monitoring servers for performance, uptime, etc 3

[bshbsh]

I have a mostly Win2K3 environment and I am thinking of getting a solution to monitor all of them. I understand that there are solutions like SMS, but I was wondering if there was any standalone, application based solution. Of course a client will need to be loaded on each server monitored.
But this application should be able to at a minimum,
- check for memory, cpu utilization
- hard drive space
- network utilization
- and most importantly send out email alerts when the server is critically overloaded or has crashed for some reason.
I have about 50 servers mostly Win2K3.
Please advice.
Thanks.

 

[TechyMcSe2k]

What brand of servers do you have? HP has a free Insight Manager software...

 

[bshbsh]

Most of my servers are Dell, thought I have some Sun running Win2K3 too!!

 

[TonHu]

Nagios (

http://www.nagios.org)

could do that, although it's Linux based, it could be well worth the investment in time, as it's a well-proven OSS solution, including wide W2K3 support and lots of documentation to get you going.
The professional support guys at the company I work for use it to monitor all in-house servers, and about 70% of customers servers. (The rest is monitored using GenSys mostly because of other requirements)

HTH
TonHu

 

[TechyMcSe2k]

This would be good for your Dell's for hardware management and some software as well:

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/.../openmanage?c=us&cs=555&l=en&s=biz&redirect=1

TonHu's idea may be great for the Solaris side of things

 

[bshbsh]

TechyMcSe2k,
that sounds very good and in fact I have been using Dell Open manage. But the problem is that I have had to install it on every server. Can a central monitoring of multiple server be possible with Openmanage? As far as I could tell, it is not the case.
Please advice.
Thanks.

 

[mofusjtf]

Spiceworks is a free one that seems to work well. I've used it in a few places and it does a good job.

 

[bshbsh]

wow. spiceworks rocks.

 

[cckens]

I like it... I've got my entire company infrastructure running on it. I looked at Remedy and a few other smaller packages, and it's on par with them all. For an all-around package (and FREE to boot) it suits my job AND my budget.

They're also pretty good about updates. I've had it for over 6 months and it pulled the 3 new updates when they came out. Each one added new functionality, specifically asked for by users of this FREE software...

BTW, I don't work for them, but I will plug for them as it can't be beat for what it does.

Ken

"cckens is a nick... why the H-E- double-hockey-sticks am I using a nick for a name? Am I afraid of who I am?"
-me
"...don't know why, but I think of chickens when I see that nick...maybe even choking chickens???"
-Tony (wahnula)

 

[bshbsh]

Btw, I wonder, such a great s/w being free , what is the catch? How do they make their money? Are their any security holes?
Thanks.

 

[cckens]

None, but the software isn't really that customizable as freeware... the catch is if you want to REALLY customize it, you have to upgrade. For basic reporting needs, monitoring and helpdesk functionality... it's fine on it's own. Helpdesk will even monitor a mailbox for new ticket requests, or the users can go into the web-enabled section to place new request. It works and gives my users a couple of ways to get their problems to me, without having to dial direct...

Ken

"cckens is a nick... why the H-E- double-hockey-sticks am I using a nick for a name? Am I afraid of who I am?"
-me
"...don't know why, but I think of chickens when I see that nick...maybe even choking chickens???"
-Tony (wahnula)

 

[bshbsh]

Some of the servers and desktops are not reporting even though I have the right credentials. What am I missing? I know is says that it monitors on port 135 for desktops and 80 for servers.

But the problem is some servers dont have any web server running.

On some desktops, even though I have port 135 open it still does not respond.

Are there ports I should open on the firewall as well.
Please advice.
Thanks.

 

[TonHu]

I must say that for Windows only, Spiceworks looks darn good but for the unix/linux clan I'll stay with the current offerings (see earlier post).

Star for mofusjtf

Thnx
TonHu

 

[mofusjtf]

To properly allow WMI through the Windows Firewall via a Batch file enter the following into a Batch file. ***From My experience all of the script below is case sensitive. I add the pause at the end so I can verify each line has an OK after it runs.

netsh firewall set opmode ENABLE ENABLE

netsh firewall set service FILEANDPRINT ENABLE ALL

netsh firewall set service REMOTEDESKTOP ENABLE ALL

netsh firewall set service REMOTEADMIN ENABLE ALL

netsh firewall add portopening TCP 135 REMOTEADMIN ENABLE ALL

netsh firewall add portopening TCP 445 REMOTEADMIN ENABLE ALL

netsh firewall set notifications ENABLE

pause


To enable Windows Firewall WMI through Group Policy apply a GPO to the proper Workstation OU in AD. You will do a Computer Configuration>Administrative Templates>Network Connections>Domain Profile>Windows Firewall


Protect All Network Connections: Enabled
Do Not Allow Exceptions: Not Configured
Define Program Exceptions: Enabled
%WINDIR%\PCHealth\HelpCtr\Binaries\Helpctr.exe:*:Enabled:Remote Assistance - Windows
%WINDIR%\PCHealth\HelpCtr\Binaries\Helpsvc.exe:*:Enabled:Offer Remote Assistance
%WINDIR%\SYSTEM32\Sessmgr.exe:*:Enabled:Remote Assistance
Allow Local Program Exceptions: Not Configured
Allow Remote Administration Exceptions: Enabled
*
Allow File and printer sharing exception: enabled
Localsubnet
Allow ICMP Exceptions: Not Configured
Allow Remote Desktop exception: Enabled
*
Allow UPnP Framework exception: Not Configured
Prohibit notifications: Not Configured
Allow Logging: Not Configured
Prohibit unicast response to multicast: Not Configured
Define port exceptions: Enabled
135:TCP:*:Enabled:Offer Remote Assistance - Port
Allow local port exceptions: enabled


The workstations will need to be restarted to properly obtain the GPO.

 

[bshbsh]

mofusjtf,
Thats incredibly helpful again!!
Can I run the batch on 2003 servers as well as XP desktops?

Setting up the GP will take some time as I will need to get approval. Just to confirm the batch file has the same effect as the GP right?

Btw, do I need to restart the machine after I apply the batch?

Lastly, what would I need to do on a network firewall, which does not freely pass all traffic between the client and server?

Best.

 

[bshbsh]

For some reason after I ran the batch on a workgroup machine and rebooted, it still lists as unknown.

So, I was following the link to resolve the issue.

http://community.spiceworks.com/help/Resolving_Unknown_Devices

and ran the command
c:\ wmic /user:username /password:yourpassword /node:remotemachine systemenclosure get serialnumber

for which I got,

Node - remotemachine
ERROR:
Code = 0x800706ba
Description = The RPC server is unavailable.
Facility = Win32

Any ideas on how to rectify this. I am still running diags. Again, the problem is on some machines, both in the domain and workgroup. I am also not sure of firewall settings on the clients.

Thanks.

 

[mofusjtf]

To verify the settings applied just look at the advanced features of the Windows Firewall and you will see the lines you just added. If you deployed via Group Policy they will show up but be grayed out since they are applied via policy.

I typically use Group policy. But the standard 'Computers' OU will not work properly with GPO. You will need to create a new OU. I typically create 'Workstations' and move all my client PC's to that OU and then deploy the GPO through that OU.

So, in short, if your workstations are in a domain environment use GPO. If in a workgroup use the batch file.

This script is only for the Windows firewall. A quick way to determine your issues is to disable the Windows firewall and see if your commands run with it off.