[Nagiosplug-help] Trouble installing plugins - not templatedperhaps?

[Karl DeBisschop]

On Tue, 2003-09-02 at 22:03, Peter Kiem wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> > What was wrong with the initial Nagios file ? I've set up 3 nagios servers
> > using these packages without any need to convert anything. Did you need
> > something from the nagios-plugins commands.cfg ?
> 
> Packages I have installed:
> nagios-1.1-3.dag.rh73
> nagios-plugins-1.3.1-2.dag.rh73

In the past, I've built binary RPMs for RH73 (both nagios and the
plgins), but I don't have a 7.3 box that I can build on anymore. Several
of these are not issues in those RPMs, which are just straight builds
from the specs in CVS. Maybe it would help if we made a better effort to
get volunteers who could build for rh73 and rh80.

Dag, no offense, but why build your own spec? I have not yet compared
your spec with CVS in sufficient detail, but I assume you've put some
thought into it. Have we spoken? Have you brought the things you see as
shortcomings to the attention of the developers so your improvements can
be incorporated into the main code base?

Since you clearly have access to a RedHat 7.3 machine, couldn't you
engage with the devlopers to improve the spec in CVS and still also
provide the service of testing releases on the the various releases and
maikng those builds available? 

> OK the problems are as I see it:
> 1. After installing the plugins package you still need to change the
> nagios.cfg file to tell it where the plugins are.  It would be far better
> if after installing the plugins package it copied the command.cfg into
> /etc/nagios and changed your nagios.cfg file to load that file.

Not true with RPM built with spec from nagios.org

> 2. The /usr/share/doc/nagios-plugins-1.3.1/command.cfg file from the
> plugins package is the old non-template format and nagios from the package
> above complained about syntax errors in the command.cfg file and refused
> to run.

checkcommands.cfg does not share this problem (at least as built with
spec from nagios.org)

> 3. I had to run convertcfg on the
> /usr/share/doc/nagios-plugins-1.3.1/command.cfg file to convert it to the
> template format and then remove the duplicate entries between command.cfg
> and misccommands.cfg for the notify methods.

checkcommands.cfg does not share this problem (at least as built with
spec from nagios.org)

> > Apart from the fact that I think the default Nagios files are badly
> > structured (and the config-files are far from obvious), they do work with
> > only a minimum of customization.

> I had to do a LOT of customisation to get this to run under Red Hat 7.3
> Although I understand Nagios is not for the novice users, these problems
> with the plugins proved quite challenging to get it running!

I submit that nagios and the plugins will be more advanced by working
from the RPMs that are maintained by Ethan and by the nagios plugins
development group.

Just my $0.02.

--
Karl