Nagios, 2/e

Good system administrators recognize problems long before anyone asks, "Hey, is the Internet down?" Nagios, an open source system and network monitoring tool, has emerged as the most popular solution for sys admins in organizations of all sizes. It's robust but also complex, and Nagios: System and Network Monitoring, 2nd Edition, updated to address Nagios 3.0, will help you take full advantage of this program.

Nagios, which runs on Linux and most *nix variants, can be configured to continuously monitor network services such as SMTP, POP3, HTTP, NNTP, SSH, and FTP. It can also supervise host resources (processor load, disk and memory usage, running processes, log files, and so on) and environmental factors, such as temperature and humidity. This book is your guide to getting the most out of this versatile and powerful monitoring tool.

Inside Nagios, you’ll learn how to:

• Install and configure the Nagios core, all standard plugins, and selected third-party plugins
• Configure the notification system to alert you of ongoing problems—and to alarm others in case of a serious crisis
• Program event handlers to take automatic action when trouble occurs
• Write Perl plugins to customize Nagios for your unique needs
• Quickly understand your Nagios data using graphing and visualization tools
• Monitor Windows servers, SAP systems, and Oracle databases

The book also includes a chapter that highlights the differences between Nagios versions 2 and 3 and gives practical migration and compatibility tips. Nagios: System and Network Monitoring, 2nd Edition is a great starting point for configuring and using Nagios in your own environment.

Author Bio

Wolfgang Barth has written several books for professional network administrators, including Firewall (Suse Press), Network Analysis (Suse Press), and Backup Solutions with Linux (Open Source Press). He is a professional system administrator with considerable experience using Nagios.

Table of contents

Foreword to the Second EditionIntroduction

PART I: From Source Code to a Running InstallationChapter 1: InstallationChapter 2: Nagios ConfigurationChapter 3: Startup

PART II: In More Detail...Chapter 4: Nagios BasicsChapter 5: Service Checks and How They Are PerformedChapter 6: Plugins for Network ServicesChapter 7: Testing Local ResourcesChapter 8: Plugins for Special TasksChapter 9: Executing Plugins via SSHChapter 10: The Nagios Remote Plugin Executor (NRPE)Chapter 11: Collecting Information Relevant for Monitoring with SNMPChapter 12: The Nagios Notification SystemChapter 13: Passive Tests with the External Command FileChapter 14: The Nagios Service Check Acceptor (NSCA)Chapter 15: Distributed Monitoring

PART III: The Web Interface and Other Ways to Visualize Nagios DataChapter 16: The Classical Web InterfaceChapter 17: Flexible Web Interface with the NDOUtilsChapter 18: NagVisChapter 19: Graphic Display of Performance Data

PART IV: Special ApplicationsChapter 20: Monitoring Windows ServersChapter 21: Monitoring Room Temperature and HumidityChapter 22: Monitoring SAP SystemsChapter 23: Processing Events with the EventDB

PART V: DevelopmentChapter 24: Writing Your Own PluginsChapter 25: Determining File and Directory SizesChapter 26: Monitoring Oracle with the Instant Client

Appendix A: An Overview of the Nagios Configuration ParametersAppendix B: Rapidly Alternating States: FlappingAppendix C: Event HandlersAppendix D: MacrosAppendix E: Single Sign-On for the Nagios Web InterfaceAppendix F: Tips on Optimizing PerformanceAppendix G: The Embedded Perl InterpreterAppendix H: What's New in Nagios 3.0?Index