Transcription
SNMP Informant Installation and Configuration GuideRelease 2014.1
CopyrightCopyright 2004-2014 Informant Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.Copyright 1999-2004 Williams Technology Consulting Services.Restricted Rights LegendThis software and documentation is subject to and made available only pursuant to the terms of the InformantSystems License Agreement and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of that agreement. It isagainst the law to copy the software except as specifically allowed in the agreement. This document may not, inwhole or in part, be copied photocopied, reproduced, translated, or reduced to any electronic medium or machinereadable form without prior consent, in writing, from Informant Systems, Inc.Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on thepart of Informant Systems. THE SOFTWARE AND DOCUMENTATION ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTYOF ANY KIND INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR APARTICULAR PURPOSE. FURTHER, INFORMANT SYSTEMS DOES NOT WARRANT, GUARANTEE, OR MAKE ANYREPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE, OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE, OF THE SOFTWARE OR WRITTENMATERIAL IN TERMS OF CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE.Informant Systems may make changes to specifications and product descriptions at any time, without notice.Trademarks or Service MarksSNMP Informant is a registered trademark of Informant Systems, Inc. All other trademarks are the property oftheir respective companies. Page i
Table of ContentsIntroduction. 1About Informant Systems, Inc. 1Statement of Limitations . 2NMS Compatibility . 2Warranty . 2SNMP Informant Overview . 3Product Description . 4Performance Providers .5WMI Providers .6Custom Providers .7System Requirements . 8Installing Pre-requisites . 9Installing the Microsoft Windows SNMP service .9Windows Server 2008.9Windows Server 2008 Core .9Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000/Windows XP .9Windows Vista/7 .9Configuring the Microsoft Windows SNMP service .10Windows Server 2008.10Windows Server 2008 Core .11Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000/Windows XP .11Windows Vista/7 .12SNMP in General .12Installing SNMP Informant . 13GUI Installation .13Command Line Installation .24Configuring SNMP Informant .26Registry Settings and their Meanings .27Uninstalling SNMP Informant . 31Using SNMP Informant . 31General Usage Notes.31Using the PDH Providers .32Understanding Performance Counters .34SNMP Informant Decimal OID instance to ASCII Character Conversion Table .35Using the WMI-Exchange Provider .36Using the WMI-OS Provider .40 Page ii
Using the MSCS Provider.42Using the Custom Provider .43The Agent Definitions File: .46An important note about the SNMP Informant Custom Helper Service .47Common SNMP Informant OIDs .57Troubleshooting SNMP Informant . 60Troubleshooting Table .60Troubleshooting PDH Providers .61Troubleshooting WMI Providers .62Troubleshooting Custom Providers.64An important note about SNMP Informant Helper Services .64Table of FiguresFigure 1 – SNMP Informant Functional Overview .4Figure 2 – SNMP Informant Application Structure (Performance Provider) .5Figure 3 – SNMP Informant Application Structure (WMI Provider) .6Figure 4 – SNMP Informant Application Structure (WMI Provider with helper service) .7Figure 5 – SNMP Informant Application Structure (Custom Provider) .7Figure 6 – Anatomy of an SNMP Informant OID .32 Page iii
IntroductionThank you for downloading and using (or trying) SNMP Informant. We are sure you will like what you see, andrecognize the value in our products. This document is intended to help you make the most of SNMP Informant. Ifyou have any comments about this document (omissions, corrections, etc.), please [email protected], and let us know.We have always strived to provide excellent value for your money with SNMP Informant. If you are pleased withthis product, please tell your colleagues and friends. If not, please tell us, so we can address your concerns as soonas possible. Please note: We’ve changed some terminology in this version. Where sometimes we referred toour products as “agents”, they are in fact, data “providers”, loaded as an “extension” to the baseMicrosoft SNMP agent (or a replacement SNMP stack, if compatible). In other terminology (outsideof this document), SNMP extension agents are sometimes referred to as “sub-agents”.About Informant Systems, Inc.Informant Systems has been developing and providing the network management community with cost-effectiveSNMP extension agents for Windows operating systems and server applications since 1999. Our flagship product,SNMP Informant is in use by small, medium and large organizations around the world, including Universities,financial institutions, Fortune 500 companies and large multi-national organizations.Resellers or commercial product developers interested in bundling or reselling SNMP Informant are encouraged tocontact [email protected] in order to find out more information.11135 – 23A AvenueEdmonton, AB T6J4W5 CanadaPhone: nt-systems.com Product Information:[email protected] Product Support:[email protected] Primary Contact:Garth K. Williams – President and Managing [email protected] SNMP Informant – Installation and Configuration Guide – v2014.1Page 1
Statement of LimitationsAlthough we have attempted to find and correct any bugs in the software, we will not be held responsible for anydamage or losses (of ANY kind) caused by the use (or misuse) of this product. Names, icons, functionality, fileformat, etc. are subject to change in future versions of SNMP Informant without notice.Also, while we are well aware that we cannot control who downloads and/or uses SNMP Informant, we would liketo make it clear that:UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES IS SNMP INFORMANT DESIGNED TO MANAGE, SUPERVISE CONTROL, MONITOROR OTHERWISE INTERACT WITH INSTRUMENTS AND/OR EQUIPMENT THAT MIGHT POTENTIALLY AFFECTHUMAN LIFE.For example:SNMP Informant is not designed for, nor is it intended to be used to monitor or interact with computersystems that might be used to construct, operate or maintain any type of the following facilities (includingbut not limited to): Hospitals Nuclear power Air/ground traffic, rail and/or maritime control or navigation Other commuter transport (bus, taxi, etc.) Military (operations, control, etc.)NMS CompatibilityThe SNMP Informant MIBS are written to comply with RFC standards, and are compiled and tested on severaldifferent MIB compilers and applications in order to ensure maximum compatibility. Nonetheless, we make NOguarantees that they will compile on any SPECIFIC product. In the event that you have problems using SNMPInformant (i.e. compiling SNMP Informant MIBs) with your particular NMS, please consult the Product SupportForums.WarrantyAll versions of SNMP Informant are warranted to operate EXACTLY as described on the SNMP Informant web site(www.snmp-informant.com). If you have ANY questions about SNMP Informant's ability to gather certainperformance metrics, please contact [email protected], and we will be pleased to help youout. Please note: While we endeavor to ensure our software runs “worry-free”, we make no guarantees thatit will be bug-free. SNMP Informant – Installation and Configuration Guide – v2014.1Page 2
SNMP Informant OverviewSNMP Informant products are advanced Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) extension agents thatprovide the capability to access Microsoft Windows Operating System and Application Server PerformanceCounters, WMI classes and other (i.e. registry and custom script) information through the SNMP protocolSNMP Informant provider information can be accessed natively using SNMPv1, SNMPv2 or SNMPv3 (see below)protocols from an SNMP Network Management System (NMS). ** NMS applications include (but are not limited to): Sciencelogic EM7 Netmon HP Network Node Manager IPMonitor Paessler PRTG OpenNMS Groundwork Zenoss and others you will be amazed at how much Windows information SNMP Informant can expose to your NMS! IANA Private Enterprise Number 9600 is registered to WTCS (Informant Systems, Inc.). All our OIDSstart with .1.3.6.1.4.1.9600.SNMPv3Since SNMP Informant is an SNMP Extension Agent (sometimes called sub-agents), it does not in and of itselfsupport SNMPv3. It is the job of the SNMP service “stack” to support SNMPv3. The native Windows 2000, XP and2003 SNMP service only supports SNMPv1 and SNMPv2. However, there are some Windows SNMP servicereplacements in the market today that claim to be 100% compatible with extension agents like SNMP Informant.Here are a couple of alternatives: NuDesign Technologies “Master Agent Service for MS Windows”. You can find out more about thisproduct below:o oft AR have developed a product called SNMP Agent Defender, an SNMP v3 replacement stack. Findout more Defender.htmWhile we’re pleased to present a couple of options for you, it is up to you (the customer), to do your due diligencewhen deciding on an SNMP stack replacement.SNMP TrapsAt present, SNMP Informant does not generate SNMP traps. We are looking at this functionality as a futureenhancement. SNMP Informant – Installation and Configuration Guide – v2014.1Page 3
Product DescriptionSNMP Informant agents are DLL (Dynamic Link Libraries) extensions to the Microsoft Windows SNMP service. TheWindows SNMP Service must be installed properly, configured and running before the SNMP Informant agent isaccessible.SNMP Informant providers are designed to be installed on Windows Server software, although they can beinstalled on Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7. They are categorized as follows: Performance Providers – These providers connect to the Performance Counter sub-system, and allowperformance counter information to be collected via SNMP. WMI Providers – also called State and Configuration providers, they connect to the Windows WMI subsystem, and allow WMI information to be collected via SNMP. Custom Providers – providers of this type allow you to collect either Performance or State/Configurationinformation from server applications that might not otherwise provide this information to either thePerformance or WMI sub-systems.Regardless of the provider type, taking advantage of the information SNMP Informant provides is very simple:How SNMPInformant worksStep 3: Install SNMP Informant MIBsStep 1: Install/configure SNMP ServiceStep 2: Install SNMP gementStationStep 4: Collect the dataStep 5: Analyze the resultsWindows 2003/2008/2012Figure 1 – SNMP Informant Functional OverviewInstalling SNMP Informant is very easy. Once the SNMP service is correctly installed and configured on thedesignated system, the SNMP informant installer can be run (see the Installation and Configuration section).Depending on the validation key you enter, different providers will be enabled for installation. SNMP Informant – Installation and Configuration Guide – v2014.1Page 4
Performance ProvidersSNMP Informant Performance Providers connect through the Windows Performance Data Handler library toaccess server performance counters. A diagram illustrating this concept is shown below. As you can see, anSNMP GET request message is passed through the SNMP Informant DLL to the Windows performance subsystem and back again to the requesting entity.Windows SNMP ServiceSNMPRequestSNMP Informant DLLPDH APIWindowsCountersPerformanceSNMPResponseFigure 2 – SNMP Informant Application Structure (Performance Provider)A note about Windows 2000Although it is an “end of life product”, Windows 2000 does not come “out of the box” with logical diskperformance counters enabled*. Unless activated, the only Windows 2000 disk counters accessible by SNMPInformant are the physical disk performance counters. In order to activate logical disk performance counterson Windows 2000, do this:1.Open an OS prompt2.Type "diskperf -y" (omit the "")3.Close the OS Prompt4.reboot the system* Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windows Vista and Windows 7 dynamically activate logical disk counters asneeded.Application Server Performance Provider NotesSNMP Informant Server Performance Providers extend SNMP Informant functionality by allowing SNMP to beused to query application specific performance counters using SNMP. Such applications at present include: ISA Server – supports ISA 2000/2004/2006 BizTalk Server – supports BizTalk 2000/2004/2006 SQL Server - supports SQL 2000/2005/2008 (including MSDE and Express) Exchange Server – supports Exchange 2000/2003/2007 Forefront Server – supports Forefront TMG WSUS Server – supports WSUS 3.0 SNMP Informant – Installation and Configuration Guide – v2014.1Page 5
WMI ProvidersSimilar to the PDH Providers, SNMP Informant WMI Providers make data requests to the local WMI sub-systemon the system where SNMP Informant is installed. See the figure below for a diagram representing the dataflow for this type of provider.Windows SNMP ServiceSNMPRequestSNMP Informant DLLWMI APIsWindows ManagementInstrumentation (WMI)sub-systemSNMPResponseFigure 3 – SNMP Informant Application Structure (WMI Provider)WMI Provider NotesSNMP Informant WMI Providers extend SNMP Informant functionality by allowing SNMP to be used to serverspecific WMI information using SNMP. Such applications at present include: Virtual Server – allows SNMP to be used to access Virtual Server information Hypervisor (Hyper-V) – allows SNMP to be used to access Hyper-V information Citrix - SNMP to be used to access Citrix Presentation Server OS - allows SNMP to be used to access OS specific WMI information HW – allows SNMP to be used to access hardware specific WMI informationoNote: This agents’ functionality will differ depending on motherboard hardwaremanufacturers’ support for the Windows 2000, 2003 and 2008 WMI system. If themotherboard manufacturer does not provide information to the WMI system, then SNMPInformant will not be able to access it.WMI Provider Helper ServicesThe SNMP Informant WMI-OS and WMI-Exchange providers incorporate the use of a “helper service”. Thishelper service sits between the extension agent DLL and the WMI sub-system.SNMP requests are received (by the SNMP service) from the NMS for OIDs that are derived from a WMI class,and passed from the SNMP Informant extension agent DLL to the helper service. Then, the helper servicepasses (proxies) that request to the WMI sub-system, and waits for a response.When a response is received, the helper service passes it back to the extension DLL, and the extension DLLpasses it back to the SNMP service. Figure 4 below illustrates this data flow. SNMP Informant – Installation and Configuration Guide – v2014.1Page 6
Windows SNMP ServiceSNMPRequestSNMP Informant DLLSNMP Informant helper stemSNMPResponseFigure 4 – SNMP Informant Application Structure (WMI Provider with helper service)Custom ProvidersSNMP Informant 2010.1 and newer includes custom SNMP support for Microsoft Cluster Services and CitrixPresentation Server through APIs published for those products. This “bridge” allows information to becollected from those applications. This software must be installed on the server where SNMP Informant isinstalled.Windows SNMP ServiceSNMPRequestSNMP Informant DLLApplication Server APIApplication ServerProgramSNMPResponseFigure 5 – SNMP Informant Application Structure (Custom Provider)In addition, SNMP Informant (as part of the Premium Provider) supports the ability for you to define your ownOIDs for custom performance counters, registry entries, and remotely spawned processes (i.e. scripts) thatcollect data from other means. SNMP Informant – Installation and Configuration Guide – v2014.1Page 7
System RequirementsSNMP Informant will install on the following operating systems. It does not run on Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME,or NT. Operating systems that have reached end of life (indicated by italics) will no longer be supported if anyissues are detected with SNMP Informant. Microsoft Window 2008R2, Enterprise Edition (x86/x64/) Microsoft Window 2008R2, Standard Edition (x86/x64/) Microsoft Window 2008, Enterprise Edition (x86/x64/) Microsoft Window 2008, Standard Edition (x86/x64/) Microsoft Windows 2003, Web Edition (x86/x64/) Microsoft Windows 2003, Web Edition (x86/x64/) Microsoft Windows 2003, Enterprise Edition (x86/x64/) Microsoft Windows 7 Home/Business/Ultimate (x86/x64) Microsoft Windows Vista Home/Business/Premium (x86/x64) Microsoft Windows XP Home/Pro(x86/x64) Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Microsoft Windows 2000 ProfessionalProcessor Requirement: minimum of a Pentium II class Memory Requirement: 32 MB Disk Space Requirement: 45 MB SNMP Informant – Installation and Configuration Guide – v2014.1Page 8
Installing Pre-requisitesThe SNMP Service is not installed by default on the Microsoft Windows operating systems and is not configured bydefault on the Microsoft Windows 2003/2008 operating systems. The SNMP Service must be installed andconfigured prior to installing any SNMP Informant provider. If the SNMP Service is already installed andconfigured, then skip to the Installing SNMP Informant section.Installing the Microsoft Windows SNMP serviceSince the Microsoft Windows operating systems vary slightly, the steps to install the SNMP Service may bedeviate a little from this guide.Windows Server 2008You can add the SNMP service through the Add Features wizard. SNMP is a feature.1.Start Control Panel then Programs and Features2.Select Turn Windows Features on or off3.Select Features4.Select Add Features5.Select SNMP6.Choose InstallWindows Server 2008 CoreUse the following command within the core command prompt to install the SNMP service.1.Start /w ocsetup SNMP-SCWindows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000/Windows XPYou may also refer to the Microsoft Windows Help (Start/Help) under “SNMP Service (installing)” for moreinformation on installing the SNMP Service.You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group to complete thisprocedure. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also prevent you fromcompleting this procedure.1.Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, double-click Add or Remove Programs, and thenclick Add/Remove Windows Components.2.In Components, click Management and Monitoring Tools (but do not select or clear its checkbox), and then click Details.3.Select the Simple Network Management Protocol check box, and click OK.4.Click Next.5.Insert the respective CD or specify the complete path of the location at which the files are stored.6.SNMP starts automatically after installation.Windows Vista/7To install SNMP on Windows 7, open Control Panel and then click on Programs and Features. Then, click on"Turn Windows features on or off" link in the left pane. If UAC prompted, then click on Yes. Then, in the SNMP Informant – Installation and Configuration Guide – v2014.1Page 9
Windows Features window, scroll down and select "Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)" checkbox and click on OK. Then, wait for some time to install SNMP.Configuring the Microsoft Windows SNMP serviceThe Microsoft Windows SNMP Service must be configured before it can be accessed by any SNMP Managersoftware. Since the Microsoft Windows operating systems vary slightly, the steps to configure the SNMPService may be deviate a little from this guide. You may also refer to the Microsoft Windows Help (Start/Help)under “SNMP Service (security, configuring)” for more information on configuring the SNMP Service.Windows Server 2008After installing the SNMP service, you need to configure agent properties, which contains generalinformation such as who is responsible for managing the agent host and the types of services with which theagent will interact on the computer.Right-click the SNMP service in the Services console and choose Properties to open the properties for theSNMP Service, or select the service and choose Action and then Properties to display the service’s propertysheet. The General, Log On, Recovery, and Dependencies pages are the same as for other services.Click the Agent tab to configure the following agent properties:1.Contact: Specify the name of the person responsible for managing the host computer.2.Location: Specify the physical location of the computer or the contact’s location or otherinformation (phone number, extension, and so on).3.Physical: Select this option if the agent host manages physical hardware such as hard diskpartitions.4.Applications: Select this option if the agent uses any applications that transmit data using theTCP/IP protocol.5.Datalink and Subnetwork: Select this option if the agent host manages a bridge.6.Internet: Select this option if the agent host is an Internet gateway.7.End-to-End: Select this option if the host uses IP. This option should always be selected.Configuring trapsUse the Traps tab of the SNMP service to configure computers to which the SNMP service sends traps. Fromthe Community Name drop-down list, select the community for which you want to assign a trap destination.If you have no communities set yet, type the community name in the combo box and click Add to List. Then,click Add to display a simple dialog box in which you can specify the host name, IP address, or IPX address ofthe remote computer to receive the trap notification. Repeat the process to add other trap destinations asneeded. Remember: SNMP Informant does not send or receive SNMP traps.Configuring securityUse the Security tab of the SNMP Service’s properties to configure the communities in which the agentparticipates and optionally a list of hosts from which the agent accepts SNMP packets. By default, the agentaccepts packets from all hosts. This presents a security risk, however, so take care to configure securitysettings to permit SNMP traffic only from authorized hosts. The Security page includes the followingoptions:1.Send Authentication Trap: Select this option to have the agent send a message to all trapdestinations if the agent receives an SNMP request from a host or community not listed in the‘‘Accepted community names’’ list or the ‘‘Accept SNMP packets from these hosts’’ list. The SNMP Informant – Installation and Configuration Guide – v2014.1Page 10
message is sent to all hosts in the trap destination list on the Traps property page to indicate thata remote management system failed authentication (potentially indicating an unauthorizedaccess attempt).2.Accepted Community Names: Use this list and the relate
support SNMPv3. It is the job of the SNMP service stack to support SNMPv3. The native Windows 2000, XP and 2003 SNMP service only supports SNMPv1 and SNMPv2. However, there are some Windows SNMP service replacements in the market today that claim to be 1
