Custom SNMP Plug-Ins
AppFormix can monitor SNMP metrics of network devices in your
data center. AppFormix includes several supported SNMP plug-ins shipped
with the product including ifTable, ifXTable, and TCP plug-ins
for network devices for all vendors and three more plug-ins for Juniper
devices. In addition to the AppFormix built-in SNMP plug-ins, AppFormix
allows you to create your own custom SNMP plug-ins. The custom SNMP
plug-ins allow you to define the SNMP MIBs and metrics that you want
to monitor. The only thing you need is to define a configuration file
for the SNMP MIB you want to monitor.
Confirm that you installed the related MIBs on the appformix_network_agent nodes before you generate the
plug-ins.
Sample Custom SNMP Plug-In Configuration File
The sample configuration file is listed. You can also find this
sample file in the AppFormix release bundle sample_snmp_config.py:
SNMP_OID = ['enterprises.2636.3.1.13.1']
SNMP_MIB_KEYS = [
{'Name': 'jnxOperatingTemp', 'Units': 'C',
'CalculationMethod': 'value'},
{'Name': 'jnxOperatingCPU', 'Units': '%',
'CalculationMethod': 'value'}
]
PLUGIN_TYPE = 'snmp_network_device'
PLUGIN_NAME = 'snmp_network_device_usage'
SNMP_TAG_KEY = 'jnxOperatingDescr'
AGGREGATE_ID = 'appformix_network_agents'
PLUGIN_PREFIX = 'device'
LOAD_ALL = True
ENTITY_TYPE = ["fpc", "routing_engine", "pic", "fan", "power"]
Table 1 describes the fields.
Table 1: SNMP Plug-In Configuration File Field Descriptions
Field | Description |
|---|---|
SNMP_OID | The OID of SNMP MIB you want to monitor. |
SNMP_MIB_KEYS | The metrics in this MIB are metrics that you want to monitor. The key needs to match the key received from the SNMP command. |
PLUGIN_TYPE | There are three types of SNMP plug-ins: snmp_network_device—Refers to tabular MIBs which define multiple related object
instances grouped in MIB tables. For example, ifTable defined the metrics for a list of interfaces on this device.snmp_device_info—Refers to singular MIBs which define a single object instance.
For example, 1.3.6.1.2.1.1.7 (OID for sysServices). You can specify
by OID and name it.snmp_device_attribute—Refers to the case where there is not a field to determine
the tag for each entry in tabular MIBs. Instead, the sample SNMP output
of these MIBs are metric_name .x.x.x.x = value
where x.x.x.x is the tag name. For instance,
OID 1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.42.1.1.8.1 (OID for CISCO-RTTMON-MIB) |
SNMP_TAG_KEY | This field is required for tabular (plugin_type=snmp_network_device) MIBs to determine the tag for each entry of the SNMP output. This field is not needed for singular (plugin_type=device_info) MIBs . |
AGGREGATE_ID | Must be set to “ |
PLUGIN_PREFIX | (Optional) This field is the prefix of the metrics shown in
the AppFormix Dashboard. For example, for OID |
CalculationMethod | Prior to release 2.16, this field was called CalculationType. This denotes how AppFormix calculates this metric (rate/value). |
ENTITY_TYPE | A list of strings that indicates what this MIBs data represents. If it reports interface data, ENTITY_TYPE=['interface']. |
Configure Custom SNMP Plug-Ins in AppFormix
After you create the configuration file for your custom SNMP
plug-in, the next step is to post your plug-in to AppFormix. Copy
your configuration file to your AppFormix Ansible directory and include
the plug-in descriptor in the appformix_custom_snmp_plugins variable in group_vars/all. This variable
must be initialized at the time of the AppFormix Platform installation.
Save the configuration file as sample_snmp_config.py in your installation directory.
appformix_custom_snmp_plugins:
- { config_file_name: 'sample_snmp_config.py' }
Then AppFormix will take your configuration file, generate the plug-in configuration JSON file and install this plug-in to AppFormix during the AppFormix Platform installation.
Install MIBs in AppFormix Network Agents from Ansible
When adding or enabling a new plug-in in AppFormix, you need to install the corresponding MIBs in your AppFormix Network Agents. The AppFormix Ansible script helps you install the MIBs in both AppFormix Controller nodes and AppFormix Network Agents.
Set the following variable in group_vars/all:
installer_mib_location: 'snmp_mibs/*'
Add the needed MIB files (.txt) in a folder and AppFormix will
install all the MIBs from that folder in your AppFormix Controller
nodes and AppFormix Network Agents by copying those MIB files to the
location set in the platform_mib_location variable. You can change this variable in group_vars/all. The default value is /usr/share/snmp/mibs/.