Did you install SNMP informant on the Windows computer? What method of monitoring did you want to use (SNMP, WMI, ??)...

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James Pulver

ZCA Member

LEPP Computer Group

Cornell University

Hi Tarun,

It has always seemed a bit strange to me but, by default, the performance template that devices in the /Server/Windows class use, expects the Informant MIB installed on your target Windows systems.  This is freely available but the problem is that you have to install it out there. 

If you go to ADVANCED -> Monitoring Templates, select Device in the left-hand menu and then click the /Server/Windows variant of the Device template, you should be able to see the SNMP OIDs that are gathered.  The memory,CPU and paging all start with 1.3.6.1.4.1.9600 - that is the Informant MIB.

The other alternative that you may have is to get thw WMI Data Source ZenPack and the WMI Windows Performance ZenPack and use WMI to get similar information.  You will also need to ensure that each target device has a userid available that permits remote WMI access and you need to configure Zenoss with this userid and password.  Some organisations prefer to use WMI for managing Windows; others hate it and would rather use SNMP and the Informant MIB (or other MIB alternatives, if available).

If your devices are Dell or HP then Egor has built some fantastic ZenPacks that get LOADS of information on your boxes but these rely on having the appropriate Dell / HP agent available on your target systems.  Look at these specific ZenPacks here - docs/DOC-3410 (Dell) and here docs/DOC-3394 for HP.  The general ZenPack page is at community/zenpacks .

Cheers,

Jane

Installing SNMP on the Windows boxes only does some of the work.  It gets you system and interface information and probably filesystem info but the memory, paging,cpu - as shipped - relies on you having installed Informant.

Some folk feel that WMI is the more prevalent, native protocol for Windows and would be there anyway - but that means you need to install more ZenPacks on Zenoss and you still have to setup a userid/password for use with WMI.

It's your choice.

Cheers,

Jane

Tarun, just to clarify - you absolutely CAN use SNMP Informant, for free, on your own systems that you administer.  What the license says, though, is that if you BUILD systems, for commercial sale, then you need to contact them to discuss it.  And in that case, when I contacted and reviewed our situation with them (building systems for delivery to a government agency), they wanted us to pay for licenses.  It wasn't a lot, but it would add up.

That's where the loophole I mentioned is - we probably could get away with obeying the letter of the license if we built the system with SNMP Informant installed (configured Zenoss, had it all setup for their use), then uninstalled SNMP Informant right before shipping the system - then make it the responsibility of the system admins at the gov't agency to install SNMP Informant.  But I don't feel that it's ethical.to do so.

Again, though, unless you're incorporating SNMP Informant into a system that you're selling, you're free and clear.