Custom SNMP Monitoring

Cisco, Aruba, HP, Fortinet—no matter what your device vendor is, Site24x7 can monitor any device and any attribute of that device. All you need is support for SNMP, and you can fully customize your monitoring. 

Here is a video that demonstrates performance counters:

When is custom SNMP monitoring useful?

• If you'd like to monitor a device that Site24x7 hasn't added a device template for, you can create a custom device template. 
• If you wish to monitor a parameter that isn't offered by default, like the power consumption in the past hour in kilowatt-hours for an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), you can create a custom performance counter. 
• If you want to monitor exhaustive values of an attribute like the temperature of a Cisco device (including the temperatures of left and right inlets, outlets, fan,  and more of a Cisco device), we offer support for tabular performance counters, which monitor your tabular object identifiers (OIDs).

What are custom performance counters?

Custom performance counters are used to track special attributes that the user would like to monitor in addition to the basic performance metrics provided.

More on custom performance counters

You can also perform relevant mathematical operations using OIDs to monitor the values of your choice as custom performance counters.

For example, if you want to monitor the memory utilization percentage of a Cisco router, the value can be obtained from the mathematical expression (A*100)/(A+B), where:

• A = .1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.48.1.1.1.5.1 (this indicates the number of bytes from the memory pool that are currently in use by applications on the managed device).
• B = .1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.48.1.1.1.6.1 (this indicates the number of bytes from the memory pool that are currently unused on the managed device for the processor).

The final expression will look like this:
(.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.48.1.1.1.5.1*100)/(.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.48.1.1.1.5.1+.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.48.1.1.1.6.1)

What are custom device templates?

Custom device templates are templates created by users when they edit one of the over 10,000 default device templates or when they add new templates.  

What are the requisites for custom SNMP monitoring?

Your devices are expected to have basic SNMP support so you can customize your monitoring. You'll need the SNMP OIDs or system object identifiers (sysOIDs) to monitor new attributes using custom performance counters. You can find these sysOIDs from the MIB browser.

Adding custom device templates

If no preset template describes your device accurately, you can create a custom one that fits the device.

1. Navigate to Network > Device Templates.
2. On the Device Templates screen, click Add Device Template, located in the top-right corner, and enter the following details as shown in Figure 1.
   
   Figure 1. Adding a device template.
3. Device Template: Provide a name to identify the template.
4. Share this template globally with other Site24x7 users: Select Yes if you wish to share your custom template with Site24x7 users.
5. Vendor: Select a vendor from the drop-down menu or add one by clicking +.
6. Category: Select the category to which the device belongs.
   • You can also add a new custom category by clicking +. In this case, you will have to add a Parent Category first, and then the Category will be a subtype of the parent.
   The device will be classified based on the Category or the Parent Category. For instance, if you select Desktop, Server, or Domain Controller in the Category or the Parent Category, the device will be categorized as an agentless server. If you select another option, the device will be categorized as a network device.
7. Device Identifier: Enter the sysOID.
   • You can also click Fetch from device beside the field to fetch the details from the device. To do so, provide the device information as shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3.
     
     Figure 2. Fetching the device identifier by providing the monitor name.
     
     Figure 3. Fetching the device identifier by providing the IP address.
8. Performance Counters: Add or import performance counters.
   • Add Custom Performance Counters: To add custom performance counters, click the Add Custom Performance Countersbutton.
     1. In the MIB BROWSER section, select GENERIC MIBS or CUSTOM MIBS.
        • GENERIC MIBS: These management information bases (MIBs) are available by default in Site24x7. Select the Vendor and the MIB from the drop-down menus (Fig. 4).
          
          Figure 4. Selecting generic MIBs.
        • CUSTOM MIBS: You can upload MIBs from your system and use them to add custom performance counters.
          • On-Premise Poller: Selecting an On-Premise Poller will list all the MIBs inside the folder Poller-home/NetworkPlus/mibs. Select the On-Premise Poller that stores the MIB files you have uploaded. If you select Recently Viewed, all the recently used MIBs will be shown.
          • MIB: Select an already uploaded MIB from the drop-down menu.
            If you click Upload MIB, select files and upload them from your computer on the Upload MIB screen (Fig. 5). Also, select the On-Premise Poller that has to store the MIB files.
            
            Figure 5. Uploading MIBs on the Upload MIB screen.
            If you click Delete MIB, you can select a MIB file that you wish to delete and click Delete.
     2. The performance counters can be SCALAR, TABULAR, or in TABLE VIEW(you can view them as a table).
        1. SCALAR: Any SNMP OID that returns a single (or scalar) value will be monitored as a scalar performance counter. Add scalar performance counters by entering the values for the SNMP OID, Name, Description, Unit, Functional Expression, Type, Save Absolute, and Format Value fields. You can enter them manually or use the built-in MIB browser.
        2. TABULAR: Any SNMP OID that returns a list of values that belong to the same column of a table will be monitored as a tabular performance counter. Add tabular performance counters by entering the values for the SNMP OID, Name, Description, Unit, Functional Expression, Type, Save Absolute, and Format Valuefields. You can enter them manually or use the built-in MIB browser.
           • Selecting a table on the MIB allows you to create a table view that includes all the corresponding tabular performance counters. Select Yes for the Show in Monitor Summary Page field if you wish to show the performance counters on the monitor summary page.
           • Unit: Enter the unit of the performance counter to be displayed on the alerts.
           • Functional Expression: Select an option from the drop-down menu to convert the performance counter value to the appropriate metric—for example, Celsius to Fahrenheit (Fig. 6).
             
             Figure 6. Selecting an option for Functional Expression.
           • Type: If the value fetched by the SNMP OID is numeric, then select Numeric for the Type. Otherwise, select String. Please use the Test button (as explained in the "Import Performance Counters" subsection of this help doc) to verify the type of value returned (Fig. 7).
             
             Figure 7. Adding tabular performance counters.
           • Save Absolute: This option is available for scalar and tabular performance counters and is useful for OIDs that are like counters for a specific metric. If you select No, this will fetch the value as the difference between the last two polls. To fetch the value from all the data procured, select Yes.
        3. TABLE VIEW: A table view displays selected performance counters as a table. Provide a name and select the tabular performance counters to be displayed as individual columns in a table. You can also select a table directly from the MIB and view it here.
           A table can contain a maximum of nine columns. The rest of the selected counters will be added as individual tables.
        • Column of the Table View to be displayed in the Alert: Select a column name to include in the alerts generated so that you will clearly see which tabular performance counter in the table generated the alert.
        • For example, consider a table view with two tabular performance counters (columns): Sensor Failures and Sensor Description. If you select the Sensor Description column, your alert will say, "Sensor Failures-.3 for (Power Supply 2 Sensor) exceeds 5 units."
        • Show in Monitor Summary Page: Select Yes if you want the performance counter to be displayed on the monitor summary page.
     3. Click Add. Then click Save.
   • Import Performance Counters: You can also import the performance counters available in other device templates by clicking the Import Performance Counters button.
     1. Select the performance counter you want to import from Generic, Custom, or Global templates on the Import Performance Counters screen. Then click Import. You can now see the performance counter has been added to the device template.
     2. To verify that the performance counter can fetch data for your device, click the pencil icon  beside it.
     3. Click Test beside the SNMP OID field on the Edit Custom Performance Counter screen.
     4. On the Test Performance Counter screen, select an option in the Test usingfield.
        • If you select Monitor Name(Fig. 8):
          • Select an option for Monitor Name from the drop-down menu.
          • Select the credential in the Credential Name field.
          • Verify the SNMP OID and the Type of the performance counter.
          • Click Test.
            
            Figure 8. Testing a performance counter with the monitor name.
        • If you select IP address(Fig. 9):
          • Enter the value in the IP address field.
          • Select the correct On-Premise Poller.
          • Select the credential in the Credential Name field.
          • Verify the SNMP OID and the Type of the performance counter.
          • Click Test.
            
            Figure 9. Testing a performance counter with the IP address.
9. Table Views: View consolidated tables of the tabular performance counters you added while adding custom performance counters. You can create an all-new table view from here if you have not created one yet.
10. Custom Monitor Metrics: You can configure monitor-level metrics for your device type by providing a custom performance counter. Click Configure Custom Monitor Metrics. On the Custom Monitor Metrics screen, select the custom metrics for the performance counters of CPU Utilization, Memory Utilization, Manufacturer, Serial Number, Model Name, and System Uptime (hours) from the drop-down menus (Fig. 10). You can also click the Test button for each to see if the right value is fetched before adding it.
    
    Figure 10. Configuring custom monitor metrics.
    CPU Utilization and Memory Utilization can only be numeric values, while the rest can be either numeric or a string.
11. Show in Monitor Summary Page: If you selected this on the Add Custom Performance Counters screen, you can view the performance counters that will be displayed on the monitor summary page. If needed, you can also add more to your desired performance counters and tables.
12. Click Save to save the custom template. Click Save and Associate to associate the template with a set of network devices.
    You can also create custom device templates by editing default templates.

Adding custom performance counters

You can add custom performance counters while adding a device template or by editing a device template . 

You can also do this by navigating to the device's dashboard. To do this:

1. Navigate to Network > Network Devices.
2. Click the name of the device.
3. Go to the Performance Counters tab.
4. Click Add Performance Counters.
5. In the Add Performance Counters pop-up, click Add Custom Performance Counters in the bottom-right corner.
6. This will direct you to the Edit Device Template screen. You can add your custom performance counters here by providing details for the following fields as shown in Figure 11.
   
   Figure 11. Editing a device template.
   1. Category: Select the category to which the device belongs.
      • You can also add a new custom category by clicking +. In this case, you will have to add a Parent Category first, and then the Categorywill be a subtype of the parent.
        The device will be classified based on the Category or the Parent Category. For instance, if you select Desktop, Server, or Domain Controller in the Category or the Parent Category, the device will be categorized as an agentless server. If you select another option, the device will be categorized as a network device.
   2. Device Identifier: Enter the sysOID.
      • You can also click Fetch from device beside the field to fetch the details from the device. To do so, provide the device information as shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3.
   3. Custom Monitor Metrics: You can configure monitor-level metrics for your device type by providing a custom performance counter. Click Configure Custom Monitor Metrics. On the Custom Monitor Metrics screen, select the custom metrics for the performance counters of CPU Utilization, Memory Utilization, Manufacturer, Serial Number, Model Name, and System Uptime (hours) from the drop-down menus (Fig. 10). You can also click the Test button for each to see if the right value is fetched before adding it.
      
      CPU Utilization and Memory Utilization can only be numeric values, while the rest can be either numeric or a string.
   4. Show in Monitor Summary Page: If you select the performance counters here, you'll be able to view them on the monitor summary page. If needed, you can also add more to your desired performance counters and tables.
   5. Add Custom Performance Counters: The performance counters can be SCALAR, TABULAR, or in TABLE VIEW (you can view them as a table).
   6. Import Performance Counters: You can also import performance counters available in other device templates by clicking the Import Performance Counters button.
7. Click Save to save your changes. Click Save and Associate if you wish to associate this device template containing new performance counters with a set of network devices.

Testing custom performance counters

You can test the custom performance counters you've added to fetch their latest values. To do this:

1. Go to Network > Network Devices.
2. Click the name of the device.
3. Go to the Performance Counters tab (Fig 12).
   
   Figure 12. Testing performance counters.
4. Click Test on the custom performance counter you've added.
5. The test result will be displayed in the pop-up (Fig 13).
   
   Figure 13. Finding the value of a performance counter. 

Configuring thresholds for network attributes

You can configure thresholds to receive alerts on violation of threshold conditions. You can do this at the device level, interface level, and performance counter level.