Overview The purpose of this article is to document how to setup MATCH statements in the SNMP Trap interface. By default, when a Trap is setup in Nagios XI, all traps for that entry are received as an OK status, so no matter what is received the... Read More

Automatically Migrating Nagios Core to Nagios XI   Introduction As of Nagios XI 5.8, users now have the ability to automatically migrate their Nagios Core data to Nagios XI. Although Nagios Core provides capable monitoring features, Nagios XI... Read More

Storage Engine Overview  A storage engine is a software module that a database management system uses to create, read, update data from a database. For MySQL 5.5 and later, the default storage engine is InnoDB. The default storage engine for MySQL... Read More

Overview This KB article shows you how to download a file directly from the Nagios Exchange to your Linux server using the WGET command. This can be handy when you require an additional plugin on your Nagios server or an NRPE client.   Download... Read More

Managing Contact Templates Contact templates within Nagios XI allow you to create definitions that can be used in multiple contacts. The main purpose of templates is to keep parameters that are generic to a group in one file to simplify... Read More

Managing Host Templates Host templates within Nagios XI allow you to create definitions that can be used in multiple hosts. The main purpose of templates is to keep parameters that are generic to a group in one file to simplify administration and... Read More

Managing Service Templates Service templates within Nagios XI allow you to create definitions that can be used in multiple services. The main purpose of templates is to keep parameters that are generic to a group in one file to simplify... Read More

If you are using Nagios XI 5.x, see Backing Up and Restoring/Migrating Nagios XI. If you are using Nagios XI 2024.x, see Backing Up and Restoring/Migrating Nagios XI 2024.   Read More

Nagios as a PC Health Monitor - NWC14 For organisations with limited budget or resources, Nagios can be a great tool to monitor the health of the their PC fleet. This presentation will cover real world examples of how integrating Nagios, NSClient++... Read More

Passive Monitoring with Nagios - NWC14 Whereas active monitoring receives all the attention, passive monitoring is the be-all, end-all to truly managing by exception. This session will present three scenarios for passive monitoring including:... Read More

SNMP Explained - NWC15 How does the snmp protocol work and how can it be used within Nagios?       Final Thoughts For any support related questions please visit the Nagios Support Forums at: http://support.nagios.com/forum/ Read More

Overview This KB article explains the purpose of the retention.dat file and how to modify it when required. This is an advanced topic and care should be taken.   State Retention File This is the file that Nagios will use for storing status,... Read More

10,000 Services (and growing!) Across the State of Ohio - NWC14 This presentation will cover how Agile Networks developed a customized Nagios XI Installation that handles the monitoring for a state wide distribution of routers, point to point and... Read More

Adding Services To Pre-existing Switch or Router When a switch or router is already being monitored by Nagios XI, but you need to add an additional service, the limitations of MRTG's functionality keeps that service from being monitored. This... Read More

Advanced Features of Nagios XI This presentation will provide an in-depth look into the advanced features of Nagios XI, including auto-discovery, bulk management tools, and advanced reporting.       Final Thoughts For any support related questions... Read More

Automated Host Management In Nagios XI This document describes how to automate adding and removing hosts and services in Nagios XI from the command line. Documentation - Automated Host Management In Nagios XI   Final Thoughts For any support related... Read More

Overview This KB article will explain how the Business Process Intelligence (BPI) component uses the XML cache file. If you are not familiar with BPI, please refer to the following documentation: Using Nagios BPI     What Is The BPI Cache The BPI... Read More

Configuring Core Contacts to Use XI's phpmailer SMTP Settings This document describes how to configure non-XI user (Core) contacts to use the SMTP phpmailer settings from the email management interface. Documentation - Configuring Core Contacts... Read More

Configuring Global Event Handlers This document describes how to configure Nagios® XI™ to run global event handler scripts in order to process host and service state changes, alerts, and notification information. Global event handlers allow admins... Read More

Cool Tips & Tricks - NWC14 Brief demonstration of all the cool tips and tricks I have learned over the years, including my new on-call handling(different from last year) and the other scripts I have released on the exchange, in addition to some... Read More

Overview This article will show you how to create a link in the Quick Actions menu of a host of service to use the Actions URL value that exists in a host or service object. This is achieved using the Actions component supplied with Nagios XI. Here... Read More

Overview This article will show you how to create a host or service URL in Nagios XI that is restricted to a set of filters. First you will be shown how to show services in a WARNING or CRITICAL state. Then you will be shown how to restrict this to... Read More

Purpose This document describes how to write custom configuration wizards in Nagios® XI™. This document will cover how to create a new wizard using a custom plugin and also cover how to utilize some of the programming tools within the Nagios XI... Read More

Custom Wizards, Components and Dashlets In Nagios XI Troy Lea's presentation - "Custom Wizards, Components and Dashlets In Nagios XI" during the Nagios World Conference North America 2012.       Final Thoughts For any support related... Read More

Customizing The Landing Page This document describes how to customize the landing page that users see when they initially login to the Nagios® XI™ web interface. One of the benefits of Nagios XI is the flexibility to customize the information... Read More

Database Optimization This document describes how to configure optimal database settings for Nagios® XI™ for increased performance. Nagios XI stores current and historical information in various databases in order to facilitate reports and provide... Read More

Nagios XI Distributed Monitoring Overview The goal of distributed monitoring is to allow your Nagios XI environment to monitor a large infrastructure, but methods of achieving this type of solution can get complicated. Using a third-party solution... Read More

Enabling Memcached Support This document describes how to increase the performance of Nagios XI by enabling memcached. Memcached provides a mechanism for caching SQL query results in memory on one or more memcached servers. Caching query results can... Read More

Nagios XI - Excluding Hosts And Hostgroups This document describes how exclude hosts and host groups in Nagios XI using Core Configuration Manager (CCM). Documentation - Excluding Hosts And Hostgroups     Final Thoughts For any support related... Read More

Exporting the Config Database This document describes how to manually export the Nagios XI configuration database. Manual exports are useful when debugging configuration problems - including failures of XI to apply new configuration changes made... Read More

Group Deployment of Service Checks - NWC15 This presentation will show how you can create groups of checks like CPU metrics, Oracle metrics or IIS metrics and push them to all of the hosts that require them.  The presentation will provide a script... Read More

Overview This KB article shows you how to setup a Nagios XI server to perform baseline testing. Baseline testing allows you to determine if an XI server is capable of handling the amount of checks you intend to configure. It is important to identify... Read More

High Availability and Failover Solutions for Nagios XI Intended for advanced Nagios XI administrators, this presentation will cover a myriad of High Availability and Fail-over options for particular environments. This includes manual/cold fail-over... Read More

How To Achieve High Availability This document describes how to achieve High Availability (HA) capabilities with Nagios XI. The goal of High Availability is to ensure that if your primary Nagios XI instance stops or crashes, another instance will... Read More

How to Restart A Windows Service With NRPE This document describes how to restart services in Windows using Nagios XI with NSClient++/NRPE. This allows you to automate the process of starting, stopping and restarting Window Services. Documentation -... Read More

Overview This guide explains how to test check commands from command line in Nagios XI. While there is the Test Check Command button in Core Configuration Manager (CCM), this does not always work as expected due to: PHP character escaping for... Read More

How To Write Custom Components This document describes how to use the Nagios XI Framework to access data and build a successful component. Components are developed to extend the functionality of your Nagios XI installation. Documentation - How To... Read More

Importing Config Files From Nagios Core into Nagios XI This document describes how to migrate and import Nagios Core configuration files into Nagios® XI™. Importing configuration files is only required in instances where administrators wish to... Read More

Integrating autoIT With Nagios This document describes how to automate and monitor Windows actions, tasks, and tests using autoIT and Nagios. AutoIT is an extremely powerful scripting recorder and editor and this is an example of how it can be used.... Read More

This article has been retired due to obsolescence and is no longer used. Please visit Support.nagios.com for additional resources. Please note that Mod-Gearman dropped support for Nagios Core in March of 2022. XI integration with Mod-Gearman is also... Read More

Integrating On-Call Schedules with Nagios - NWC13 This presentation will demonstrate how the team at the large retail company integrated the data from our on-call information with Nagios. This integration affects who is alerted for host and service... Read More

Introduction to Event Handlers This document describes how to use event handlers in Nagios XI to take predefined actions when the hosts or services you are monitoring change state. Event handlers are used to automate processes taken when there is a... Read More

Log Locations and Descriptions This document describes the Nagios Core, Nagios XI, and system logs on a Nagios XI server, including the locations and a brief descriptions of their potential contents and diagnostic uses. Documentation - Log Locations... Read More

Overview This article describes how to manually backup and restore the databases in Nagios XI. This article is an advanced topic that can result in data loss if not followed correctly. If you are looking for an easy backup and restore method please... Read More

Mass Delete Old RRD Files This KB article will show you how to run a script to delete all RRDs (and their respective XML files) under /usr/local/nagios/share/perfdata that have not been written to in 5 days, that also includes hosts/services that... Read More

Maximizing Performance In Nagios XI This document describes how to maximize the performance of your Nagios® XI™ server in a non-distributed environment in order to increase the overall efficiency of the monitoring server. This document will cover... Read More

Overview Historical performance data that is used to generate graphs are stored in Round Robin Database (RRD) files. RRD performance data files are compiled binaries, so for a simple file transfer a user would have to have the architecture match on... Read More

Migrating From Nagios Core This document describes the basic steps involved in migrating an existing Nagios Core installation to Nagios XI. Documentation - Migrating From Nagios Core   Final Thoughts For any support related questions please visit... Read More

This article has been retired due to obsolescence and is no longer used. Please visit Support.nagios.com for additional resources. Please note that Mod-Gearman dropped support for Nagios Core in March of 2022. XI integration with Mod-Gearman is also... Read More

Monitoring Using the Full Power of Nagios XI Enterprise - NWC15 This presentation will take a close look at how the Enterprise Edition of NagiosXI is used within Landis+Gyr to monitor systems, applications, and utility networks. You will get a... Read More

Nagios Rapid Deployment Options - NWC14 We will explore several ways in which we can rapidly deploy Nagios using templates and scripts. The use of a database with Nagios service checks will also be demonstrated to show how administrators can... Read More

Offloading MySQL to Remote Server This document is meant to show a step-by-step guide for offloading the MySQL services from the central Nagios XI server to an external, remote server. Documentation - Offloading MySQL to Remote Server   Final... Read More

Overview This KB article provides steps on optimizing the PHP settings file php.ini on your Nagios XI server. There are certain situations where the default settings in PHP need increasing to improve the features of Nagios XI on larger systems. PHP... Read More

Overview This KB article will explain how performance data is averaged over time and why.   Performance Data Explained In Nagios XI the data that is displayed in the performance graphs comes from data files called a Round Robin Database (RRD).... Read More

Overview When configuring my monitoring agent I need to define the password in a plain text file. This seems very insecure, how do I encrypt it? — Concerned Customer This is a valid question, this KB article discusses the limitations around... Read More

Nagios XI - Ports And Protocols This document is intended to provide Nagios Network Admins with information on the network ports used by Nagios XI. Documentation - Nagios XI - Ports And Protocols   Final Thoughts For any support related questions... Read More

Problem Description When you go to Admin > System Config > System Profile and try to download the profile you receive the following error: PROFILE BUILD FAILEDArray()CODE: 1    Resolving The Problem This problem is occurring because the... Read More

Overview This KB article explains how to configure Nagios XI to receive SNMP traps from Nagios Network Analyzer (NNA). It is assumed that Nagios XI is already configured to receive SNMP traps, if it is not please follow the steps in this... Read More

Nagios XI Redundancy And Security Planning This goal of this documentation is to provide you with a comprehensive list of configuration settings that need to be taken into account when planning a Nagios XI deployment. This document is specifically... Read More

Overview This KB article explains how you can execute a script in Nagios XI to remove all historical data on the Nagios XI server. This functionality was introduced as of Nagios XI 5.5. The data removed by the script is outlined as follows: /usr... Read More

Resizing the VM Disk Size This documentation describes how to increase the size of the Nagios XI virtual machine (VM) disk. CentOS 7 Documentation - Resizing The VM Disk Size For CentOS 7   Final Thoughts For any support related questions please... Read More

Restarting A Linux Service With NRPE This document describes how to automatically restart problematic services on Linux servers using NRPE. Documentation - Restarting A Linux Service With NRPE   Final Thoughts For any support related questions... Read More

Scheduling Reports and Pages This document describes how to schedule reports and pages to be emailed automatically in Nagios XI. Documentation - Scheduling Reports and Pages   Final Thoughts For any support related questions please visit the Nagios... Read More

Securing Your Nagios Server This presentation will cover best practices, methodologies, and tools for securing your Nagios server against external threats.       Final Thoughts For any support related questions please visit the Nagios Support... Read More

Should You Change RRD Retention Periods? How do you change RRD retention periods? Should you? Aaron has you covered with this Nagios Pro Tip.         Final Thoughts For any support related questions please visit the Nagios Support Forums at:... Read More

Nagios XI - SNMP Trap Hardening This KB article explains how to harden your Nagios XI server to only accept SNMP traps from authorized sources. By default the Nagios XI server will accept inbound SNMP v2 traps from any device. SNMP v3 traps will not... Read More

Overview This document describes how SNMP Traps work and integrate with Nagios XI. SNMP means Simple Network Management Protocol. Devices that have SNMP functionality can provide active and passive monitoring. Active = The Nagios XI server initiates... Read More

Overview Nagios XI, as well as the Linux command line interface, have some reserved characters that need to be escaped in specific ways. Special characters are a group of characters that carry out special instructions, like the dollar sign $ which... Read More

Nagios XI - Understanding Email Sending This document describes how Nagios XI sends emails and explains how to configure your email settings. Nagios XI uses email to send notifications as well as for sending reports. Documentation - Understanding... Read More

Understanding Notification Escalations This document describes how to set up host and service escalations in Nagios XI. Escalations are triggered when a configurable amount of notifications have been sent out for a given host or service problem.... Read More

Understanding Notification Variables This document describes the variables available for use when customizing Nagios® XI™ notification messages. Understanding the different notification variables available will allow users greater ability to... Read More

Understanding the Nagios XI Directory Structure This document is intended to describe where Nagios® XI™ and its related components are located on the machine where Nagios XI has been installed. The Nagios XI directory structure is slightly... Read More

Understanding The User Macros Component This document describes how to use the User Macros component in Nagios XI. The component exposes the user and system macros available in Nagios Core to multiple areas of Nagios XI, allowing for more flexible... Read More

Understanding User Macros This document describes how to implement and use user macros in a working environment. This is useful for users who want to obfuscate sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, etc. User macros are helpful in... Read More

Overview   Warning: Do not use the steps in this article if you have an RPM installed system (either offline or non-offline). This document describes how to upgrade to PHP 7 on RHEL, CentOS and Oracle Linux systems. Nagios XI is compatible with the... Read More

Using rrdcached with Nagios XI This document describes how to enable rrdcached with Nagios XI as a step to improve performance and reduce disk I/O on large installations.  Documentation - Using rrdcached with Nagios XI   Final Thoughts For any... Read More

Using The Config Import Prep Tool This document describes how to use the Nagios® XI™ configuration file import prep tool to prepare an installation for migration from Nagios Core to Nagios XI. The prep tool is used to pre-process native Nagios... Read More

Using The Core Config Manager For Host Management This document describes how to manage hosts and host groups using the Nagios® XI™ Core Config Manager. While monitoring wizards make it easy to set up new hosts in Nagios XI, the Core Config... Read More

Using the Negate Plugin This document is designed to assist Nagios administrators in understanding and using the Negate plugin in Nagios® XI™. The Negate plugin allows for any standard plugin output to be reversed and is very useful with hosts or... Read More

Utilizing a RAM Disk in Nagios XI This document describes how to use a RAM disk to boost performance on a Nagios XI server. Documentation - Utilizing a RAM Disk in Nagios XI   Final Thoughts For any support related questions please visit the Nagios... Read More

About Wizards Wizards are a feature of Nagios XI to help the administrator quickly setup something to be monitored by Nagios. Wizards do no perform checks, the checks are performed by a plugin.  A new plugin can be bundled with a Wizard, or the... Read More

Parent/Child Host Relationships In the CCM (Core Configuration Manager) within Nagios XI, you can define a parent for a host by using the Manage Parents functionality on the Manage Hosts page. Generally, parent hosts are routers, switches, firewalls,... Read More

Purpose This document is intended for use by Nagios Administrators who wish to update their version of php 7.2 to php 7.4 on a CentOS Stream 8 system or an EOL CentOS 8 system. Enable CentOS 8 vault repos (For EOL CentOS 8 Only) Since CentOS 8 is now... Read More

Overview This KB article explains the differences between the Standard and Embedded handler for processing SNMP Traps. Detailed steps are provided to configure Nagios XI to use either method (the standard handler is the default used). Nagios XI 5.5... Read More

Translating and Converting MIB Files   Prerequisite MIBs One of the most common issues that users encounter with SNMP Traps and MIB files are that most MIB files require other MIB files to be loaded on the system so they can be fully translated.... Read More

Purpose The purpose of this documentation is to provide a guide for using the Generic Plugin Monitoring Wizard.   Target Audience This guide is directed towards Nagios XI administrators interested in configuring a host or service with a plugin that... Read More

The Nagios XI default database changed from PostgreSQL to MySQL, since the initial release of XI 5.  If you see a notice after upgrading XI on your server to version 5.10.0, or later, to convert your PostgreSQL database to MySQL, it means you are... Read More