Nagios Support Forum

you meant to say the way how we are getting the variable names for check_nt, We will not get for check_nrpe ??

Think of it this way:

PLUGINS

On the Nagios side, in /usr/local/nagios/libexec there are plugins that are needed to get data from the remote side side, you will see them as:

check_nt
check_nrpe
check_ncpa
check_snmp
etc...

Those are the plugins that communicate with remote agents/daemons/resources/services/etc in order for Nagios to alert/notify on the data.

PROTOCOLS/METHODS

check_nt - Windows Only

Required updating the remote agent software every time a new feature (variable from below) was wanted

check_nt was created to grab metrics from Windows NT systems, NSClient++ is the only check_nt agent I'm aware of.

check_nt has these BUILT-IN commands:
check_nrpe

check_nrpe has NO Built-in commands but allows plugins to run and return results (new features can be added by adding new plugins/scripts to be run on remote agent).

check_nrpe was created to grab metrics from all types of systems (that just means you can compile the NRPE agent on it and query it, that's a LOT of things and many different OSes/devices) through giving the ability to run remote plugins and return their results (this is the what made NRPE unique from check_nt).

NRPE should be thought of as an OS agnostic plugin-runner-AND-result-returner.

AGENTS

Here's the main list that we use:

NCPA
NRPE (the agent that you query)
NSClient++

NSClient++ - 3rd party software, we don't control the code and can't add features or resolve bugs, supports check_nt AND check_nrpe. and some other things based on it's configs.

See here for downloads/documentation:

https://www.nsclient.org/

NRPE - is the older agent for Unix/Linux (NSClient++ gives support for Windows) and is still used in many cases, it just allows plugins to be ran and the results returned. Pretty standard recommendation for Unix/Linux and NSClient++ for Windows.

See here for downloads/documentation:

https://exchange.nagios.org/directory/A ... or/details

NCPA - is our latest official cross platform agent (Windows/Linux/*nix), this is what we will be focusing on going forward, we wrote it and control the codebase (so we can update it and fix bugs). NCPA has built-in commands, and API, and has an API/web interface that is very helpful.

See here for downloads/documentation:

https://www.nagios.org/ncpa/

---

If you choose check_nt, you're limited to what is built into NSClient++(those variables from the top).
- This uses the check_nt plugin on the Nagios side

If you choose NRPE, you can use NSClient++ as the agent on Windows and the NRPE agent for Linux/*nix.
- Both still use the check_nrpe plugin on the Nagios side

I personally would choose NCPA going forward as it allows the most flexibility and Nagios controls the codebase (so we can add features/fix bugs) but you're free to choose any path you'd like as Nagios supports that flexibility. See here for the NCPA help docs:
- This uses check_ncpa on the Nagios side

https://www.nagios.org/ncpa/help.php

See here for our Check Library Articles:

https://support.nagios.com/kb/category.php?id=186

Let us know if you have questions or we can clarify anything for you.


Thank you!

Does ncpa agent will call remote windows scripts same as nrpe. I mean if i want to call windows custom scripts. we use the below command
./check_nrpe -H XXXX -t 90 -c Customscript.

Like above how we can call with ncpa could you please provide the command pls

This is what a check command may look like when running a custom script via the NCPA agent.
There is a plugins directory at C:\Program Files (x86)\Nagios\NCPA\plugins\. You can put your custom scripts in that directory, then use -M 'plugins/scriptname' to call the script, and -a to pass arguments to the script.