![[tokkee]](http://tokkee.org/images/avatar.png){kind=avatar}
index 370ac9971b3330da02e7b97fb698725d6af2a7ed..5ba948f1453fc162dc65d3f124e504a301c09397 100644 (file)
--- a/FAQ
+++ b/FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
**************************
-1. Q: Where can I find documentation for <insert name> plugin?
+Q: Where can I find documentation for <insert name> plugin?
- A: All plugins that comply with minimal development guideline for
- this project include internal documentation. The documentation
- can be read executing plugin with the '-h' option ('--help' if
- long options are enabled). If the '-h' option does not work, that
- is a bug.
+A: All plugins that comply with minimal development guideline for
+ this project include internal documentation. The documentation
+ can be read executing plugin with the -h or --help option. If
+ the '-h' option does not work, that is a bug.
-2. Q: What version of <insert name> plugin am I running?
- A: All plugins that comply with minimal development guideline for
- this project include detailed version information. When executed
- with the '-V' option, a version string will be printed:
+Q: What version of <insert name> plugin am I running?
- check_radius (nagios-plugins 1.3.0-alpha1) 1.11
+A: All plugins that comply with minimal development guideline for
+ this project include detailed version information. When executed
+ with the '-V' option, a version string will be printed:
- Note that this string include both the assigned package release
- name and the CVS-generated revision for the individual plugin.
- Authors should strictly adhere to this format. All bug reports
- and help requests should reference this information.
+ check_radius (nagios-plugins 1.3.0-alpha1) 1.11
-3. Q: What information do I need to include when asking for help or
- submitting a bug report?
+ Note that this string include both the assigned package release
+ name and the CVS-generated revision for the individual plugin.
+ Authors should strictly adhere to this format. All bug reports
+ and help requests should reference this information.
- A: At a minimum, the output from 'uname -a' and the version string
- from '<plugin_name> -V' and, of course, a description of the
- problem and any solution/patch.
-4. Q: I'm using Redhat Linux (or some other RPM-based distribution).
- Which packages should I install?
+Q: What information do I need to include when asking for help or
+ submitting a bug report?
- A: The package nagios-plugins-<version>.<arch>.rpm contains only
- those plugins that should work on any POSIX compliant system. In
- other words, you should be able to install this package on your
- system, no matter what else is or in not installed.
+A: At a minimum, the output from 'uname -a' and the version string
+ from '<plugin_name> -V' and, of course, a description of the
+ problem and any solution/patch.
- However, most of us have more complex systems than barebones
- POSIX. We tried creating a variety of separate packages so
- each dependency could be installed cleanly, but many people
- found that this resulted in too many packages. So in the end,
- all the non-POSIX plugins were folded into one RPM
- (nagios-plugins-<version>.<arch>.rpm). Most people will need to
- use RPM's '--nodeps' option to install this package.
-5. Q: My system uses the .deb package format. What packages should I
- install?
+Q: I'm using Redhat Linux (or some other RPM-based distribution).
+ Which packages should I install?
- A: We strive for cooperation between all packagers and developers.
- The answers for .deb are the same as for RPM, after changing the
- package name suffixes accordingly.
+A: The package nagios-plugins-<version>.<arch>.rpm contains only
+ those plugins that should work on any POSIX compliant system. In
+ other words, you should be able to install this package on your
+ system, no matter what else is or in not installed.
-6. Q: I prefer to build my own RPMs. Do I need to install all of the
- various dependencies?
+ However, most of us have more complex systems than barebones
+ POSIX. We tried creating a variety of separate packages so
+ each dependency could be installed cleanly, but many people
+ found that this resulted in too many packages. So in the end,
+ all the non-POSIX plugins were folded into one RPM
+ (nagios-plugins-<version>.<arch>.rpm). Most people will need to
+ use RPM's '--nodeps' option to install this package.
- A: Beginning with the 1.2.9-1 release, you may run
- rpm --define 'custom 1' -ta nagios-plugins-<release>.tar.gz
+Q: My system uses the .deb package format. What packages should I
+ install?
- In prior releases, you must unpack the tarball and build the
- RPM using nagios-custom.spec with 'rpm -ba'.
+A: We strive for cooperation between all packagers and developers.
+ The answers for .deb are the same as for RPM, after changing the
+ package name suffixes accordingly.
-7. Q: I get an error like
- Warning: Return code of 127 for check of service 'PING' on host 'anyhost' was out of bounds.
+Q: I prefer to build my own RPMs. Do I need to install all of the
+ various dependencies?
- when I run Nagios. (Often check_ping runs just fine on the
- command line).
+A: Beginning with the 1.2.9-1 release, you may run
- A: Commonly, system administrators will make security as tight as
- possible on the monitoring system. Sometimes this includes OS
- options or hardening scripts that prevent unprivileged users from
- running the ping command. Nagios runs with no more privileges
- than 'nobody' -- check to be sure that the nagios user can
- actually run check ping. (This can also happen with other binaries
- executed by nagios, but ping seems to be far and away the biggest
- offender.)
+ rpm --define 'custom 1' -ta nagios-plugins-<release>.tar.gz
-8. Q: I have a plugin to offer. What do I do to get it accepted?
+ In prior releases, you must unpack the tarball and build the
+ RPM using nagios-custom.spec with 'rpm -ba'.
- A: Send it to nagiosplug-devel@lists.sourceforge.net. Usually, we
- just drop it into contrib until we have a chance to check if the
- standard options are used, etc.
- You can also get feedback on improving the plugin via the mailing list.
+Q: I get an error like
+
+ Warning: Return code of 127 for check of service 'PING' on host 'anyhost' was out of bounds.
+
+ when I run Nagios. (Often check_ping runs just fine on the
+ command line).
+
+A: Commonly, system administrators will make security as tight as
+ possible on the monitoring system. Sometimes this includes OS
+ options or hardening scripts that prevent unprivileged users from
+ running the ping command. Nagios runs with no more privileges
+ than 'nobody' -- check to be sure that the nagios user can
+ actually run check ping. (This can also happen with other binaries
+ executed by nagios, but ping seems to be far and away the biggest
+ offender.)
+
+
+Q: I have a plugin to offer. What can I do?
+
+A: You can make it available on NagiosExchange (http://nagiosexchange.org)
+ where other people can find it for use.
+
+ You can also get feedback on improving the plugin via the
+ nagiosplug-devel@lists.sourceforge.net mailing list.