MoSSHe

MoSSHe (MOnitoring with SSH Environment) is a simple, lightweight (both in size and system requirements) server monitoring package designed for secure and in-depth monitoring of a handful of typical/critical internet systems. For example in a current setup I do 264 checks on 29 servers - on average 9 checks for each system. MoSSHe supports email alerts out of the box - and whatever you can script.

The web interface to status and logs reflects this approach: less than 10 systems are ideal for the "big" (showall) web display, less then 50 for the problem-centric (tactical) view. More than 100 systems should easily be possible, but I have not tested such an extended setup.

In contrast to many other NMS (Network Management Systems) it is not possible to "overload" a MoSSHe system - the minimum checkup intervals will simply extend with each added system, though. For the setup mentioned above the time needed for 264 checks on 29 servers is 100 seconds. But for your setup it may vary significantly.

Via the web interface you can view the overall status (tactical.py), server status and service history, but you cannot modify anything - which makes it quite safe for even non-admin multiuser use...

Requirements:

for MoSSHe-server:

- SSH (client) with DSA key authentication support
- Unix Shell (tested with BASH)
- standard Unix text tools (fgrep, cut, head, mail, ...)
- "netcat" networking tool

for additional checks (only if performed):

- "dig" for DNS check
- "free" memory display for memory check
- "lpq" BSD(compatible) printing for printing check
- "smbclient" for samba check
- "snmp" networking tools (especiall "snmpget") for SNMP check
- "mbmon" for motherboard checks (CPU temp, fan speed)
- /proc/mdstat for Linux SoftRAID monitoring

for web interface:

- webserver supporting CGI scripting
- Python interpreter

for each monitored server/system

- SSH (server) with DSA key authentication support
- Unix Shell (tested with BASH)
- standard Unix text tools (fgrep, cut, head, mail, ...)

What is new in this release:

• feature: added monthly NetworkBandwidth check: GB/month
• feature: added HDCheckGB - like HDCheck but in GB
• feature: added HDparmState - check whether a disc is spun down
• feature: added ImportServerInfo
• bugfix: corrected server info placement (not just the central host)

What is new in version 13.5.14:

• no longer uses (nor needs) GNUplot
• no longer uses (nor needs) GNUplot
• changed some server-relations (i.e. which server the tested
• function is listed under)
• bugfix: missing SERVER headline in group entry
• bugfix: CheckVserverUp/Down now listed under vserver name instead of host server name
• bugfix: ReapPassive now listed under reaped name instead of host server name
• bugfix: changed HTML section identification to be independent of time
• feature: added VSERVER load check
• feature: graph generation on client side using HTML5-canvas (also fixes broken AVG graph generation) (also is less CPU-intense on the server)

What is new in version 12.8.20:

• change in template to automaticall configure %WWWDIR%
• bugfix: copy-paste error in MailQueue check
• bugfix: wrong CUT parameter in ReapPassiveChecks
• bugfix: more stable memory check
• bugfix: HTTPcontentmatch with WGET instead of NC more stable when encountering web applications
• feature: template automatically configures %WWWDIR%
• feature: added VServer-related checks

What is new in version 11.6.27:

• HardwareTemp and HardwareFan will be deprecated in one of the next versions - use HardwareSensor instead
• CreateDataFiles was removed as unused
• bugfix SAMBAcheck (removed CRON chatter, corrected server name)
• improved lock message & internal logging to find lockups
• fixed typo, extended example mosshe script
• fixed typo in ImportAgents
• added generic hardware sensor check
• added IPv6 pings: Ping6Partner, Ping6Loss, Ping6Time
• added average graphing/plotting

What is new in version 11.5.10:

• David Soergel
• bug report: forgotten gnuplot template
• Volker Tanger
• added automatic reload / refresh (5 minutes) to template
• added SwapCheck - page swaps per second
• added ImportAgentWget
• corrected/added NC parameters in functions.network
• bugfix SSHcheck
• bugfix HardwareTemp
• bugfix ImportAgent (linewrap)
• bugfix SyslogOnChange (missed group change)
• bugfix table header in template

What is new in version 11.2.23:

• added function CreateDataFiles, creating basis for RRDB-alike data
• added function PlotDataFiles, which creates & plots RRDB/MRTG
• alike data & graphs using gnuplot

What is new in version 10.12.19:

• bugfix: removed unneccessary ping from ReapPassiveChecks
• added FileTooOld check
• added FileTooBig check

What is new in version 10.12.16:

• found typo in SSHcheck function definition
• found typo in mosshe main script Volker Tanger
• removed CentralizeLog due to security concerns
• added ReapPassiveChecks for incoming/passive monitoring (experimental, please help debugging)

What is new in version 10.12.6:

• added ARPing, idea by Thomas Bullinger http://consult.btoy1.net
• small bugfix in server listing (when same server is in differnt groups)
• added a quick-setup-script "create_mosshe.sh" which scans the network given and creates a basic monitoring
• added SSH check
• added TCPing for generic TCP services