Re: [Nagios-users] How often does Nagios need restarting? (Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?)
On Jun 29, 2009, at 4:20 PM, Kustner, Tom wrote: > 2. Thanks for pointing out that host checks are not always performed > unless a service has been detected has failing. I value the service > checking, but I assumed it was also pinging the host on a regular > basis > and that is apparently not the case. I come from the background of > using products such as Insight Manager and OpenManage which are > vendor-specific solutions that have their limitations but which > automatically perform pinging on a regular basis. I'll look at the > documentation for information on getting that set for us. It explains > my frustration as to why a server can reboot and Nagios not detect it. Word of warning - you *do not* want to enable regularly scheduled host checks under nagios-2.x. The current logic of only checking a host when a service is not OK is more than sufficient under normal circumstances. Enabling regularly scheduled checks under 2.x will only hurt your performance. While service checks can be done in parallel, host checks are done serially in that version. While a host is being checked, nagios stops *all other activity* until the host check completes; other checks, logging, notifications, everything. To illustrate, if you have 200 hosts, sending 5 pings (~5 seconds to complete), it will take 200(hosts) x 5(seconds) = 1000 seconds just to check your host status. That's over 16 minutes that nagios is only checking those hosts and none of the services on those hosts, or sending notifications, or anything else. Nagios-3.x implements parallel host checks, just like service checks, but even then regularly scheduled host checks aren't really needed or encouraged and are just a waste of resources that could be used for service checks, IMHO. Even then, unless you're checking _very_ frequently, a modern server can easily reboot in the time between checks. I'd recommend using check_snmp as a service check to look at the snmp reported uptime and alert if it's less than a reasonable interval of your normal check interval (say 5-10 minutes typically). -- Marc -- ___ Nagios-users mailing list Nagios-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/nagios-users ::: Please include Nagios version, plugin version (-v) and OS when reporting any issue. ::: Messages without supporting info will risk being sent to /dev/null
Re: [Nagios-users] How often does Nagios need restarting? (Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?)
Jamie, Sorry for the very tardy response - it's been busy. Two responses to all your good comments: 1. The problems with Nagios "slacking on the job" were confirmed by the Nagios administrator. Permanently, he is looking to move the setup to a box with more memory (it is currently a Red Hat box). Temporarily, he talked about using cron to restart it every night. Since it's been more responsive lately, I have a feeling he has done just that. I did ask if he thought whether upgrading the NSClient would help, since we are currently using NSClient++ 0.3.1 and NSClient++ 0.3.6 was just released, but while encouraging me to try out 0.3.6, he feels memory constraints on the current box is the cause of the problem and nothing else. I didn't post any configs files because I am not the Nagios administrator and don't have access to the configs or the box itself except for what I am allowed to see for our hosts via http. Thanks for letting me know 2.9 is relatively stable and that it, in all likelihood, is not the cause of the problem. 2. Thanks for pointing out that host checks are not always performed unless a service has been detected has failing. I value the service checking, but I assumed it was also pinging the host on a regular basis and that is apparently not the case. I come from the background of using products such as Insight Manager and OpenManage which are vendor-specific solutions that have their limitations but which automatically perform pinging on a regular basis. I'll look at the documentation for information on getting that set for us. It explains my frustration as to why a server can reboot and Nagios not detect it. Thanks again for taking time. Tom Kustner MCSE, CNE Inside: 68728 Outside: 414-906-8728 Mobile: 414-559-0889 -Original Message- From: James Pratt [mailto:jpr...@norwich.edu] Sent: Friday, June 19, 2009 8:23 PM To: Kustner, Tom Cc: nagios-users@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: RE: [Nagios-users] How often does Nagios need restarting? (Quiscustodiet ipsos custodes?) Hi Tom, I've tried to answer your questions to the best of my own personal knowledge -I have replaced any of your original "*" symbols with my own on all my comments/thoughts below, since my MS outlook client apparently just sucks, so this appears more readable. Regards, jamie -Original Message- From: Kustner, Tom [mailto:tom.kust...@retirementpartner.com] Sent: Friday, June 19, 2009 5:35 PM To: nagios-users@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: [Nagios-users] How often does Nagios need restarting? (Quiscustodiet ipsos custodes?) I am a Nagios user, not the administrator. We are running Nagios 2.9 on RHEL 4 or 5. Overall, 200+ hosts with 3000 services being monitored. I have access for monitoring a smaller number of hosts. * ok, understood... In another posting, I alluded to an issue where a host had gone down but no alert was sent out. The issue surfaced again today and as was done the other time, Nagios was restarted to "fix" the problem. I am naturally concerned about the unreliability. * did you get any on-list or off-list replies at all? You have not mentioned if you had it resolved or not, but it sound like the answer is no to possibly both(?) Any thoughts on this problem?Specifically: What are best practices for making sure Nagios does not fall down on the job? Is there something not set right? * Understanding your setup and the way nagios works is how you ensure it stands up... a mis-config sounds likely, but who knows... Are other Nagios administrators restarting Nagios on a weekly or nightly basis to keep it on the job? * Heck no! That's why we run it on Linux or Solaris! :) Is this an issue specific to Nagios 2.9? Was 2.9 a spotty version? *Not to my knowledge - all stable releases have worked very reliably here, especially 2.9 now that I look back... For a given host, why would "active checks" be enabled, yet "N/A" appears in the "Next Active Check" field? * RTM - host checks are not always performed unless service checks fail, and since I've been a manual-slacker myself, that may not even be the true correct answer (Marc? :) Thanks for any help. -Tom Kustner- * Not to sound negative/condescending or anything like that, but your install will truly only work as well as you have maintained it/understand it. You should really look at your current config files and read the manual on 2.9, or upgrade to 3.x and again rtm... Also, you have not sent anything specific related to your problematic config(s) for anyone on this list to even guess either way whether or not something is mis-configured. If you are concerned about posting your configs/setup, change stuff properly to hide what you need to on-list. (I apologize if I have missed your earlier posting. Many here try our best to help people here when possible, but sometimes we are all busy at the same time, who knows!?). Cheers, Jamie The information contained in this message and any accompanyi
Re: [Nagios-users] How often does Nagios need restarting? (Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?)
Dont send mails again Atish -Original Message- From: Angel L. Mateo [mailto:ama...@um.es] Sent: Monday, June 22, 2009 11:50 AM To: nagios-users@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: Re: [Nagios-users] How often does Nagios need restarting? (Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?) El vie, 19-06-2009 a las 15:35 -0600, Kustner, Tom escribió: > I am a Nagios user, not the administrator. We are running Nagios 2.9 on > RHEL 4 or 5. Overall, 200+ hosts with 3000 services being monitored. I > have access for monitoring a smaller number of hosts. > > In another posting, I alluded to an issue where a host had gone down but > no alert was sent out. The issue surfaced again today and as was done > the other time, Nagios was restarted to "fix" the problem. I am > naturally concerned about the unreliability. > Maybe the problem was a previous problematic restart. In our installation, nagios (nagios3, but previously nagios 1) is working smoothly. We don't have any problem like you, but sometimes when we restart it to reload configuration (if we have added hosts or services). Sometimes, the restart fails and we have several instances of nagios running and appears a similar problem. Killing all nagios processes and starting again fix the problem. We configure nagios with centreon and we don't know if this a problem related with centreon or with a startup scripts (centreon uses them). But, if we don't reload nagios, it runs without problems. -- Angel L. Mateo Martínez Sección de Telemática Área de Tecnologías de la Información _o) y las Comunicaciones Aplicadas (ATICA) / \\ http://www.um.es/atica_(___V Tfo: 868887590 Fax: 86337 -- Are you an open source citizen? Join us for the Open Source Bridge conference! Portland, OR, June 17-19. Two days of sessions, one day of unconference: $250. Need another reason to go? 24-hour hacker lounge. Register today! http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;215844324;13503038;v?http://opensourcebridge.o rg ___ Nagios-users mailing list Nagios-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/nagios-users ::: Please include Nagios version, plugin version (-v) and OS when reporting any issue. ::: Messages without supporting info will risk being sent to /dev/null -- Are you an open source citizen? Join us for the Open Source Bridge conference! Portland, OR, June 17-19. Two days of sessions, one day of unconference: $250. Need another reason to go? 24-hour hacker lounge. Register today! http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;215844324;13503038;v?http://opensourcebridge.org ___ Nagios-users mailing list Nagios-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/nagios-users ::: Please include Nagios version, plugin version (-v) and OS when reporting any issue. ::: Messages without supporting info will risk being sent to /dev/null
Re: [Nagios-users] How often does Nagios need restarting? (Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?)
El vie, 19-06-2009 a las 15:35 -0600, Kustner, Tom escribió: > I am a Nagios user, not the administrator. We are running Nagios 2.9 on > RHEL 4 or 5. Overall, 200+ hosts with 3000 services being monitored. I > have access for monitoring a smaller number of hosts. > > In another posting, I alluded to an issue where a host had gone down but > no alert was sent out. The issue surfaced again today and as was done > the other time, Nagios was restarted to "fix" the problem. I am > naturally concerned about the unreliability. > Maybe the problem was a previous problematic restart. In our installation, nagios (nagios3, but previously nagios 1) is working smoothly. We don't have any problem like you, but sometimes when we restart it to reload configuration (if we have added hosts or services). Sometimes, the restart fails and we have several instances of nagios running and appears a similar problem. Killing all nagios processes and starting again fix the problem. We configure nagios with centreon and we don't know if this a problem related with centreon or with a startup scripts (centreon uses them). But, if we don't reload nagios, it runs without problems. -- Angel L. Mateo Martínez Sección de Telemática Área de Tecnologías de la Información _o) y las Comunicaciones Aplicadas (ATICA) / \\ http://www.um.es/atica_(___V Tfo: 868887590 Fax: 86337 -- Are you an open source citizen? Join us for the Open Source Bridge conference! Portland, OR, June 17-19. Two days of sessions, one day of unconference: $250. Need another reason to go? 24-hour hacker lounge. Register today! http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;215844324;13503038;v?http://opensourcebridge.org ___ Nagios-users mailing list Nagios-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/nagios-users ::: Please include Nagios version, plugin version (-v) and OS when reporting any issue. ::: Messages without supporting info will risk being sent to /dev/null
Re: [Nagios-users] How often does Nagios need restarting? (Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?)
On Jun 19, 2009, at 4:35 PM, Kustner, Tom wrote: > I am a Nagios user, not the administrator. We are running Nagios > 2.9 on > RHEL 4 or 5. Overall, 200+ hosts with 3000 services being > monitored. I > have access for monitoring a smaller number of hosts. > > In another posting, I alluded to an issue where a host had gone down > but > no alert was sent out. The issue surfaced again today and as was > done > the other time, Nagios was restarted to "fix" the problem. I am > naturally concerned about the unreliability. > > Any thoughts on this problem?Specifically: I am not aware of any problems such as you describe that a restart would 'fix'. > * What are best practices for making sure Nagios does not fall down on > the job? Is there something not set right? See my previous e-mail. > * Are other Nagios administrators restarting Nagios on a weekly or > nightly basis to keep it on the job? I reload hourly to pick up new config changes but rarely restart. > * Is this an issue specific to Nagios 2.9? Was 2.9 a spotty version? I'm not sure you even have an issue outside of a possible configuration problem. No, 2.9 was not spotty or bad. > * For a given host, why would "active checks" be enabled, yet "N/A" > appears in the "Next Active Check" field? This is normal. See my previous e-mail. -- Marc -- Are you an open source citizen? Join us for the Open Source Bridge conference! Portland, OR, June 17-19. Two days of sessions, one day of unconference: $250. Need another reason to go? 24-hour hacker lounge. Register today! http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;215844324;13503038;v?http://opensourcebridge.org ___ Nagios-users mailing list Nagios-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/nagios-users ::: Please include Nagios version, plugin version (-v) and OS when reporting any issue. ::: Messages without supporting info will risk being sent to /dev/null
[Nagios-users] How often does Nagios need restarting? (Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?)
I am a Nagios user, not the administrator. We are running Nagios 2.9 on RHEL 4 or 5. Overall, 200+ hosts with 3000 services being monitored. I have access for monitoring a smaller number of hosts. In another posting, I alluded to an issue where a host had gone down but no alert was sent out. The issue surfaced again today and as was done the other time, Nagios was restarted to "fix" the problem. I am naturally concerned about the unreliability. Any thoughts on this problem?Specifically: * What are best practices for making sure Nagios does not fall down on the job? Is there something not set right? * Are other Nagios administrators restarting Nagios on a weekly or nightly basis to keep it on the job? * Is this an issue specific to Nagios 2.9? Was 2.9 a spotty version? * For a given host, why would "active checks" be enabled, yet "N/A" appears in the "Next Active Check" field? Thanks for any help. -Tom Kustner- The information contained in this message and any accompanying attachments may contain privileged, private and/or confidential information protected by state and federal law. Penalties may be assessed for unauthorized use and/or disclosure. This message and any attachments are intended for the designated recipient only. If you have received this information in error, please notify the sender immediately and return or destroy the information. This e-mail transmission and any attachments are believed to have been sent free of any virus or other defect that might affect any computer system into which it is received and opened. It is, however, the recipient's responsibility to ensure that the e-mail transmission and any attachments are virus free, and the sender accepts no responsibility for any damage that may in any way arise from their use. -- Are you an open source citizen? Join us for the Open Source Bridge conference! Portland, OR, June 17-19. Two days of sessions, one day of unconference: $250. Need another reason to go? 24-hour hacker lounge. Register today! http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;215844324;13503038;v?http://opensourcebridge.org ___ Nagios-users mailing list Nagios-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/nagios-users ::: Please include Nagios version, plugin version (-v) and OS when reporting any issue. ::: Messages without supporting info will risk being sent to /dev/null
