will find which Host Group(s) the Host is a member of, get the Contact Group for each of those Host Groups, and notify all Contacts associated with those Contact Groups.
Managing Host – Escalations
The Escalations tab in the Manage Host screen enables you to optionally select Host and Service Escalation trees appropriate for a Host. When a Service Escalation is assigned, all Services on the selected Host will use the same Escalation. To use different Escalations for different Services, each Service must have its own Escalation and in this case you would not assign a Service Escalation. The Escalations option is used to define Host and Service Escalation Trees. Escalations are used to escalate Contact Notifications for a particular Service, Host, or Host Group. An Escalation Tree is a grouping of multiple Escalations which is then assigned to a Host, Host Profile, Host Group, or a Service to escalate Notifications.
Managing Host – Services
The Service tab in the Manage Host screen lets you manage the Services that are assigned to a Host. You can add, modify and remove Services for a Host. Managing Services from this page will in all likelihood put the Host out of sync with its Service Profiles. After making changes, use caution when applying Profiles to this Host.
Chapter 8 Advanced Configuration – Defining Contacts
This chapter will focus on Contact, Contact Template, and Contact Group configuration. Each How to will take you step by step through each procedure. Before starting, check the list below each How to to view any required prerequisites.
Chapter Contents
Contacts
A Contact definition is used to identify someone who should be contacted in the event of a problem on your network.
Contact Groups
Contact Groups are definitions of one or more Contacts for the purpose of sending out alert/recovery Notifications. When a Host or Service has a problem or recovers, Nagios® will find the appropriate Contact Groups to send Notifications to, and notify all Contacts in those Contact Groups. In Nagios® 2.5 it is required that you set at least one Contact Group in a Host before running Commit. Contact Groups can be applied to Escalation Templates and Escalation Trees to be used in setting up Notifications for Hosts and Services.
Contact Templates
A Contact Template is useful when creating multiple Contacts with common attributes. A Contact definition is used to identify someone who should be contacted in the event of a problem on your network.
Chapter 9 Advanced Configuration – Configuring Escalations
This chapter will focus on Escalations configuration. Each How to will take you step by step through each procedure. Before starting, check the list below each How to to view any required prerequisites.
Chapter Contents
Escalations
Notifications and escalations are how the GroundWork Monitor’s Nagios® engine alerts its users when monitoring Services change between states (OK, WARNING, CRITICAL, and UNKNOWN). Escalations combine specified Contact Groups that are to be notified when a Notification is escalated. An Escalation Tree is a grouping of multiple Escalations which are then assigned to a Host, Host Profile, Host Group, or a Service. Escalation are optional.
Escalation Trees
Escalation Trees are groupings of multiple Host and Service Escalations that can be assigned to a Host, Host Profile, Host Group, or a Service.
Chapter 10 Advanced Configuration – Defining Commands
This chapter will focus on Command configuration. A Command line, which defines a Command, is referenced in Contact, Host, and Service definitions among other places. Commands that can be defined include Service checks, Service Notifications, Service event handlers, Host checks, Host Notifications, and Host event handlers. By default, Configuration uses commands.cfg to store check command definitions.Command definitions can contain macros, but you must make sure that you include only those macros that are valid for the circumstances when the command will be used. Immediately prior to the execution of a command, Nagios® will replace all macros in the command with their corresponding values. This allows you to define a few generic commands to handle all your needs. You must make sure that you include only those macros in command definitions that are valid for the circumstances when the command will be used. See the Nagios® documentation for the complete list and usage of macros. Each How to will take you step by step through each procedure. Before starting, check the list below each How to to view any required prerequisites.
Chapter 11 Advanced Configuration – Defining Time Periods
This chapter will focus on Time Period configuration. Time Periods are lists of times during various days that are considered to be valid times for Notifications and Service checks. Each How to will take you step by step through each procedure. Before starting, check the list below each How to to view any required prerequisites.
Chapter 12 Advanced Configuration – Defining Groups
This chapter will focus on the new GroundWork Monitor Open Source feature Groups. The Groups feature is very flexible and powerful. With great power comes great responsibility, so care should be considered in administering them. In the simplest form, Groups can be used to split Hosts into different Nagios® configuration files, in their most complex implementation they extend the configuration to multiple instances of Nagios®, and in between, Groups can determine Group Macro values applied to Service Checks.Apart from file management, and managing multiple instances of Nagios®, the real advantage of Groups to most users is to scale the number of Services required to manage Hosts. Properly implemented, Group Macros will help reduce the number of redundant Services that were required in the past. As a novelty, you can use Groups to run a Pre Flight Test against a Host Group or even a single Host (Note: The Test will fail if its Parents are not included in the Group). Groups also provide an alternate way to assign Contact Groups to Hosts and Services.
Chapter 13 Advanced Configuration – Using the Control Option
This chapter will focus on Control options within Nagios® such as Nagios® directories, CGI and Main configuration, resource macros listing which are defined in Commands, etc. Each How to will take you step by step through each procedure.
- How Do I View My Current Nagios® and Configuration Folders?
- How Do I View/Edit Settings for the Nagios® CGI Configuration?
- How Do I View/Edit Settings in the Nagios® Main Configuration?
- How Do I View Nagios® Resource Macros?
- How Do I Load a Nagios® Configuration?
- How Do I Run a Pre Flight Test?
- How Do I Commit a Nagios® Configuration?
Chapter 14 Advanced Configuration – Using the Tools Option
This chapter enables you to export all the configuration files for viewing and debugging. These are valid configuration files which are downloaded to the directory /usr/local/groundwork/apache2/htdocs/monarch/download
. Also, there is now an easy way to delete one, many, or all Hosts. The Host Delete Tool completely removes the Host, it’s associated Services, and any reference such a a membership in Host Groups, Service Groups, Groups, and Profiles. And the Service Delete Tool is used to delete Services that are no longer in use. Services can be removed from one or many Hosts.