Dell Projector Monitoring on Nagios Core

[mkhan01]

Does anyone know of a way to step up monitoring for multiple projectors? I would like to use Nagios Core and add plug ins to be able to monitor approximately 100 projectors that are majority Dell 1610HD and Dell 1510X projectors. I would appreciate the help guys!

[tmcdonald]

What sort of things are you looking to monitor? Projectors are typically not linked up to a network, so unless there is some way to query over HDMI or something I can't think of a great way to easily get any useful info from them.

Edit: I see the Dell 1610HD has USB input, so there might be some software that interfaces with it. You would need to talk to their support for details on what could be monitored. If you can give us some information in that regard we can possibly come up with something.

[mkhan01]

The Dell 1610HD projector does have a ethernet port. So far I am using one projector to test out the possible monitoring capabilites, and it is connected to the network as per it having a static I.P. address. I am looking to monitor bulb life (just get to get a notification for when it is time to be changed) and also a way to be informed when the projector is disconnected from the network. There have been previous cases in which projectors have been stolen for the place I work at, so we are basically trying to prevent that.

Here's a link with the projector details and info if it helps:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/prod ... redirect=1

[tmcdonald]

I would see if you can get a user manual from Dell. It almost certainly has SNMP capability, so doing a snmpwalk against the device should yield some interesting info. See if you can get a MIB from Dell as well so you don't have to guess what each SNMP OID does.

[mkhan01]

I have used the user manual, and have found that Dell projectors do have a way to monitor their projectors for the things I am looking for. However, I was hoping Nagios could be set up because I am looking at 100 of them (once it may be set up). The only MIB i managed to find for Dell 1610HD was for a much older version of the projector. Here's the link:

http://www.snmplink.org/cgi-bin/nd/m/En ... r/5000.mib

Here is the link with the Dell Manual:

http://www.projectorcentral.com/pdf/pro ... l_5481.pdf

I am trying to set up projectors with Nagios, because that is what my boss is basically telling me to use. However, if there is no way with Nagios, please inform me. Thank You

[tmcdonald]

Setting it up in Nagios is not the hard part - finding out what to monitor in that mountain of SNMP results it.

In Nagios, you would use check_snmp: http://nagios-plugins.org/doc/man/check_snmp.html

Are you asking how to actually configure Nagios in a more broad sense?

[mkhan01]

Yeah I meant configure, wrong usage of words. I would like a way to configure Nagios to give me a notification of when the projector is disconnected from the network and a notification for when the bulb life is low or the bulb needs to be replaced. I forgot to mention also, that there are a couple of different projectors that aren't dell. So if possible, a generic way to configure Nagios to fit these needs would be good.

I would guess that nagios would have a Ping test, in which I would get a notification for when the projector cannot be pinged. I don't quite understand how to do it for bulb replacement notification (if possible).

[jolson]

mkhan01,

If a device has an IP address, it is capable of being monitored by Nagios in some fashion. One such method - as you've suggested - is a ping test. Assuming that your projectors have IP addresses, you are capable of monitoring them via a ping check. This should solve half of your problem.

As far as SNMP monitoring is concerned, it is up to the projector in question to present the proper information to Nagios. You will need to do an snmpwalk to figure out exactly what you can get from your projectors.

How far along are you in regards to setting Nagios up and getting these hosts monitored? Have you built the server yet, or are you looking to see if Nagios is capable before you set the Nagios server up?

[mkhan01]

I have a virtual machine on my server running Oracle Linux 7 which has the most Current Version of Nagios Core installed on it.

[jolson]

Great - I recommend that you look into our Object Configuration Overview guide. After understanding the different pieces that make Nagios work, you will define a few things.

1. Generate a host definition for the projector in question. This host definition will handle the 'ping' command.

2. Play with snmp/snmpget until you find the desired variables on your projector. After finding that variable, run the check_snmp script to check that variable and make sure it returns the information you'd like to see.

3. Generate a service using the above SNMP command as a guide. This service will make use of check_snmp as noted by tmcdonald.

I am sure you'll have questions - let us know how we can help you along the way. Thanks!