Check MK

Check_MK

Multisite Python GUI displaying an overview of monitored systems
Developer(s) Mathias Kettner GmbH
Initial release 2008 (2008)
Stable release
1.2.8p2[1] / May 27, 2016 (2016-05-27)
Operating system Linux as monitoring host, and other Unix, Microsoft Windows, VMS as monitored systems.
License GNU GPL v2
Website mathias-kettner.com/check_mk.html

Check_MK is an extension to the Nagios monitoring system that allows creating rule-based configuration using Python and offloading work from the Nagios core to make it scale better, allowing more systems to be monitored from a single Nagios server.

It comes with a set of system checks, a mod_python and JavaScript based web user interface, and a module that allows fast access to the Nagios core. On top of Nagios it also adds additional features.[2]

Version history

The first public versions were available in 2008. In April 2009 it was released under the GPL.[3] Since 2009, the releases have been tracked in git.[4]

"Stable" releases are labeled with a major version and a "p" for production and the build number: I.e. 1.1.12p6 is a stable 1.1.12 version, and it is the 6th public release. These are ABI compatible within their version, so a 1.1.12p5 config will work mostly unchanged for 1.1.12p6.

"Innovation" releases are specially marked versions based on the development branch that are for public testing. Check_MK keeps the interfaces stable during the lifetime of a "p" release, but they may change between new stable releases. For example, there are changes between 1.1.10p<num> and 1.1.12p.x where users will have to adjust their configuration. The same applies from 1.1.12 to 1.2, since this is a new major release.

Uses

It can be used as a front-end and extension of a Nagios, Icinga[5] or Shinken[6] monitoring system, for monitoring performance and health of networking devices, servers and infrastructure systems.

Technology

Check_MK includes a combination of multiple components:

It is possible to use some of the components on their own. Check_MK can be used to define a configuration that only consists of standard Nagios checks. Another option is to add livestatus to an existing Nagios server without any further modifications. That way a user can use the newer Web interfaces like Multisite or Thruk. There's also a livestatus-based tool to replace NSCA, transferring both status information and valid Nagios configuration to a remote server (With normal NSCA, the handling of remote configuration can be complex).

Differences from standard Nagios installations

See also

Use in other projects

The agent portion of Check_MK is used in some other projects as a "data source" for Unix/Linux systems. One example is OpenNMS.

Observium rebrands the Check_MK agent as the "Observium Unix Agent".

References

  1. http://mathias-kettner.de/check_mk_werks.php?edition_id=raw&branch=1.2.8&version=today
  2. Huber, Mathias (October 3, 2011). "Nagios-Erweiterung Check_mk in Version 1.1.10" (in German). Admin Magazine.
  3. "Mathias Kettner (check_mk)". nagios.org. August 17, 2009.
  4. Git releases
  5. "check_mk". Icinga wiki. December 6, 2012.
  6. "Check_MK Multisite". Shinken. December 6, 2012.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 5/28/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.