need expert advice/suggestions

[MAHESH, SIDDACHETTY M (SIDDACHETTY M)]

Hi list,

   I am trying out Nagios v3. I followed the documentation and it was easy getting the system up and running. 

   Now that the base system is working as expected, I am trying to improve the configuration to avoid duplication of information using templates and clean up the configuration. So, I would like your feedback/suggestions on my approach.

   Let me explain the scenario. I have multiple hosts that can run a combination of applications. Each application can have one or more services associated with it. 

My idea is as follows:
1. Each application is mapped to a service group template (APP_xyz_SVC_GRP. The services in that application are associated with that application service group.

define servicegroup {
        servicegroup_name               APP_xyz_SVC_GRP
        register                        0
}

define service {
        name                            SSH
        use                             generic-service
        servicegroups                   APP_xyz_SVC_GRP
        service_description             SSH
        check_command                   check_ssh
        register                        0
}

These application level templates do not change often.


2. Each host has a service group associated with it that is based on the actual applications installed on that host. The host.cfg for that host looks like

	define host {
        use linux-server
        host_name HOST_abc
        address 10.10.10.10
        hostgroups HOSTGROUP_123
}

	define servicegroup {
        servicegroup_name       HOST_abc_SVCS
        servicegroup_members  APP_xyz_SVC_GRP, APP_aaa_SVC_GRP, APP_bbb_SVC_GRP
	}


The list of hosts and applications are dynamic and can change over time. 

1. The first problem I see is that the host.cfg requires the actual service definition - I cannot use the template service SSH directly. So, for each application service, I need to add the following lines to my host.cfg

define service {
        use             SSH
        host_name       HOST_abc
        servicegroups   HOST_abc_SVCS
}

    Is there a solution that can avoid the above service redefinition?
	
2. servicegroup definition does not include a host_name or similar directive - that would have simplified adding all services in the servicegroup to a host. Is there a way to achieve this - this will resolve problem #1 above. Basically auto-instantiate (or register) the template services in a group with associated host.


Note that both the hosts and applications running on the hosts are dynamic. The applications are fixed - they are part of a limited set. The eventual end goal is to auto-generate the nagios configuration. For this, I need the basic building blocks in place.

In case someone has encountered this problem before and has a better solution/design, please let me know.

Thanks,
Mahesh


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