How to Monitor a Server with Enhanced IPMI sensor
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check_ipmi_sensor is no longer packaged with OP5 Monitor 9. Look into check_monitor_hardware_ipmi instead.
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check_ipmi_sensor is on level 5 support on OP5 Monitor 8 (ITRS does not test this plugin continuously)
IPMI is a standardized computer system interface used by system administrators to manage a computer system and monitor its operation. Through IPMI, several hardware sensors are made available for monitoring.
Plugin check_ipmi_sensor Copied
The check_ipmi_sensor plugin is an Open Source plugin which basically is a wrapper around a tool called FreeIPMI (see below). You can read more about FreeIPMI at the creator, Thomas Krenn’s German webpage.
Plugin details Copied
The plugin supports IPMI v1.5 and IPMI v2.0. It can check IPMI sensors locally or via ‘Serial over LAN’ connection. In order for remote monitoring to be possible, the target (monitored system) needs to be configured to accept remote connections. The exact configuration procedure is hardware (motherboard/Bios) dependent.
Prerequisites Copied
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Latest plugin package, or the package monitor-plugin-check_ipmi:
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# yum install monitor-plugin-check_ipmi
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Install the FreeIPMI package on the op5 monitor server:
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# yum install freeipmi
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Enable and configure IPMI as described below.
How to Enable IPMI Monitoring Copied
The following is an example on how-to enable IPMI. Please note that it can differ based on your hardware.
On Dell PowerEdge servers (1950 and R410 at least) the following steps are needed to enable ‘Serial over LAN’.
- On Boot, press Ctrl-E when prompted.
- Set IPMI Enabled
- Set a static IP address and gateway.
- Set a username and a password.
- Reboot
Note: these steps are unnecessary on the OP5 Monitor server, only on the systems we want to monitor.
Sensor groups that can be monitored Copied
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TEMPERATURE
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VOLTAGE
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CURRENT
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FAN
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PHYSICAL_SECURITY
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PLATFORM_SECURITY_VIOLATION_ATTEMPT
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PROCESSOR
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POWER_SUPPLY
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POWER_UNIT
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MEMORY
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DRIVE_SLOT
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SYSTEM_FIRMWARE_PROGRESS EVENT_LOGGING_DISABLED
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SYSTEM_EVENT
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CRITICAL_INTERRUPT
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MODULE_BOARD
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SLOT_CONNECTOR
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WATCHDOG2
Note: the availability of the sensor groups varies depending on the system configuration.
Check Commands Copied
If the check-commands do not exist in your configuration, do a “Check Command Import” via: (‘Configure’ -> ‘Commands’ -> ‘Check Command Import -> check_ipmi_sensor’).
Some check command examples follow:
| command_name | command_line |
| check_ipmi_sensor_memory | $USER1$/check_ipmi_sensor -H $HOSTADDRESS$ -U $ARG1$ -P $ARG2$ -L user -O “-c /opt/monitor/var/ipmi” -b -T MEMORY |
| check_ipmi_sensor_fan | $USER1$/check_ipmi_sensor -H $HOSTADDRESS$ -U $ARG1$ -P $ARG2$ -L user -O “-c /opt/monitor/var/ipmi” -b -T FAN |
| check_ipmi_sensor_power_supply | $USER1$/check_ipmi_sensor -H $HOSTADDRESS$ -U $ARG1$ -P $ARG2$ -L user -O “-c /opt/monitor/var/ipmi” -b -T POWER_SUPPLY |
| check_ipmi_sensor_power_unit | $USER1$/check_ipmi_sensor -H $HOSTADDRESS$ -U $ARG1$ -P $ARG2$ -L user -O “-c /opt/monitor/var/ipmi” -b -T POWER_UNIT |
| check_ipmi_sensor_driver_slot | $USER1$/check_ipmi_sensor -H $HOSTADDRESS$ -U $ARG1$ -P $ARG2$ -L user -O “-c /opt/monitor/var/ipmi” -b -T DRIVE_SLOT |
Adding the services Copied
Below are some examples of services you can add.
Add the required services, (‘Configure’ -> ‘Host: ’ -> ‘Go’ -> ‘Services for host ’ -> ‘Add new service’ -> ‘Go’):
Arguments are just examples; you need to adjust them to suit your environment.
| service_description | check_command | check_command_args | Note |
| ipmi_sensor_memory | check_ipmi_sensor_memory | root!password | * |
| ipmi_sensor_fan | check_ipmi_sensor_fan | root!password | * |
| ipmi_sensor_power_supply | check_ipmi_sensor_power_supply | root!password | * |
| ipmi_sensor_power_unit | check_ipmi_sensor_power_unit | root!password | * |
| ipmi_sensor_driver_slot | check_ipmi_sensor_driver_slot | root!password | * |
Note*: You can instead add arguments (ARGs) USER11(root) and USER12(password) to the file /opt/monitor/etc/resource.cfg. Don’t forget to reload the Monitor service.