Help to use SNMP to monitor server and service

[daniel2009]

Dear all,
I'm new guy with ZABBIX, for requirement of work, I have to use ZABBIX to monitor about 100 server (with RH 5, SUSE Enterprise 10, Centos 5, Window Server 2008, Oracle Database 10g on SUSE Enterprise Linux,..) and other device (Cisco switch, router, asa, Citrix load balacing device, ..), services (POP3, IMAP, SNMP, HTTPS, ..)
I intend to use snmp but i'm so confuse with variety information from wiki and forum. Please help me with clearly elements (so kind with step-by-step deployment) below:
1. ZABBIX server: I have had compiled with "net-snmp" prefix on server. Is anything else I need to use snmp? (I confuse with snmpwalk (ZABBIX manual), snmp builder (wiki) and snmp trap - new solution (forum and wiki), which one is better and easier to config?)
2. On client, they have all ready had snmp. How can the server communicate with snmp client?
3. Where can I refer to SNMP item for all my demands? Because I'm not have much experiences in SNMP protocol.
Thanks

[eskytthe]

Wellcome!
- Deploy and use the zabbix agent on you servers
- Use snmp for you network and other devices where you cannot install the agent
- Snmpwalk is a tool for testing and validating snmp “connection” and context from your zabbix server
- Snmp builder (several different versions on wiki and forum) build a zabbix template for you specific device type – based on the MIB for this device and often use snmpwalk
- There are already templates on the wiki for cisco devices etc. There are also other snmp templates on the zabbix server – look at these. The templates define how zabbix should get the snmp information – map snmp information to items.
- Snmp trap – the snmp device actively send traps/events to you monitor server . Wait with snmp trap implantation until you can handle the other parts of snmp, or better – use syslog instead.
- Buy the “zabbix 1.8 network monitoring” book – great descriptions, examples etc. – also on snmp
Hope this help
BR
Erik

[angelhc]

Hi I want to give you some examples,

To check manually all the interfaces of a network element:
snmpwalk -v<could be v2c, v1 or v3> -c <community passwd> IP | grep -i ifdesc

After this you can configure some important items like "IfInOctets.<n>" to check the incoming traffic of an interface.

In other hand, if you want generic items add the correct template and recollect all the information of this element.
Hope this help.
Regards.

[daniel2009]

@eskytthe
Thanks for all answers, but there are some misunderstand in my explain.
1. Deploy and use the zabbix agent on you servers => I want to use SNMP for all server (RedHat, SUSE, CentOS, Window Server) and device, I won't use zabbix agent to deploy.
2. With my requirements, can you help me (step-by-step) to deploy zabbix on my network infrastructure (on zabbix server and on which server/device/service I want to monitor? (I have installed snmp on all my server and net-snmp on my zabbix server. Are there aningthing esle I need to creat host and SNMP Item for each server to monitor it?)
3. How can I refer SNMP Item for my requirements?
Example: CPU, temperature of server, service on server, memory and disk used on server?
Thanks

[eskytthe]

As I wrote - you have to use templates for you devices to do the zabbix item to SNMP item mapping - connect the right templates to you devices. Dig deep into this and you will be enlightened.

What is the background for base all you monitoring solo on SNMP?
/Erik

[daniel2009]

What is the background for base all you monitoring solo on SNMP?
/Erik

I don't understand what are you meaning. Can you explain it to me?

[eskytthe]

I wonder way you will not use the zabbix agents on your servers instead of SNMP (agentless) - this will make work a lot more easy for you. SNMP can be a bit hard to handle in zabbix. But ok for network (cisco etc.) devices.

[eskytthe]

... also you will have even harder time trying to monitor “applications” like Oracle with SNMP. People in the zabbix community have made a lot of addon monitoring to core zabbix. Lot of this will not work without the agent.
BR
Erik

[daniel2009]

... also you will have even harder time trying to monitor “applications” like Oracle with SNMP. People in the zabbix community have made a lot of addon monitoring to core zabbix. Lot of this will not work without the agent.
BR
Erik

ok, thanks
I'm sorry because of my bad english, but in my company's policy, they don't permit to install unnecessary software or tool on any server (I'm working in a system department of bank).
And with SNMP, it all I have now..
can you give me some example of snmp item to monitor disk, service, memory and temp of server? and where can I refer them?
Thanks

[Gigoudt]

Hi,

as told in previous post use agent for servers.

If you only can use snmp you have to.

1- install and configure net-snmp in all servers:
including community - version - and other stuff like read or write policy.

the check from your zabbix server if snmp is correctly configure in servers.
example using net-snmp in zabbix server console:

snmpwalk -v 2c -c "community" IP

if correct al the oids are display (a lot of information)

2- select what items to monitor. and then figure the oid for each value.
for traffic use delta in the zabbix item
use a mib browser to help in this items if you want. Search in web a lot of oids are standard ase interfaces , in/out octects, memory, cpu, etc.

3- in frontend make a template to apply for the server with all snmp items.

4- put all information in zabbix

[eskytthe]

Hope this help:
From zabbix GUI: Configuration -> Templates
There is cisco snmp templates and more - look at items etc.

You link the template(s) to your host from Configuration -> Hosts -> <Your host>

http://www.zabbix.com/documentation/...onfiguration?s[]=templates
http://www.zabbix.com/documentation/...ems#snmp_agent
http://www.zabbix.com/documentation/.../advanced_snmp

http://www.zabbix.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22240

Do a search in the forum with "SNMP template" and find more.
BR
Erik

[arikin]

Welcome to the agentless boat

The templates everyone is talking about have the OIDs setup for you.

Try to think of them this way:

[ HOST ] --> [ Item ] --> [ Trigger ]
[ TEMPLATE ] --> [ Item ] --> [ Trigger ]

A template is like an empty host.
BUT... you can link a real Host to a Template and get all of its Items and triggers. Bonus!

1. Download the template you want for that device from the links to your local computer.
2. Then import the templates via the GUI:
Configuration > Templates > [Import Template ]
3. Browse for the template.
4. If there were errors then repeat steps 2-3 but uncheck everything but the Template. Import that. Then try the same template xml again but everything checked.
5. Now attach that template to your host:
Configuration > Hosts
6. Under the Name column click on the Host's name.
7. On the far right under the "Linked templates" section click on the [Add] button.
8. In top-right of the pop-up window change the Group to all.
9. Tick the box next to the name of the template and click the [Select] button at the bottom.
10. Now that template is listed under the "Linked templates" section.
11. Click the [Save] button at the bottom of this Host screen.
12. Click on the Items link of that host:
Configuration > Hosts

Seems complicated at first but the idea is simple.
Get templates, link template, go watch for new data

Now if the OID in the Template's item doesn't really match that server's OIDs then it will get no data... That is where snmpwalk comes in. Use that to see what the OID for that server really is.

snmpwalk - gimme all your snmp data
snmptranslate - OID <--> MIB Name translator