This tip has been adapted from Wouter ‘netdata’ D’Haeseleer’s post on Zenoss-Users:
http://community.zenoss.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=23030

Download this file and put it in $ZENHOME/bin
http://www.zenoss.com/Members/netdata/tracepath.py

or if your Zenoss server has direct access to the internet you could do this:
wget http://www.zenoss.com/Members/netdata/tracepath.py -O $ZENHOME/bin/tracepath.py
or
curl -O http://www.zenoss.com/Members/netdata/tracepath.py -o $ZENHOME/bin/tracepath.py

Set the permissions:
chmod +x tracepath.py

You can now run it against any device you want to see if Zenoss is able to build layer 3 dependencies for.

tracepath.py swiss11
Getting path from zenoss0101 to swiss11...
zenoss -> VGB-DC01-SW01 -> VG_Turnhout -> pbru223.controlnet.equant.net -> pkt47.controlnet.equant.net -> CHEL-ZO01-SW01 -> swiss11

This reveals the path from the Zenoss server to the device passed in.

When Zenoss is unable to trace the path it will throw an error:

tracepath.py pkt1401
Getting path from zenoss0101 to pkt1401...
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/opt/zenoss/bin/tracepath.py", line 30, in ?
    path = source.os.traceRoute(destination, [])
  File "/opt/zenoss/Products/ZenModel/OperatingSystem.py", line 121, in traceRoute
    return nextdev.traceRoute(target, ippath)
  File "/opt/zenoss/Products/ZenModel/Device.py", line 507, in traceRoute
    return self.os.traceRoute(target, ippath)
  File "/opt/zenoss/Products/ZenModel/OperatingSystem.py", line 121, in traceRoute
    return nextdev.traceRoute(target, ippath)
  File "/opt/zenoss/Products/ZenModel/Device.py", line 507, in traceRoute
    return self.os.traceRoute(target, ippath)
  File "/opt/zenoss/Products/ZenModel/OperatingSystem.py", line 121, in traceRoute
    return nextdev.traceRoute(target, ippath)
  File "/opt/zenoss/Products/ZenModel/Device.py", line 507, in traceRoute
    return self.os.traceRoute(target, ippath)
  File "/opt/zenoss/Products/ZenModel/OperatingSystem.py", line 122, in traceRoute
    raise TraceRouteGap("unable to trace to %s, gap at %s" % (target.id,
Products.ZenModel.Exceptions.TraceRouteGap: unable to trace to pkt1401, gap at pbr213.controlnet.equant.net

Zenoss throws an error that there is a gap at pbr213.controlnet.equant.net. This means the Zenoss server is unable to see the routes that will lead to pkt1401.

When you use this script without a correct device it will lead to this:

tracepath.py foobar
Getting path from zenoss0101 to foobar...
Invalid destination.

The results are in and it’s time to announce the winners of the Zenoss Submit a ZenPack Contest. There were a whole lot of exceptional entries over the past few weeks. We had a tremendous response and there were 25 entries, more than doubling the number of Zenoss Community ZenPacks available for download.

The winners have been chosen and they are Zenoss Community members Andrea Consadori and Fabio Paracchini.

SQL Server 2000/2005 Performance ZenPack http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/sql-server-performance

Contributed by Community member Fabio Paracchini, this ZenPack is for monitoring SQL Server Performance and works with SQL 2000 and SQL 2005. Highlights include graph the most significant counters for SQL Server:

• Cache Hit Ratio
• Transactions per second
• Locks requests per second
• Lock wait time
• Full table scans per second

Asterisk Monitoring ZenPack http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/asterisk

Submitted by Community member Andrea ‘konsa79′ Consadori, this ZenPack is for monitoring Asterisk server and VOIP statistics via the Asterisk Monitoring Interface. It can be used for multiple Asterisk instances, and is under active use and improvement.

For a complete list of all the entries from the contest:
http://blog.zenoss.com/2008/08/20/the-submit-a-zenpack-contest-entries/
For a list of all the available ZenPacks, check out the ZenPacks site: http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/

A great big thanks to Fabio, Andrea and all the other contributors!

Tags: Asterisk, Community, sqlserver, Zenoss, Zenoss Software, Zenpacks

The Zenoss Submit a ZenPack Contest has concluded and first off, we would like to thank all the generous contributors to the contest! We had a tremendous response rate, more than doubling the number of Community ZenPacks that were available before the contest. There were a lot of really great entries, we’ll be announcing the winners shortly.

Here is a quick rundown of all the entries:

NEW ZenPacks:
• AIX monitoring:
  temporarily unavailable
• ASSP Anti-Spam Monitor:
  http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/assp-antispam
• Asterisk Monitoring:
  http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/asterisk
• BlueCoat Appliances:
  http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/bluecoat
• Brocade Switches Graphing:
  http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/brocade-switches
• Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance:
  http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/cisco-asa
• Cisco Interfaces: temporarily unavailable
• Colubris Wireless monitoring:
  http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/colubris
• Cyclades Console Servers:
  http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/cyclades-console-servers
• EMC Celerra NAS:
  http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/celerra
• Improved Linux monitoring:
  temporarily unavailable
• MIB Browser:
  http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/mib-browser
• MRV Wireless monitoring:
  http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/mrv
• Nagios Check Ping:
  http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/nagios-check-ping
• OpenLayers Map Portlet:
  http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/open-layers-map
• PostgreSQL monitoring:
  http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/postgresql
• Powerware UPS monitoring:
  http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/powerware-ups
• Raytalk monitoring:
  http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/raytalk
• SQL Server 2000/2005 Performance monitoring:
  http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/sql-server-performance
• Show Graph Portlet:
  http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/graph-portlet
• WMI Files Monitoring:
  http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/wmifilesmonitor

UPDATED ZenPacks:
• Alvarion WiFi monitoring:
  http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/alvarion
• Funkwerk router monitoring:
  http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/funkwerk
• Netasq firewall monitoring:
  http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/netasq
• NetApp Volume monitoring:
  http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/netappvolume

For a complete list of all the Community ZenPacks that are available, please visit:

http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/

Thanks again to everyone who contributed their ZenPacks to the Zenoss Community!

Tags: Asus Eee, contest, network monitoring, Zenpack

The Zenoss Submit a ZenPack Contest is in its last week and we have gotten a tremendous Community response. We have had a total of 18 entries so far, and time is running out to get your entries in to win an Asus Eee PC laptop. Here are the last 5 entries since the last update.

NetApp Volume ZenPack
http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/netappvolume
Updated by Community member Eric Becker, this is a refresh to Nathaniel McCallum’s NetApp Volume ZenPack with improvements to scalability and large volumes.

Show Graph Portlet ZenPack
http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/graph-portlet
Submitted by Community member Anton Menshutin, this ZenPack adds a portlet called “Show Graph” which enables users to show any graph/multi graph reports on their dashboard. Several columns (as defined in report options) are supported.

Cisco Interfaces ZenPack
http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/cisco-interfaces
Community member Chris Krough has submitted this Cisco Interfaces ZenPack.
* Adds Products/CiscoInterfaces/modeler/plugins/CiscoInterfaceMap.py which recognizes the interface types for these templates
* On interfaces types which have a graph defined, most of the graph commands will be pulled from the Custom Graph Definition.

Cyclades Console Servers ZenPack
http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/cyclades-console-servers
Submitted by Community member Colin ‘chudler’ Hudler, this ZenPack is for Cyclades Console servers. It has been tested against Alterpath Cyclades (Avocent) ACS48 Devices, but should work against any Cyclades ACSxx device.

Powerware UPS Monitoring ZenPack
http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/powerware-ups
Provided by Community member Alexander Vorobiyov, this ZenPack provides voltages stats, load, ambient temperature, battery capacity and more for Powerware UPS products. UPS status is found through the the SNMP oids.

For this and other ZenPacks, check out the ZenPacks site:
http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/

Thanks Eric, Anton, Chris, Colin and Alexander!

Tags: cisco, Community, cyclades, monitoring, netapp, powerware, Zenoss, Zenpack

Zenoss developers will be available for questions on Tuesday, August 14 at 11am EST in the #zenoss IRC channel on irc.freenode.net (port 6667). Please drop in and bring your questions, answers, suggestions and feedback. See you there!

We’ll log the session and repost them here if you can’t make it.

Don’t forget you can search for answers to common questions by visiting the Zenoss forums.

UPDATE:
Here’s last Thursday’s IRC log
http://www.zenoss.com/community/discuss/irc/archives/dev-chat-08-14-2008
other logs are available here:
http://www.zenoss.com/community/discuss/irc

Tags: Community, development, irc, Zenoss

Halfway through the Submit a ZenPack Contest and the floodgates have opened up. We have had 10 more entries since the the first ZenPack Contest update. Keep sending Zenoss your ZenPacks for a chance to win an Asus Eee PC laptop.

Brocade Switches graphing ZenPack
http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/brocade-switches
Submitted by Community member Vaibhav Narula. It provides a large number of graphs for Brocade switches, the PDF on the page has examples.

Andrea ‘konsa79′ Consadori’s ZenPacks
Andrea gets his own section, he submitted 3 new and 3 updated ZenPacks, bring his total to 7 entries to the contest so far.
Updated
Alvarion WiFi monitoring: http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/alvarion
Funkwerk router monitoring: http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/funkwerk
Netasq firewall monitoring: http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/netasq
New
Colubris wireless monitoring: http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/colubris
MRV wireless monitoring: http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/mrv
Raytalk monitoring: http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/raytalk

EMC Celerra NAS ZenPack
http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/celerra
Community member Randy Schneiderman has submitted this ZenPack that can be used to monitor EMC’s Celerra filesystem created through the EMC Celerra Network Server instead of the default OS filesystems.

SQL Server 2000/2005 Performance ZenPack
http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/sql-server-performance
Submitted by Community member Fabio Paracchini, this ZenPack is for monitoring SQL Server Performance and works and was tested with SQL 2000 and SQL 2005

BlueCoat Appliances ZenPack
http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/bluecoat
Community member Wouter ‘netdata‘ D’Haeseleer has submitted his ZenPack that monitors BlueCoat Proxy SG and AntiVirus appliances.

For this and other ZenPacks, check out the ZenPacks site: http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/

Thanks Vaibhav, Andrea, Randy, Fabio and Wouter!

Tags: alvarion, Asus Eee, bluecoat, brocade, celerra, colubris, Community, contest, emc, firewall, funkwerk, mibs, monitoring, mrv, nas, netasq, network monitoring, proxy, raytalk, router, snmp, sqlserver, switches, wifi, wireless, Zenoss, Zenpacks

We are very pleased to announce that the latest stable release of Zenoss, version 2.2.3 is now available for download. The Zenoss team has been hard at work nailing down defects (80+ closed!) and 2.2.3 should be one of our finest releases yet. While this is primarily a maintenance release, a lot of work has gone into testing and improving upgrades and installations.

2.2.3 Release Notes

Tickets closed for 2.2.3

Tags: release, Zenoss, zenoss core

Just two weeks in and we’ve already got 4 great entries with more ZenPacks in the queue. Keep sending Zenoss your ZenPacks for a chance to win an Asus Eee PC laptop. Read up on the Submit a ZenPack Contest here: (http://blog.zenoss.com/2008/06/29/submit-a-zenpack-win-fabulous-prizes/)

ASSP Anti-Spam monitor ZenPack
(http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/assp-antispam), submitted by Community member Andrea ‘konsa79′ Consadori. With this ZenPack you can monitor your ASSP antispam information:
* SMTP Connection Accepted and Rejected
* Messages Passed and Rejected
* Message statistic (SPF Failure, RBL Failure)

MIB Browser ZenPack
(http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/mib-browser), submitted by Community member Kells ‘kpg123′ Kearney. This ZenPack is a graphical MIB navigator and OID browser with extended MIB functionality:
* Download and Install MIBs remotely
* MIB Navigator
* SNMP testing
* and much more

OpenLayers Map portlet ZenPack
(http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/open-layers-map), submitted by Community member Nikolai Georgiev. The OpenLayers Map portlet adds a new portlet to Zenoss Dashboard, similar to Google Maps portlet. It’s useful for locations with poor Google Maps coverage. You must use latitude and longitude in the address fields to get it to map.
OpenLayers Map portlet ZenPack on SourceForge

Improved Linux monitoring ZenPack
(http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/improved-linux-monitoring), submitted by Community member Randy Smith. The ImprovedLinux monitoring ZenPack provides more information for Linux hosts that take advantage of the mibs provided by net-snmpd.

For this and other ZenPacks, check out the ZenPacks site (http://www.zenoss.com/community/projects/zenpacks/).

Thanks Andrea, Kells, Nikolai and Randy!

Tags: antispam, assp, Asus Eee, community openlayers, contest, linux, mibs, monitoring, network monitoring, snmp, Zenoss, Zenpacks

Does the way that Zenoss chooses what templates to apply have you confused?

Explanation of Template Binding

Zenoss applies templates in many different and therefore confusing ways. The following is an explanation of the different ways templates get bound and hopefully a logically explanation of why it is done. It is important to remember that the name of each template is very important and is case sensitive.

Device Templates

Device templates are applied to devices, and only once per device. Device templates get bound to devices according to a single rule, what the zDeviceTemplates property contains. For most device classes within the system this is set to “Device”. For a hypothetical /Server/Linux/MySQL device class the zDeviceTemplates property would likely contain Device and MySQL so that normal CPU & Memory information would be collected using the Device template and MySQL specific metrics using the MySQL template.

Common device templates:

• Device
• MySQL, Apache
• Active Directory, MSExchangeIS, MSSQLServer, IIS

Component Templates

Component templates are a bit more mysterious than device templates. The biggest difference in how they’re applied is that they can be applied many times per device depending on how many components the device contains that match the template. Another big difference is that there are no zProperties that control which template is applied. They follow more rigid rules.

Common component templates:

• FileSystem, HardDisk, IpService, OSProcess, WinService
• Fan, PowerSupply, TemperatureSensor
• LTMVirtualServer, VPNTunnel

These component templates are named EXACTLY according to the name of the underlying class that represents the component. This is the case for all component templates except for what you might expect to be called IpInterface. As you might have already noticed, there is no template called IpInterface.

Interface Templates

Templates get applied to network interfaces using a special kind of binding. Instead of using the name of the underlying class, Zenoss will look for a template that has the same name as the “type” of the interface. You can find this type by clicking into the details for any network interface from the OS tab of its containing device.

If a template matching the name of the interface’s type can’t be found, the “ethernetCsmacd” template will be used as the fallback. Most interfaces you’ll find are this type.

Conclusion

Hopefully this helps you better understand how templates are bound to devices and components.

Tags: Bindings, Templates, Zenoss

There have been a lot of new submissions of Community ZenPacks to coincide with the recent Zenoss 2.2 Release. We’ve seen recent ZenPacks for a variety of things like Alvarion Wifi access points, Cisco IPSLA, Juniper Netscreens and Microsoft Routing and Remote Access. In the Zenoss forums there are a wide variety of ZenPacks being discussed and tested, but we wanted to really kickstart the process. So we’re announcing a “Submit a ZenPack Contest” with not 1, but 2 great prizes!

What is the Submit a ZenPack Contest?

Community contributed ZenPacks have typically consisted of new monitoring solutions, but did you know that ZenPacks can do even more than that? We’re looking for as many useful submissions as possible, monitoring something not yet covered, improvements to existing ZenPacks or extending Zenoss to provide new functionality. It doesn’t have to be overly complex, but don’t let that stop you from going wild. You can also submit detailed instructions on using Community ZenPacks if the existing documentation is not up to snuff. There are a lot of ZenPacks that are being tested or have yet to been submitted to Zenoss for hosting, so this contest is your chance to show off your chops and possibly win a great prize.

The Rules:

1. Contributed ZenPacks should be Zenoss 2.2-style .eggs.
2. So that we would be able to potentially include the ZenPack in a future release of Zenoss, please consider filling out our contribution form. If you’ve previously filled it out, you do not need to do so again.
3. Send an email to community@zenoss.com with the title “Submit a ZenPack Contest” with your name, the attached ZenPack and any instructions or descriptions you would like to include.
4. Submissions for the Zenoss Submit a ZenPack Contest are open until August 15th at which time we will draw randomly from all entries.
5. Multiple entries are allowed and encouraged. You will get one entry for each tip submitted.
6. Special Bonus: If you have a blog and you post your Zenoss ZenPack with a link back to the ZenPacks page we will enter your tip in the drawing twice (Please be sure to include the comment in your email submission and include the trackback link for this post in your blog entry).
7. The contest will be open until August 15th at which time we will draw 1 entry randomly from all entries and the judges will select another. We will announce the winners shortly thereafter.
   • ZenPack Project Site
   • ZenPack Documentation
   • ZenPack FAQ
   • ZenPack Discussion Forum/Mailing list
   • Community Provided Custom ZenPack Rough Guide

Getting Started:

The Prizes:
We figured why just give 1 lucky winner an Asus Eee Ultra-Compact Linux Laptop when we can give away 2? So we will be selecting 1 winner at random and 1 by our judges from the submissions and giving them their choice of Galaxy Black or Pearl White Eee PC 2G Surf Linux Laptops.

Get the power of a full-sized laptop in the ultra-compact ASUS Eee PC 2G Surf, which offers a full QWERTY keyboard, 7-inch screen, and preinstalled Linux operating system. (This laptop is also compatible with the Microsoft Windows XP operating system.) You’ll be able to stay connected to email and the Internet easily thanks to the Wi-Fi LAN (802.11b/g), and communicate via video chat and VoIP with the Webcam integrated into the display’s bezel. Because it uses flash memory instead of a hard drive (with 2 GB of storage), the Eee PC is optimal for weathering rough handling and sharing space in overstuffed bags.

For the professional, the Eee PC comes with a powerful selection of software to maximize personal productivity–over 40 built-in applications. The Open Office suite of software enables the user to open, edit and create documents, presentations, spreadsheets and databases that are compatible with Microsoft Office. For journalists, photographers and other professionals who need to use a computer in the field to create, to communicate and to collaborate with other colleagues, the Eee PC’s combination of power, extreme portability and rugged build makes it the ideal computing solution.It’s also a great choice for young students, with a built-in Dictionary that’s great for homework, and it includes two modes of intuitive graphic user interface design to accommodate both experienced and inexperienced PC users. The Eee PC also handles your digital images, movies, and music as well as Internet radio.

Compact and highly portable at just 32 ounces, the Eee PC 2G Surf has a 7-inch wide color TFT LCD with an 800 x 480-pixel resolution (WXGA). Under the hood is a 800 MHz Intel Mobile CPU with integrated Intel graphics processor, 512 MB of RAM (not expandable), and 2 GB of solid-state flash memory. With the dependable solid-state disk, you get unparalleled shock-protection and reliability. In addition to its wireless LAN, it also offers wired Fast Ethernet connectivity and a 56K modem. The Eee PC includes software for Web browsing (Firefox), email, OpenOffice 2.0 for creating and editing word processing documents and spreadsheets, and a suite of other productivity software to help keep you on track.

You get three USB 2.0 ports, a VGA output for connecting to external monitors, headphone and microphone jacks, and a Secure Digital (SD) memory card slot. The Eee PC measures 8.9 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches, and it weighs 32 ounces. The 4-cell, 5200 mAh battery provides up to 3.5 hours of battery life.

Tags: Asus Eee, contest, network monitoring, Zenpack