ID: 5535
Title: Check_MK hosts can now use multiple agents
Component: Core & setup
Level: 2
Class: New feature
Version: 1.5.0i2
It is now possible to configure multiple Check_MK agents for a single host.
With this change, you can now configure e.g. a ESX VCenter to use the ESX special agent
together with the regular Check_MK agent installed on the monitored host.
All existing hosts remain using their existing configuration after an update. Also
new hosts only use a single Check_MK agent using the already existing logic where
a) The Check_MK agent was contacted via TCP or b) a configured data source program
(special agent or other program invocation) was used.
The new feature can be enabled by changing the host attribute (on hosts or folders)
"Check_MK Agent" to e.g. "Contact Check_MK agent and all datasource
programs". This
will make Check_MK use all data sources matching on this host instead of just picking
the first matching one. There is also an alternative option "Use all enabled
datasources"
available which can be used to execute only the data sources matching the host.
On the way to this change we have changed server previously existing things:
<ul>
<li>The host tag group <tt>agent</tt> has been split into multiple tag
groups to be
more flexible.</li>
<li>The tag group <tt>ping</tt> and <tt>snmp</tt> have been
added and provide the options
which were previously available in the single <tt>agent</tt>
attribute.</li>
<li>All these tag groups are treated as <i>builtin</i> tag groups
defined by Check_MK
(can not be modified anymore).</li>
<li>Existing configurations of hosts/folders will be translated seamlessly into the
new
format.</li>
<li>During updates your site will only apply the changes above in case you have an
unmodified
<tt>agent</tt> tag group. In case you have modified it in any way, these
changes will not
be applied and you won't be able to use the changes introduced with this werk. You
will then
have to clean up your local changes. Once you delete your local tag group
"agent", the
builtin one will be used automatically.</li>
<li>The <i>Edit host</i> dialog has split up into more independent
sections, the new ones
are <i>Address</i> and <i>Data sources</i> to better visualize the
relation of the different
attributes.</li>
</ul>
<i>Please note:</i> In case you are using the Web-API calls to create or
modify hosts or folders
while setting attributes we changed with this change, you may have to change your API
calls.