Centreon Enterprise Server

Documentation
Release 2.2

Merethis

April 02, 2014

Contents

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Contents:

Contents

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CHAPTER 1

Installation

1.1 CES
1.1.1 Centreon Server Partitioning
The purpose of this section is to describe the ideal partitioning recommended in order to get the optimal performances
for your Centreon monitoring platform.
The recommended partitions are:
/var/log: used to store all logs of your system. Its is recommended to use a significant disk space for this
partition. 15 Go seems to be a good size for this partition.
/var/lib: used to store MySQL tables and configuration files and also used by other applications. All data in
this partition can be very large because it contains all performance data from Centreon. Please consider to use
as much space as possible.
/: used for all remaining data on a server of this type. It is not likely to evolve rapidly over time. As for the
/var/log, 15 Go seems to be a good size for this partition.
Swap: used to expand the memory used by the OS. It is usually set to twice the size of the RAM.
To summarize:
/var/log
/var/lib
swap

Container of different applications logs

Container of different application files
Systems of files
Extension of physical memory

15 Go
As large as possible
15 Go
2*RAM

1.1.2 Centreon Installation procedure

Prerequisites
In order to install Centreon, its necessary to have a server that can be formatted. If so, you can insert your CES CD in
the drive and configure your server BIOS to boot on the CD.
INSTALLATION:
Follow the different steps to complete the Centreon installation successfully.

Step 1: Choose Installation type

The first step is to choose the installation type on the following screen.

Depending on your installation and your needs, type the following options:
poller for Centreon poller installation (poller only) ;
central for Centreon central installation (central server + database) ;
By default (enter key), the central option will be used.
Step 2: Language and keyboard choices.

Select your language and press enter key to validate.

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Select your keyboard type and press enter key to validate.

Step 3: Disks partitioning.

A message alerts you that the partitioning process is starting. Validate by clicking yes.

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Now the setup process will ask you how you would like to organize disk partitions. Please refer to the information
previously presented about the partitioning in paragraph of this document.
Step 4: Configure Geographical Zone

Please select your location. The location you select will have an influence on your timezone.

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Step 5: Root password configuration

Set the root user password and confirm it.

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Step 6: RPM packages installation.

The setup process check all needed dependencies and the installation of all packages will proceed. It may take a few
minutes for the installation to be completed.

Step 7: Restart The system

The setup process is now finished. Click on the Reboot button to restart the system.

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Once restarted, the Text Mode Setup Utility will be launched. Go to chapter Network configuration to setup the
network configuration.
Network configuration
Network interface configuration

The default network configuration is DHCP; it is recommended to define a static IP to Centreon server. To configure
network, type the following command in a terminal as root user:
# setup

The following screen appears after first reboot of the server or when using the setup command line. Select Network
configuration, using up and down keys on your keyboard and press enter to validate.

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Select Edit Devices, press enter.

Depending on your hardware specification, one or more network interfaces should be listed on screen, select your
network card and press enter key.

Enter the network settings of the interface and validate with OK button.
Use DHCP: enable DHCP (press space key to uncheck box) ;
Static IP: interface static IP ;
Netmask ;
Default gateway IP.

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Once you reached the Select A Device screen, you can configure other network interface or validate all your changes
with the Save Button using the tab key.

Select Save & Quit button with tab key and press enter.

To exit from the configuration utility, select the Quit button with tab key and press enter .

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Name Server and DNS configuration

To configure DNS on the server, type the following command in a terminal as root user:
# setup

Select Network configuration, using up and down keys on your keyboard and press enter to validate.

Select Edit DNS Configuration, press enter to validate.

Enter the DNS settings of the interface and validate with OK button.
Host name is the name of the monitoring server ;
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 Primary DNS is the primary DNS ;

Secondary DNS is the secondary DNS ;
Tertiary DNS is the tertiary DNS ;
Search is the default domain name ;

Once your validate the DNS settings, go to Save&Quit button with tabulation key and press enter.

To exit from the configuration utility, select the Quit button with tab key and press enter.

Check your network configuration with the following commands:

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# ifconfig
# cat /etc/resolv.conf
# hostname

If the configuration is not correct, restart the network service:

# /etc/init.d/network restart

Time server

Edit the following file /etc/ntp.conf:

# vi /etc/ntp.conf

Insert the name(s) or address(es) of your time server in this file:

# undisciplined Local Clock. This is a fake driver intended for backup and when no outside source of
synchronized time is available
server 127.127.1.0
# local clock
fudge 127.127.1.0 stratum 10
server <TIMESERVERADDRE>
server <TIMESERVERADDRE>

Restart NTP service:

# /etc/init.d/ntpd restart

Check the server date:

# date

If the date is still not the good one, please update the time of your server with the date command. If you want more
information about date, please to date manual (man date).
Postinstallation
If you need to install some additional packages like DELL-OpenManage, please follow the next procedure.
Dell Open Manage

Dell Open Manage is a tool which gives you the possibility to monitor Dell Hardware information via SNMP MIBs.
In order to install DELL Open Manage, please connect yourself as root on the server and launch the following commands:
# wget -q -O - http://linux.dell.com/repo/hardware/latest/bootstrap.cgi | bash
# yum install -y srvadmin-all dell_ft_install

Before installing the RPM, the system will ask you validate the GPG key. Please type y if you agree to do that.

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1.1.3 Centreon central server configuration

Prerequisites
This section deals with the configuration of Centreon central server. Centreon central server have to be installed
properly following the chapter 5 instructions with installation type as central or default installation before doing
anything else.
INSTALLATION:
first connection and Centreon configuration

For information, HTTPS is disable by default in the Centreon configuration.

You can now access Centreon front-end with a web browser at the following address:
http://SERVER_IP_ADDRESS/centreon/

Login / password for first connection on Centreon front-end: admin/centreon

Once login successfully, Centreon Home page displays:

Navigate from the centreon front-end to:

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Configuration -> Monitoring Engines

On the right side, check the following options:

Generate Configuration Files
Run monitoring engine debug (-v)
Move Export Files
Click on the Export button.

Check the status of the process, it should be OK.

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Enter the following command in a terminal on the Centreon server as root user:
# /etc/init.d/cbd restart

Navigate from the centreon front-end to:

Configuration -> Monitoring Engines

On the right side, only check the following option:

Restart Monitoring Engines

Click on the Export button and check the status of the process.

Centreon server is now up and running !

Set centreon admin account password

For security reasons, Centreon admin account password needs to be changed after Centreon has been successfully
installed. Connect to Centreon front-end:
http://SERVER_IP_ADDRESS/centreon/

Default login / password on Centreon front-end: admin/centreon

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Click on Administration tab, click on Options sub-menu, then MyAccount button:

Set the new password, confirm it and validate with the Save button. The password for admin account is now updated.
Set root password for mysql

For security reasons, MySQL root password needs to be set after Centreon has been successfully installed.
Enter the following command in a terminal on the Centreon server as root user:
# mysqladmin -u root password your_new_*password*

update operating system packages

Notice: to be able to use yum utility, the centreon server need to have an Internet access.
To have an up-to-date operating system, you can update your packages, to do so, enter the following command in a
terminal on the Centreon server as root user:
# yum update

Yum will check for updates and asks if it is OK to download:

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Type y to validate the download.

Yum is downloading the packages:

Yum may ask you to import a GPG key several times, input y and press enter.

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Yum finally update the packages:

Wait until process is completed and enter the following command to restart operating system:
# shutdown -r now

The system is updated.

1.1.4 Centreon poller configuration

Prerequisites
This section deals with the configuration of Centreon poller. Centreon poller have to be installed properly following
the chapter Centreon Installation procedure instructions with installation type as poller before doing anything else.
configuration:
Step 1: Setting CENTREON user password on centreon poller

Enter the following command in a terminal on the Centreon server as root user to set centreon user account password:
# passwd centreon
Changing password for user centreon.
New UNIX password:
Retype new UNIX password:
passwd: all authentication tokens updated successfully.

Step 2: Setting up SSH authentication key on centreon central

Enter the following command in a terminal on the Centreon server, accept all defaults, do not enter any password:
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# su - centreon
# ssh-keygen
Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/var/spool/centreon/.ssh/id_rsa):
Created directory /var/spool/centreon/.ssh.
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Enter same passphrase again:
Your identification has been saved in /var/spool/centreon/.ssh/id_rsa.
Your public key has been saved in /var/spool/centreon/.ssh/id_rsa.pub.

Enter the following command to transfer the public key to the poller for the Centreon daemon owner (replace
{IP_ADDRESS} with the IP address of the poller), use password defined in step 1:
# ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub centreon@{IP_ADDRESS}

Step 3: ADD centreon poller to centreon central configuration

Connect to the centreon front-end and navigate to:

Configuration -> Centreon -> Pollers -> Add

Input the following options:

Satellite Name: centreon poller name
IP address: IP address of the poller
Leave the other options with defaults values and validate with save button.

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Navigate from the centreon front-end to:

Configuration -> Centreon -> Centreon-Broker -> Configuration -> Add with wizard

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Follow the different steps :

1. Enter a configuration name
2. Choose a poller
3. Enter the IP address or the fully qualified domain name of the central
4. Click on finish

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Navigate from the centreon front-end to:

Configuration -> Monitoring Engines -> main.cfg

On the right side, check the Centreon Engine CFG 1 line. Click on the More actions dropdown list and select
duplicate, then confirm the duplication by OK.

Click on the Centreon Engine CFG 1_1 to edit the settings.

Input the following options:
Configuration name: description of the configuration
Status: check box Enabled
Linked poller: select the instance name of the centreon poller
Leave the others options with defaults values and validate with save button.

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Step 4: Add an host to centreon poller to initiate it

In order for the poller to be fully operational, it must have at least one resource to monitor. In this chapter we add the
poller to monitor itself.
Connect to the centreon front-end and navigate to:
Configuration -> Hosts -> Add

Input the following options:

Host Name: name of the host to add (name of the centreon poller)
Alias: alias of the host
Monitored from: select the instance of the poller from where the host will be monitored
Add a template: select generic host
Create Services linked to the Template too: Yes

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Leave the other options with defaults values and validate with save button.

Now the new host should be displayed in the hosts list:

Navigate from the centreon front-end to:

Configuration -> Monitoring Engines

Check the following options:

Poller: All Pollers
Generate Configuration Files
Run monitoring engine debug
Move Export files
Restart Monitoring Engine - Method: Restart

Finally click on Export and check the status.

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The Centreon poller is now operational.

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CHAPTER 2

Upgrade

2.1 CES 2.2

2.1.1 Prerequisites
This new version of CES has its own repository. In order to upgrade from 2.0 to 2.2, you must update the repo files
used by your server(s).
To do so, just run the following command on each server as privileged user:
$ rpm -Uvh http://yum.centreon.com/standard/2.2/noarch/RPMS/ces-release-2.2-4.noarch.rpm

The repo file is now installed and new packages are ready to be installed.

2.1.2 Upgrade a central server

This part covers the upgrade procedure of a central server.
MySQL upgrade
CES 2.2 comes with MySQL 5.5. To upgrade from 5.0, run the following command:
$ yum install mysql

MySQL should has been restarted. Check the the /var/log/mysqld.log file to see if the following lines appear:
[ERROR] Native table XXX has the wrong structure
[ERROR] xxxx Please use mysql_upgrade to fix this error.

If you see them, run the following commands:

$ mysql_upgrade
$ mysqlcheck -A

You will find more information on MySQL website.

Upgrade with Centreon Engine
Run the commands:

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$ yum install centreon-base-config-centreon-engine centreon

$ yum update

Upgrade with Nagios

Run the commands:
$ yum install centreon-base-config-nagios centreon
$ yum update

After this upgrade, you can connect to Centreon to finish the upgrade. The steps of web upgrade are described here.

2.1.3 Upgrade a poller

This part covers the upgrade procedure of remote pollers.
Upgrade with Centreon Engine
Run the commands:
$ yum install centreon-poller-centreon-engine
$ yum update

Upgrade with Nagios

Run the commands:
$ yum install centreon-poller-nagios
$ yum update

Warning: If the snmptt package is installed, you must remove it and install the package centreon-snmptt.

Pollers basic configuration

Warning: The user for communication between a central server and a poller changed since version 2.4.0, it is
now centreon instead of nagios.
You must exchange ssh keys between the hosts.
If you do not have an SSH private key on the central for user centreon:
$ su - centreon
$ ssh-keygen -t rsa

Copy this key onto the poller:

$ ssh-copy-id centreon@your_poller_ip

Think to set a password to centreon user for each poller before sending key.

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2.1.4 FAQ
/etc/redhat-release conflict
If you encounter the following error while upgrading your CES installation:

file /etc/redhat-release from install of ces-release-2.2-2.noarch conflicts with file from package ce

Dont panic! You just need to manually remove the centos-release-5-8 package, then you should be able to
finish the upgrade:
$ rpm -e --nodeps centos-release-5-8.el5.centos.x86_64
$ yum update

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CHAPTER 3

Plugins packs

The plugins packs are a set of templates and plugins developed by Merethis. They offer a simplified and optimized
monitoring of your IT infrastructure. The pre-configured templates promote a quick and performant deployment.
This documentation explains how to use them.
Contents:

3.1 Prerequisites
3.1.1 Software prerequisites
In order to use the plugins packs, there are some software prerequisites to respect:
Centreon >= 2.4.4
Centreon Enterprise Server >= 2.2 (or RPM installed on RHEL >= 5, CentOS >= 5)
Centreon Clapi >= 1.5
Centreon Plugin Packs Manager >= 1.0

3.1.2 Repositories
Merethis provides RPM for its products through Centreon Entreprise Server (CES). Open source products are freely
available from our repository.
These packages have been successfully tested with CentOS 5 and RedHat 5.
Installation
This part presents the repository installation, it must be done on the central server.
Once you retrieved the RPM file from the Merethis support, run the following command:
$ yum install plugin-packs-1.0-1.noarch.rpm

The repository will be installed.

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3.1.3 Dependencies
Dependencies can now be installed on the central server. All dependencies will be guaranted by the repository.
Installation
The plugins packs need two modules to work properly: centreon-clapi and centreon-pp-manager. To
install them, run the following commands:
$ yum install centreon-clapi
$ yum install centreon-pp-manager

Once the RPM files are installed, you need to finish the modules setup through the web frontend. Go to Administration
> Modules and install the centreon-pp-manager module.

3.2 Installation
3.2.1 Search for available packages
Merethis provides several plugins packs. To list them, run the following command:
$ yum search|grep ces-pack

It will display all the plugins packs available for your platform.

3.2.2 Plugins pack installation

Only one command is required to install the plugins pack you want:
$ yum install ces-pack-$PLUGIN-PACK$

Where $PLUGIN-PACK$ is the name of the desired pack.

3.2.3 Plugins packs management

Managing the installed plugins packs can be done through the web interface. Go to Administration > Modules >
Plugin packs > Setup, you will the list of all the plugins packs installed on your server:

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Each plugins pack comes with a dedicated documentation. To consult one, click on the
to the desired plugin pack.

icon corresponding

3.3 Uninstallation
The plugins packs can be uninstalled through the management page. For each installed plugins pack, you will find a

icon located into the Actions column. Click one to uninstall the corresponding plugins pack.
A plugins pack which is used by at least one host cannot be uninstalled. In case you try to uninstall such a pack, the
following message will appear:

To unlock the situation, you can:

1. Delete the hosts linked to the host template provided by the pack
2. Or unlink the hosts linked to the host template provided by the pack
You will then be allowed to uninstall the plugins pack.
Finally, finish the operation by running the following command on your server:
$ yum erase ces-pack-$PLUGIN_PACK$

Where $PLUGIN-PACK$ is the name of the desired pack.

3.3. Uninstallation

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