Learning Nagios 3.0

Wojciech Kocjan

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Overview

Table of Contents

The Author

Reviews

Downloads

Secure and monitor your network system with open-source Nagios version 3
Set up, configure, and manage the latest version of Nagios
In-depth coverage for both beginners and advanced users

Book Details

Language : English
Paperback : 316 pages [ 235mm x 191mm ]
Release Date : October 2008
ISBN : 1847195180
ISBN 13 : 978-1-847195-18-0
Author(s) : Wojciech Kocjan
Topics and Technologies : All Books, Linux Servers, Networking & Telephony, Open Source

Preface
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Installation and Configuration
Chapter 3: Using the Nagios Web Interface
Chapter 4: Overview of Nagios Plugins
Chapter 5: Advanced Configuration
Chapter 6: Notifications and Events
Chapter 7: Passive Checks and NSCA
Chapter 8: Monitoring Remote Hosts
Chapter 9: SNMP
Chapter 10: Advanced Monitoring
Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Extending Nagios
Index

Preface

Chapter 1: Introduction
- Introduction to Nagios
- Benefits of Monitoring Resources
- Main Features
- Soft and Hard States
- What's New in Nagios 3.0?
- Summary

Chapter 2: Installation and Configuration
- Installation
  - Upgrading from Previous Versions
  - Prerequisites
  - Obtaining Nagios
  - Setting up Users and Groups
  - Nagios Compilation
  - Registering Nagios as a System Service
- Nagios Configuration
  - Main Configuration File
  - Macro Definitions
  - Configuring Hosts
  - Configuring Services
  - Configuring Commands
  - Configuring Time Periods
  - Configuring Contacts
  - Templates and Object Inheritance
  - Introduction to Notifications
- Summary

Chapter 3: Using the Nagios Web Interface
- Setting up the Web Interface
  - Configuring the Web Server
  - Accessing the Web Interface
  - Troubleshooting
- Using the Web Interface
  - Tactical Overview
  - Status map
- Managing Hosts
  - Status
  - Host Information
- Managing Services
  - Status
  - Service Information
- Managing Downtimes
  - Downtimes Status
  - Scheduling Downtimes
- Managing Comments
- Nagios Information
  - Process Information
  - Performance Information
- Reports
- Summary

Chapter 4: Overview of Nagios Plugins
- Standard Network Plugins
  - Checking If a Host is Alive
  - Testing Connectivity over TCP and UDP
- Monitoring Email Servers
  - POP3 and IMAP Checks
  - SMTP Daemon Testing
- Monitoring Network Services
  - FTP Server
  - DHCP Tests
  - Verifying the Nagios Daemon
  - Testing Web Sites
- Monitoring Database Systems
  - MySQL
  - PostgreSQL
  - Oracle
  - Other Databases
- Storage Space
  - Virtual Memory Monitoring
  - Monitoring IDE/SCSI SMART
  - Checking Disk Space
  - Testing Free Space for Remote Shares
- Resource Monitoring
  - System Load
  - Checking Processes
  - Monitoring Logged-in Users
- Miscellaneous Plugins
  - APT Updates Checking
  - UPS Status Checking
  - LM Sensors
  - Dummy Check Plugin
  - Manipulating Other Plugins' Output
- Summary

Chapter 5: Advanced Configuration
- Maintainable Configurations
- Configuration File Structure
- Defining Dependencies
- Using Templates
- Custom Variables
- Flapping
- Summary

Chapter 6: Notifications and Events
- Effective Notifications
- Escalations
- External Commands
- Event Handlers
- Modifying Notifications
- Adaptive Monitoring
- Summary

Chapter 7: Passive Checks and NSCA
- What are Passive Checks?
- Configuring Passive Checks
- Passive Checks—Hosts
- Passive Checks—Services
- Troubleshooting Passive Checks
- What is NSCA?
- Obtaining NSCA
- Compiling NSCA
- Configuring the NSCA Server
- Sending results over NSCA
- Security Concerns
- Summary

Chapter 8: Monitoring Remote Hosts
- Monitoring over SSH
- Configuring SSH
- Using the check_by_ssh Plugin
- Performing Multiple Checks
- Troubleshooting SSH-Based Checks
- Introduction to NRPE
- Obtaining NRPE
- Compiling NRPE
- Configuring the NRPE Daemon
- Installing NRPE as a System Service
- Configuring Nagios for NRPE
- NRPE and Command Arguments
- Other Approaches
- Troubleshooting NRPE
- Summary

Chapter 9: SNMP
- Introduction to SNMP
- Data Objects
- Working with SNMP and MIB
- Graphical Tools
- Setting up an SNMP Agent
- Using SNMP from Nagios
- Receiving Traps
- Additional Plugins
- Summary

Chapter 10: Advanced Monitoring
- Monitoring Windows Hosts
- NSClient++
- Performing Tests via check_nt
- Performing Checks with NRPE Protocol
- Passive Checks using NSCA Protocol
- Distributed Monitoring
- Obsessive Notifications
- Configuring Nagios Instances
- Freshness Checking
- Summary

Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Extending Nagios
- Introduction
- Active Checks
- Writing Plugins the Right Way
- Checking Websites
- Monitoring VMware
- Your Own Notifications
- Managing Nagios
- Using Passive Checks
- Summary

Index

Wojciech Kocjan

Wojciech Kocjan is a system administrator and a programmer with 10 years of experience. His expertise includes managing Linux, Sun, and IBM servers. He also has several years of experience in a variety of open source projects.

I’ve been reading and really enjoying Wojciech Kocjan’s Learning NAGIOS 3.0 and it is a very handy book. If you’re new to host monitoring and you want to use Nagios (and chances are good that you should do), this would be a good book to pick up to help you on your way.

The book's subtitle is "A detailed tutorial", and it is all of that. The eleven chapters of Learning Nagios 3.0 contain just about all I'd want to know about Nagios. All in all, it contains a lot of valuable information, particularly if you don't yet know Nagios.

Sample chapters

You can view our sample chapters and prefaces of this title on PacktLib or download sample chapters in PDF format.

Find your book in our support section to find errata and to download code samples.

What you will learn from this book

Understand system monitoring and how Nagios works
Install and configure Nagios to administer your network and system
Deploy agents and plug-ins, and monitor assets with advanced features of Nagios
Notify users of current and future incidents to protect the availability, performance, and security of monitored assets
Configure and work your way around Nagios's web interface
Pass service and host check results over the network using NSCA
Set up a working and usable distributed monitoring system using NSClient++ and NC_Net.
Develop custom plug-ins responsible for doing the checks and analyzing results
Use the web interface to manage scheduled downtimes for hosts and services
Monitor UPS status over the network
Use adaptive monitoring to modify various check-related parameters
Use SSH and NRPE for doing remote checks
Use SNMP to retrieve information from a device, set options, and also cover means for a device to notify other machines about a failure

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In Detail

Nagios is a tool for system and network monitoring. It constantly checks other machines and various services on those machines. The main purpose of system monitoring is to detect and report any system not working properly as soon as possibleâ€”so that you are aware of problems before a user runs into them. It is a modular and flexible solution that uses plug-ins to do its job.

The book is an introduction to Nagios that will teach readers to use Nagios with its advanced features. At the same time, readers who have already used earlier versions of Nagios will also benefit because they will learn about the new and advanced features of Nagios 3.

This book focuses on the new features of Nagios and will teach readers to secure their systems in a much improved manner.

Approach

This is a beginner-level book, which will introduce Nagios to System Administrators who are interested in monitoring their systems. The focus is on teaching system administrators to secure their systems in a much improved manner incorporating the newer features of Nagios.

It will teach Nagios beginners the basics of installation and configuration of version 3; it will show professionals who have already worked on earlier versions of Nagios the new features of Nagios like inheritance and also the new internal functions like better check scheduling.

Who this book is for

The target readers for this book are System Administrators interested in using Nagios. This book will introduce Nagios with the new features of Version 3 for System Administrators.