So here goes...we will be purchasing Nagios XI in the next couple weeks. We currently are running Nagios core version 3.0.6, I know we are pretty behind. This is running on a single physical box and has worked well. The reason for moving to Nagios XI was to make the transition to VM, we thought about P2Ving the physical box but got approval to purchase XI, and also to share out the administration roles of adding new hosts to be monitored. Today, we have one primary person who adds, removes, and configures everything within Nagios Core. Having the web UI to do this will allow even the Windows admins to perform this task.
We had a few discussions on the best way to implement Nagios XI and I was looking for some best practice advice. There is an active project to segment our network for non-production hosts and production hosts. A few of the "soon to be admins" thought it would be best to standup a nonprod Nagios XI instance and a prod Nagios XI instance. We would also use another instance for our DR site. Since a subscription allows you to run 3 instances that was the initial thought. Each instance would monitor the other two Nagios XI instances. For example, the nonproduction Nagios XI would monitor the production and DR Nagios XI instances. Does that make sense? Would it be better to have one primary instance to monitor everything despite the network segmentation and the DR instance? I am thinking it may create an administration nightmare but I also see the reasoning and possible value.
I was also adding all the people who would be adding hosts or needing to view any Nagios dashboards but still had a few questions there as well. I manually added some users and we will be using the AD plugin. I just want them to have the ability to add new hosts, acknowledge notifications, etc but not have the ability to change anything within the Nagios XI internal workings. So I made them a User for the Authorization level and checked everything except, Can see/control monitoring engine, Can access advanced features, and Has read-only access. Will that give them the ability to monitor new hosts? Is there any way to leverage AD groups? Trying to avoid manually creating the 513 contacts we currently have in the Core instance. I'll have several users that I'll need to add and trying to figure out a more efficient method to manage. I will also have Developers who will need to be included so they can acknowledge the alerts they will be sent but I don't want them to be able to add anything extra to the current monitoring structure. I would want them to come to us to include any additional checks of services or processes. Is that possible? If users just need to be able to login to the Nagios XI web interface and see their hosts and recieve notifications the read-only access is all that is needed, correct?
I inherited our Nagios Core and by know means an expert. Is there a way to get a high level overview of the systems and what is being monitored and who is getting notified on the checks within Nagios Core? This would be helpful when migrating to Nagios XI. I am trying to figure out how to clean up, add better monitoring, and migrate everything to the new Nagios XI system. Any been there done that advice? Things to watch out for? What is the going rate for professional services? I doubt that will be an option for me but maybe if the cost is reasonable enough it may be worth it. I have close to about 25 Nagios XI guides printed out to figure out how to make this implementation/migration smooth and efficient so all the higher powers that be will be completely happy. Not to mention providing more checks for application related stuff. Today a lot is just the server monitoring of disks, memory, etc and not a lot on application services, database connections, etc. Another thought I had was just import everything and then start adding the additional checks to machines later on, once everything was running on the Nagios XI instance and if we just tossed everything on 1 Nagios XI instance minus the DR stuff. Is the import from Nagios Core to XI pretty painless? Anyone encounter any issues or gotchas? Is it possible to move a host from one Nagios XI instance to another relatively easy? So, if I did just migrate everything from our current Nagios Core into a fresh Nagios XI install I would be able to export the DR machines to the DR Nagios XI instance later on. Also, if we did go to a nonproduction and production instance I could export the machines and checks and all the other good stuff out and into a different Nagios XI instance.
I was trying to track down a Nagios XI book to help get a better understanding of all this but what I found was for the Core version. I noticed there are some training materials that come along after you make the purchase but wasn't sure how in depth it would be or if it would answer my questions.
Appreciate any advice and answers.
