Nagios config -- not xml?

[Carroll, Jim P [Contractor]]

Interesting.  Very interesting, actually.

I'm not sure if I'm jumping too far ahead of myself, but I'd like to learn
more.

If this sort of a config approach (edit XML, use XSLT to create current
format) is something which can be easily added into Nagios today, then
perhaps a HOWTO which can be added to the FAQ over on www.nagios.org would
be of value to others of us out there...?  Maybe a tarball of sample files
which could be downloaded...?  It might help to postpone adding Yet Another
Wish List Item to the list of things that Ethan already has on his plate.

What tool do you use for editing the XML file?  vi?

BTW, I'm not all that familiar with XSLT; Google was nominally helpful, but
if you have some specifics you could share with us....

jc

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ian Stokes-Rees [mailto:i.stokes-rees1 at physics.ox.ac.uk]
> Sent: Monday, January 27, 2003 4:34 AM
> To: 'Kurt Werle'; 'nagios-users at lists.sourceforge.net'
> Subject: RE: [Nagios-users] Nagios config -- not xml?
> 
> 
> Very interesting that this XML debate has come up.  I spent 
> several days
> last week re-writing some of my core Nagios config files in 
> XML then using
> XSLT to transform them into the current Nagios format.
> 
> What does XML buy you?
> 
> 1. Ability to write a schema to check that you have your 
> syntax correct.
> (OK, pre-flight check _probably_ does most of this already, 
> but I'm sure an
> XML schema with a schema validating parser would be MUCH easier)
> 
> 2. Single, standard, format, rather than current split format 
> (i.e. some
> files are flat VARIABLE_NAME VALUE format, and some are pseudo object
> definitions with "define NAME {...}".
> 
> 3. Much simpler layout to avoid massive cross-referencing 
> which _does_ do
> your head in (this was the reason I started re-writing my 
> configs in XML).
> 
> 4. Collapse 5 different config files into 1 (OK, maybe 2 if 
> you want to keep
> CGI or Resource separate).  Currently there is:
> 
> 	i) Main nagios.cfg file
> 	ii) resource.cfg file
> 	iii) hosts.cfg file (object definitions -- probably pointing to
> cfg_file and cfg_dir meaning lots of others files are used as well)
> 	iv) cgi.cfg
> 	v) extended config file.
> 
> 5. Make use of network definitions for other monitoring or maintenance
> applications.
> 
> Below, you can see an example of my new "hosts" file which 
> describes nodes
> in the network I am monitoring.  XML provides a tree 
> structure, but can be
> "enhanced" to graphs by using cross references.   Trees are a perfect
> starting point for allowing the XML itself to represent the 
> basic network
> topology.  Furthermore, if I want a new service, I just add <service
> type="SERVICE-NAME" /> to the particular node and, voila, 
> that node now has
> that service defined for it.  All the details about the IP 
> address or node
> name are "in context" from the XML, and the "generic" service 
> template is
> used.  If I want a custom service definition for that node, instead of
> having <service type="..."/> I would have
> 
> <service name="CUSTOM-SERVICE">
> 	<!-- Service definition details go in here -->
> </service>
> 
> Anyway, it seems like there are interested parties in making 
> this happen --
> I certainly do not feel that the current configuration system 
> is scalable to
> extremely large systems (hundreds nodes) quickly and easily.
> 
> Here is a taste of my XML:
> 
>     <node name="nagios" group="true">
>         <contactgroup>admins</contactgroup>
>         <node name="particle-physics-oxford" group="true">
>             <node name="clusters">
>                 <node name="edg-testbed" group="true">
>                     <node   name="tbce01" type="linux">
>                         <alias>Computing Element 01</alias>
>                         <address>163.1.243.105</address>
>                         <service type="ping" />
>                         <node   name="tbwn01" type="linux">
>                             <alias>Worker Node 01</alias>
>                             <address>163.1.243.155</address>
>                             <service type="ping" />
>                         </node>
>                     </node>
>                     <node   name="tbse01" type="linux">
>                         <alias>Storage Element 01</alias>
>                         <address>163.1.244.55</address>
>                         <service type="ping" />
>                     </node>
> 
> -- 
> Ian Stokes-Rees                     i.stokes-rees at physics.ox.ac.uk
> Particle Physics, Oxford            
http://www-pnp.physics.ox.ac.uk/~stokes/

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kurt Werle [mailto:kurt at twoface.shiftmanager.net] 
> Sent: 24 January 2003 20:09
> To: nagios-users at lists.sourceforge.net
> Subject: [Nagios-users] Nagios config -- not xml?
> 
> 
> I've recently installed nagios and really like it.  That 
> said, configuring
> it is a royal pain.  I'm wondering why the config files are the
> traditional unix block style -- it seems like it would be 
> really nice to
> have it in xml.  This would make it much easier to write configuration
> tools.
> 
> Thanks for a great tool,
> Kurt
> ---
> kwerle at pobox.com
> http://www.pobox.com/~kwerle/
> Tired of spam? Control your Mailserver (or .forward)? 
http://tess.sf.net



-------------------------------------------------------
This SF.NET email is sponsored by:
SourceForge Enterprise Edition + IBM + LinuxWorld = Something 2 See!
http://www.vasoftware.com
_______________________________________________
Nagios-users mailing list
Nagios-users at lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/nagios-users


-------------------------------------------------------
This SF.NET email is sponsored by:
SourceForge Enterprise Edition + IBM + LinuxWorld = Something 2 See!
http://www.vasoftware.com
_______________________________________________
Nagios-users mailing list
Nagios-users at lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/nagios-users


-------------------------------------------------------
This SF.NET email is sponsored by:
SourceForge Enterprise Edition + IBM + LinuxWorld = Something 2 See!
http://www.vasoftware.com