License Usage/Failover Clarification Needed

[mp4783]

We are running the fully licensed Nagios XI Enterprise version for a large number of Nagios XI servers. I read that the license allows the software to be installed on a production, backup, and testing server. However, in other posts I have read that it can only be "running" on one of these three servers at a time.
I have worked extensively on a utility to backup our production server automatically and ship the backup file to the backup server where it can be quickly restored in the even the production server fails. However, I noticed that it restores the PostgreSQL database containing information specific to the production server.

I have the following questions:

- Can Nagios XI be running on the backup, but not monitoring anything other than itself and the production Nagios XI server?

- How can we use the test server and still remain in production?

- If we need to do on-going development work, which cannot be done on the production server, must we have a separate license for the development server, which is functioning also as the "test" server?

- Is it appropriate to restore a backup of the production server on the backup server in a disaster recovery?

[jdalrymple]

mp4783,

For specific details on the licensing I recommend contacting [email protected] directly. The support forums can offer some insight, but don't consider our knowledge authoritative, it's not.

We're vague with our licensing parameters for a reason. There is implied expectation that you won't exploit the good nature of the licensing terms. How you choose to architect your DR and test environment is up to you, not us, and as long as you aren't actively exploiting the 2nd or 3rd instance to do what one might consider "production monitoring" we won't find you in violation of the terms of the licensing agreement.

So the support forum (non-authoritative) answer your questions - respectively:

- Yes

- If it's "testing" it's testing. We recognize that often testing involves full-fledge monitoring. The expectation is that you're using the test environment to model potential configurations for your production environment we won't find you in violation of the license agreement.

- I would discuss this one with sales. Generally we don't make distinctions between test and demo, but we understand that many environments do. I can't answer this, but sales certainly can.

[mp4783]

Thank you very much. You're explanation is consistent with what I received from the project manager in touch with the sales team.

Our intent is always to never have more than one of the three hosts performing any useful "production" monitoring with the small caveat that we would like the DR Nagios XI server to watch the Production Nagios server (effectively monitoring only itself and the one external server). We would consider this configuration necessary as the production server cannot monitor and/or respond to an event on itself if it is down. The DR server would never have more than two hosts.

[lmiltchev]

As long as you are only using one install for production monitoring, you are within the boundaries of our licensing policy.

Our intent is always to never have more than one of the three hosts performing any useful "production" monitoring with the small caveat that we would like the DR Nagios XI server to watch the Production Nagios server (effectively monitoring only itself and the one external server

You can use the "free" version of Nagios XI (Limited edition without support) for monitoring up to 7 hosts. Run the "Nagios XI Server Monitoring Wizard" against your Nagios XI server to monitor it.