This is to announce the release of SNIPS v1.0 (System & Network Integrated
Monitoring Software) previously known as NOCOL.
This software is freely available from
http://www.netplex-tech.com/software/snips/
This version is more or less a complete rewrite of the original code with
RRDtool integration, perl API directly interfacing with the C library, and
bug fixes submitted by various NOCOL users over the past few years.
It has been a little difficult for me to extract time from my current job
at Fidelia Inc (where we have been involved in developing a massively
scalable distributed monitoring system), so if NOCOL developers would like
access to the CVS code tree for SNIPS, please let me know and I will set
this up for the respective individuals.
For details about the Fidelia product, please visit their web site at
http://www.fidelia.com.
Detailed release notes are in release.html. Standard description blurb is
attached. All users on the NOCOL mailing list have been migrated to the
SNIPS-USERS mailing list (snips-users at navya com).
Apologies once again for the slow development cycle.
-vikas
Vikas Aggarwal
README for SNIPS v1.0 (a.k.a NOCOL v5.0)
=====================
SNIPS (Systems & Network Integrated Polling Software) is a rewrite
of the popular NOCOL network monitoring package with many additional
features and bug fixes, most notably integration with RRDtool for
graphing and historical trends.
It runs on Unix platforms and is capable of monitoring network and
system variables such as ICMP or RPC reachability, SNMP variables,
nameservers, tcp ports, ethernet load, host performance, SNMP traps,
modem line usage, appletalk & novell routes/services, BGP peers, syslog
files, etc.
The available user interfaces (displays) are:
- Web based (websnips)
- Tcl/Tk based (tkSnips)
- Text/curses based (textsnips)
Any number of displays can run and they all view common monitored data
from a single set of monitoring agents.
The monitored data is also stored using RRD, and can be plotted using MRTG
style graphs. Devices are escalated in severity during successive monitoring
cycles to avoid generating excessive operator level alarms and customizable
priority notification.
This package is being used to monitor networks with as many as 1600 devices
in many ISPs.
To date, the various monitoring agents developed are:
- ICMP
- RPC portmapper
- Ethernet load (bandwidth & pps)
- TCP ports
- Radius servers
- SYSLOG logfiles (for specified patterns)
- BGP peer status
- SQL (using DBI interface)
- Unix host performance (disks, memory, swap, load, nfs, collisions)
- SNMP variables monitor (RMON, Cisco router, terminal server)
- TCP data throughput monitor
- Nameserver (named)
- SNMP traps
- NTP stratum (Network Time Protocol)
- UPS (APC) battery level monitor
- Usage of terminal server modem lines (busy lines)
- Appletalk route monitor (for cisco routers)
- Novell service monitor
A PERL interface is available for developing additional monitors in the
PERL programming language (it is fairly easy to add additional monitors to
the package).
The logging daemon can be interfaced with a paging program such as
'sendpage' (or other SMS devices) to send device failure notifications.
The software is freely available on the Internet from:
http://www.netplex-tech.com/software/snips
Please send a message to 'snips-users-request at navya com' to be added to
the 'snips-users' mailing list for updates and bug fixes.
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