SnmpMonitor

The SNMP monitor provides a common platform to monitor states and results from SNMP agents. This monitor has two basic operation modes:

  • Test the response value of one specific OID (scalar object identifier)

  • Test multiple values in a whole table

To decide which mode to use, use the walk and match-all parameters.

The Operating mode selection and Monitor specific parameters for the SnmpMonitor tables below provide more information about these operation modes.

Table 1. Operating mode selection
walk match-all Operating mode

true

true

tabular, all values must match

false

tabular, any value must match

count

specifies that the value of at least minimum and at most maximum objects encountered in

false

true

scalar

false

scalar

count

tabular, between minimum and maximum values must match

Monitor facts

Class Name

org.opennms.netmgt.poller.monitors.SnmpMonitor

When the monitor is configured to persist the response time, it counts the total amount of time spent until it obtains a successful one, including the retries. It stores the entire poll time, not just the time spent during the last successful attempt.

Configuration and use

Table 2. Optional monitor-specific parameters for the SnmpMonitor
Parameter Description Default

hex

Specifies that the value monitored should be compared against its hexadecimal representation. Useful when the monitored value is a string containing non-printable characters.

false

match-all

Can be set to:

  • count: specifies that the value of at least minimum and at most maximum objects encountered in the walk must match the criteria specified by operand and operator.

  • true (and walk is set to true): specifies that the value of every object encountered in the walk must match the criteria specified by the operand and operator parameters.

  • false (and walk is set to true): specifies that the value of any object encountered in the walk must match the criteria specified by the operand and operator parameters.

true

maximum

Valid only when match-all is set to count, otherwise ignored. Use in conjunction with the minimum parameter. Specifies that the value of at most maximum objects encountered in the walk must meet the criteria specified by the operand and operator parameters.

0

minimum

Valid only when match-all is set to count, otherwise ignored. Use in conjunction with the maximum parameter. Specifies that the value of at least minimum objects encountered in the walk must meet the criteria the operand and operator parameters specify.

0

oid

The object identifier of the MIB object to monitor. If no other parameters are present, the monitor asserts that the agent’s response for this object must include a valid value (as opposed to an error, no-such-name, or end-of-view condition) that is non-null.

.1.3.6.1.2.1.1.2.0 (SNMPv2-MIB::SysObjectID)

operand

The value to compare against the observed value of the monitored object. Note: Comparison will always succeed if either the operand or operator parameter isn’t set and the monitored value is non-null.

n/a

operator

The operator to use for comparing the monitored object against the operand parameter. Must be one of the following symbolic operators:

  • &lt;: Less than (<). Both operand and observed object value must be numeric.

  • &gt;: Greater than (>). Both operand and observed object value must be numeric.

  • &lt;=: Less than or equal to (⇐). Both operand and observed object value must be numeric.

  • &gt;=: Greater than or equal to (>=). Both operand and observed object value must be numeric.

  • =: Equal to. Applied in numeric context if both operand and observed object value are numeric, otherwise in string context as a case-sensitive exact match.

  • !=: Not equal to. Applied in numeric context if both operand and observed object value are numeric, otherwise in string context as a case-sensitive exact non-match.

  • ~: Regular expression match. Always applied in string context.

Note: Comparison will always succeed if either the operand or operator parameter isn’t set and the monitored value is non-null. Keep in mind that you need to escape all < and > characters as XML entities (&lt; and &gt; respectively).

n/a

port

Destination port where the SNMP requests are sent.

from snmp-config.xml

reason-template

A user-provided template used for the monitor’s reason code if the service is unavailable. Defaults to a reasonable value if unset. See below for an explanation of the possible template parameters.

depends on operation mode

retries

Deprecated Same as retry. Parameter retry takes precedence if both are set.

from snmp-config.xml

walk

false: Sets the monitor to poll for a scalar object unless the match-all parameter is set to count, in which case the match-all parameter takes precedence.
true: Sets the monitor to poll for a tabular object where the match-all parameter defines how the tabular object’s values must match the criteria defined by the operator and operand parameters. See also the match-all, minimum, and maximum parameters.

false

This monitor implements the Common Configuration Parameters.

Table 3. Variables that can be used in the reason-template parameter
Variable Description

${hex}

Value of the hex parameter.

${ipaddr}

IP address polled.

${matchall}

Value of the match-all parameter.

${matchcount}

When match-all is set to count, contains the number of matching instances encountered.

${maximum}

Value of the maximum parameter.

${minimum}

Value of the minimum paramater.

${observedvalue}

Polled value that made the monitor succeed or fail.

${oid}

Value of the oid parameter.

${operand}

Value of the operand parameter.

${operator}

Value of the operator parameter.

${port}

Value of the port parameter.

${retry}

Value of the retry parameter.

${timeout}

Value of the timeout parameter.

${walk}

Value of the walk parameter.

Example: monitoring a scalar object

As a working example, we want to monitor the thermal system fan status which is provided as a scalar object ID.

cpqHeThermalSystemFanStatus .1.3.6.1.4.1.232.6.2.6.4.0

The manufacturer MIB gives the following information:

Description of the cpqHeThermalSystemFanStatus from CPQHLTH-MIB
SYNTAX 	INTEGER  {
    other    (1),
    ok       (2),
    degraded (3),
    failed   (4)
}
ACCESS 	read-only
DESCRIPTION
"The status of the fan(s) in the system.

This value will be one of the following:
other(1)
Fan status detection is not supported by this system or driver.

ok(2)
All fans are operating properly.

degraded(3)
A non-required fan is not operating properly.

failed(4)
A required fan is not operating properly.

If the cpqHeThermalDegradedAction is set to shutdown(3) the
system will be shutdown if the failed(4) condition occurs."

The SnmpMonitor is configured to test if the fan status returns ok(2). If so, the service is marked as up. Any other value indicates a problem with the thermal fan status and marks the service down.

Example SnmpMonitor as HP InsightManager fan monitor in poller-configuration.xml
<service name="HP-Insight-Fan-System" interval="300000" user-defined="false" status="on">
    <parameter key="oid" value=".1.3.6.1.4.1.232.6.2.6.4.0"/>(1)
    <parameter key="operator" value="="/>(2)
    <parameter key="operand" value="2"/>(3)
    <parameter key="reason-template" value="System fan status is not ok. The state should be ok($\{operand}) the observed value is $\{observedvalue}. Please check your HP Insight Manager. Syntax: other(1), ok(2), degraded(3), failed(4)"/>(4)
</service>

<monitor service="HP-Insight-Fan-System" class-name="org.opennms.netmgt.poller.monitors.SnmpMonitor" />
1 Scalar object ID to test.
2 Operator for testing the response value.
3 Integer 2 as operand for the test.
4 Encode MIB status in the reason code to give more detailed information if the service goes down.

Example: test SNMP table with all matching values

The second mode shows how to monitor the values of a whole SNMP table. As a practical use case, the status of a set of physical drives is monitored. This example configuration shows the status monitoring from the CPQIDA-MIB.

We use the physical drive status given by the following tabular OID as a scalar object ID:

cpqDaPhyDrvStatus .1.3.6.1.4.1.232.3.2.5.1.1.6

Description of the cpqDaPhyDrvStatus object ID from CPQIDA-MIB
SYNTAX 	INTEGER  {
    other             (1),
    ok                (2),
    failed            (3),
    predictiveFailure (4)
}
ACCESS 	read-only
DESCRIPTION
Physical Drive Status.
This shows the status of the physical drive.
The following values are valid for the physical drive status:

other (1)
 Indicates that the instrument agent does not recognize
 the drive.  You may need to upgrade your instrument agent
 and/or driver software.

ok (2)
 Indicates the drive is functioning properly.

failed (3)
 Indicates that the drive is no longer operating and
 should be replaced.

predictiveFailure(4)
 Indicates that the drive has a predictive failure error and
 should be replaced.

The configuration in our monitor tests all physical drives for status ok(2).

Example SnmpMonitor as HP Insight physical drive monitor in poller-configuration.xml
<service name="HP-Insight-Drive-Physical" interval="300000" user-defined="false" status="on">
    <parameter key="oid" value=".1.3.6.1.4.1.232.3.2.5.1.1.6"/>(1)
    <parameter key="walk" value="true"/>(2)
    <parameter key="operator" value="="/>(3)
    <parameter key="operand" value="2"/>(4)
    <parameter key="match-all" value="true"/>(5)
    <parameter key="reason-template" value="One or more physical drives are not ok. The state should be ok($\{operand}) the observed value is $\{observedvalue}. Please check your HP Insight Manager. Syntax: other(1), ok(2), failed(3), predictiveFailure(4), erasing(5), eraseDone(6), eraseQueued(7)"/>(6)
</service>

<monitor service="HP-Insight-Drive-Physical" class-name="org.opennms.netmgt.poller.monitors.SnmpMonitor" />
1 OID for SNMP table with all physical drive states.
2 Enable walk mode to test every entry in the table against the test criteria.
3 Test operator for integer.
4 Integer 2 as operand for the test.
5 Test in walk mode has to pass for every entry in the table.
6 Encode MIB status in the reason code to give more detailed information if the service goes down.

Example: test SNMP table with some matching values

This example shows how to use the SnmpMonitor to test if the number of static routes are within a given boundary. The service is marked as up if at least three and at maximum of 10 static routes are set on a network device. This status can be monitored by polling the table ipRouteProto from the RFC1213-MIB2.

ipRouteProto 1.3.6.1.2.1.4.21.1.9

The MIB description provides the following information:

SYNTAX 	INTEGER  {
    other(1),
    local(2),
    netmgmt(3),
    icmp(4),
    egp(5),
    ggp(6),
    hello(7),
    rip(8),
    is-is(9),
    es-is(10),
    ciscoIgrp(11),
    bbnSpfIgp(12),
    ospf(13),
    bgp(14)}

ACCESS 	read-only
DESCRIPTION
"The routing mechanism via which this route was learned.
Inclusion of values for gateway routing protocols is not
intended to imply that hosts should support those protocols."

To monitor only local routes, apply the test only on entries in the ipRouteProto table with value 2. The number of entries in the whole ipRouteProto table has to be counted and the boundaries on the number has to be applied.

Example SnmpMonitor used to test if the number of local static route entries are between 3 or 10.
<service name="All-Static-Routes" interval="300000" user-defined="false" status="on">
 <parameter key="oid" value=".1.3.6.1.2.1.4.21.1.9" />(1)
 <parameter key="walk" value="true" />(2)
 <parameter key="operator" value="=" />(3)
 <parameter key="operand" value="2" />(4)
 <parameter key="match-all" value="count" />(5)
 <parameter key="minimum" value="3" />(6)
 <parameter key="maximum" value="10" />(7)
</service>

<monitor service="All-Static-Routes" class-name="org.opennms.netmgt.poller.monitors.SnmpMonitor" />
1 OID for SNMP table ipRouteProto.
2 Enable walk mode to test every entry in the table against the test criteria.
3 Test operator for integer.
4 Integer 2 as operand for testing local route entries.
5 Test in walk mode is set to count to get the number of entries in the table regarding operator and operand.
6 Lower count boundary set to 3.
7 High count boundary is set to 10.