Additional services

[mahendrix]

I would like to add some service checks that I can't seem to find in NEMS now. I would initially like to check DNS and radius to validate they are up and answering.

I have looked and can't find a plugin for either of these. Is there a tutorial on how to add checks for services that don't currently exist in NEMS?

Any/all help would be greatly appreciated. And a pointer to documentation on nconf - would like to better understand the service checks that are there and what all the fields in nconf for a host or service is for.

Thanks...........

[Robbie Ferguson]

I'm not sure specifically what you are hoping to monitor. As in, would a ping suffice? Eg., ping the DNS host to see that it's up? Or are you looking for something else?

Here's the NConf wiki: http://www.nconf.org/dokuwiki/doku.php

Eventually I'd like to mirror it since the official NConf project is dead. I forked it and re-coded it for Stretch/PHP 7 to make NEMS NConf and keep the project alive. So the info from their Wiki is still accurate, though NConf lives on in version 1.4+ through NEMS.

[mahendrix]

I would like to be able to do a lookup to validate that the DNS server is responding or working.  

or a way to validate that the DNS port (53 I believe) is open and something is responding on a remote host.......

same for ldap/radius - validate remote services....

Is there a template where I could build scripts to do this and then import them into NEMS??

Thanks.....

[mahendrix]

Ok, thanks for pointing me at the nconf page.  I need to do some digging around there.

I have looked around the NEMS setup and in /usr/lib/nagios/plugins I have found a check_dns and check_ldap.  I can get help from them by running them at the command line and will need to check a couple of other services to figure out how to configure them to get them working.  I think this is sufficient to get me going on what I am looking to do.

For other services, I just need to see how some of them are configured using either the check_tcp or check_udp scripts and configuring the service accordingly.

Thanks.......

[Robbie Ferguson]

NEMS operates differently than a DIY Nagios deployment. You're probably used to Nagios scripts and service configs. Get over that. NEMS uses a database, and you configure your Nagios deployment using NEMS NConf (on the menu). Do not edit the files directly - you'll break your config since your files will no longer match the settings in the database. Not to mention I cannot account for manually edited files when it comes to migration (ie. if you ever need to reinstall, I can't promise it'll work if you've mashed up files manually).

Generally the only reason you should need the terminal is to initialize NEMS. From there, everything is done from the web interface (NEMS NConf for what you're trying to do - you'll find what you're looking for under Check Commands). I'm a terminal monkey myself, but believe me, you'll thank me for this once you get used to the system.

PS - did you watch the introductory video? It would be good to do so as it shows you some of the ways NEMS is different than a traditional Nagios installation.

Good luck!

[mahendrix]

Yes, I watched the intro video.

I don't have the time to modify files by hand like Nagios, so I won't be doing that. Most of what I need is in NEMS so I just need to understand NConf better and get things configured so that it will work for me......

Thanks....

[Robbie Ferguson]

Okay great! Let me know if there's a particular place you're getting stuck (perhaps the relationship of Check Commands vs. Services?) and I / the community will help where we can.

I do hope to do a more current intro video as well since that one is for a much earlier release and a lot of new features are now in NEMS.