SNMP and MIBs

Question

Hello all,   Recently we just implemented our first batch of Dell PowerEdge servers. Now that they've been in production for a few months we want to monitor them via our monitoring package WhatsUp Professional.   I see we could use Dell OpenManage but would rather keep all monitoring in our single package.   I assume there are SNMP agents I can install on each of our servers and import the MIBs into WhatsUp. I am just wondering where to begin or which CD has what I need?   I am already monitoring simple Windows stuff via SNMP (CPU usage, disk usage, etc) but would like to monitor when a drive fails in an array, CPU temp, etc, etc.   Thank you,   Denny

jokes54321 · Answer

I found them. I didn't realize they were in with the other downloads for the server.   Is there a help sheet anywhere that defines what each OID's references (Fan1, Fan2, Array1, Array2)?   Denny

tobe_ · Answer

i have the same problem. :-/

jokes54321 · Answer

The program I am using (WhatsUp Pro 2006) has a couple of different SNMP Viewers. One of them (SNMP Viewer) actually drills down into the tree and shows the actual values of each OID.

The other one (SNMP MIB Browser) drills down the tree and displays the description of each OID. It's the best I've found for descriptions.

I was able to find the items for the server I wanted to monitor but am still having problems finding the array info I want. I see I can look at the status for each individual disk but would rather see the overal status of the array and investigate it farther when the array shows a problem.

I'm still pretty new to SNMP so I'm not sure what other tools are out there, but I'm sure there are a ton of free ones that will allow you to drill down and view the descriptions of the MIBS.

Denny

jokes54321 · Answer

I think it depends on your servers. On our PowerEdge 1850 and 2850 servers we can see the temps for the various components. On our PowerEdge SC1420 I haven't been able to find a compatible OpenManage application.   Go to the Dell Downloads site for your server (as if you were going to download a driver) and you will see a section for System Management.   Download Dell OpenManage and install it on the server. I believe the EXE is call OMI-50-MN-WIN_A00.exe. On the desktop you should now see an Icon for for Server Administrator.   Now that the Agents are running on the servers you have a few options. I downloaded the Dell MIBs from the same page I mentioned above and imported them into WhatsUp Pro 2006. You will need to import the MIBs into whatever program you are using following the directions for that program.   After that you should be able to point your SNMP/MIB Viewer to the server and drilldown to the Dell OID.   The section you should look in is   iso.org.dod.internet.private.enterprises.dell.server3.baseboardGroup.thermalGroup     I haven't done this but I believe you can download (from the same section mentioned above) the Dell OpenManage Systems Management Consoles so you can look your servers over remotely using Dell's software.

qqreite · Answer

try http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/software/svradmin/1.8.3/SNMP/SNMP.pdf this might help you out

gandalf_gray · Answer

Hello,   I too am interested only in remotely monitoring MIBs and receiving traps on a Power Edge.  What software did you end up using from Dell?   Thanks, Bob

gandalf_gray · Answer

Great info!  Thanks.   What Dell agent software did you install on the PE2950's?  Do you still have the URL?   Thanks, Bob

jokes54321 · Answer

The software I use is WhatsUp Pro 2006 by IP Switch. It's a fairly inexpensive product but has it's share of issues. It has the capabilities to send an email,  text message or page for critical events.  I don't always get those pages for whatever reasons, but it works the majority of the time. It has native WMI support, so you could use Dell Open Manage to log server events in the Windows event log and WhatsUp can monitor for those events. Another way, which is the route I took, is you can download the MIB from the Dell Server downloads and import them into WhatsUp, then WhatsUp can poll the SMTP service every xx seconds. Rather than having the server send traps, I just poll the SMTP service every 60 seconds to look at key components.   I heard about another one called Cacti ( www.cacti.net) that seems to have some pretty nice graphs. I have never tried this one so I don't know what type of notifications it can support.   Denny Message Edited by jokes54321 on 09-18-2006 02:04 PM

jokes54321 · Answer

Here is the link.   http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/devices.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&SystemID=PWE_2950&os=WNET&osl=EN#   Look under the Systems Management section.   At a minimum you will need the Dell Open Manage software installed. Then you will need the Dell MIBs to import into whatever SMTP package you plan on using.

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SNMP and MIBs

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