NMServer for VMS system management SNMP agent FAQ

NMServer for OpenVMS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

FOR V4.0 of NMSERVER: When you purchase the product, COMTEK will provide you with a license key file called NMSERVER_LICENSE.TXT that contains all of your licenses. Copy this file to the following directory, replacing the file that is already there:

   COMTEK_ROOT:[COMTEK$SNMP.DATA]

NOTE: This is an ASCII file.

If you have an expired temporary license key, edit the file:

   COMTEK_ROOT:[COMTEK$SNMP.DATA]NMSERVER_LICENSE.TXT

and replace the value for TEMPORARY_LICENSE with the new temporary license key provided by COMTEK.

Note that license keys must be entered as upper case and that system-specific permanent keys are tied to system names. Contact COMTEK at 703-751-3997 or for new license keys or for license key questions.

FOR V3.5 of NMSERVER: Edit the following files and replace the expired key with the new key:
    COMTEK$MASTER_CONFIG (this file will only exist for DPI installations)
    COMTEK$SYSMGR_CONFIG
    COMTEK$TRPMGR_CONFIG
    COMTEK$CONSOLE_CONFIG
    COMTEK$VMSMON_CONFIG
Note that license keys must be entered as upper case and that permanent keys are tied to system names. Contact COMTEK at 703-751-3997 or for new license keys or for license key questions.

@G2. In a clustered environment, do I need to run NMServer on all of the nodes?

Yes, NMServer must run on each node that is to be monitored.

@G3. I plan to upgrade the operating system, do I need to reinstall NMServer?

If you are upgrading to the next major release (for example v7.x to v8.x), yes you do need to reinstall NMServer. If it is a minor release upgrade (for example v7.2 to 7.3), you do not need to reinstall NMServer.

@G4. I am an existing customer and I want to install the new release of NMServer. What do I need to do?

Fill-out the online download request form and download the new version from the web. In the comment area of the form indicate that you are an existing customer.

COMTEK will supply you with a NMSERVER_LICENSE.TXT file which contains all of your existing license keys. Wait for receipt of this file before beginning installation.

Unzip the downloaded file on your PC and follow the readme directions for FTPing the install kit to the VMS system and unzipping the kit.

You may wish to make a backup of your existing installation.

When running vmsinstal:

When asked to enter "Device and directory location of COMTEK_ROOT", choose the default by pressing <ENTER>

When asked "Would you like to preserve existing configuration data files [YES]?", enter YES or press <ENTER>.

FTP the NMSERVER_LICENSE.TXT file that you received in step #2 above as ASCII to the directory COMTEK_ROOT:[COMTEK$SNMP.DATA]

$ SET DEFAULT COMTEK_ROOT:[COMTEK$SNMP.DATA]

If you had configured the previous version of NMServer for a cluster, there will be multiple configuration files named:

SYSMGR_<nodename>.DAT

TRPMGR_<nodename>.DAT

CONSOLE_<nodename>.DAT

VMSMON_<nodename>.DAT

MASTER_<nodename>.DAT (DPI only)

These files will contain the customizations you made for previous versions of NMServer for controlling traps and thresholds. With the new release of NMServer, it is no longer necessary to have a different configuration file for each node. Compare the contents of the configuration files for each node (for example, compare all the SYSMGR_*.DAT files to each other). Determine the configuration settings that are appropriate for the cluster and place those settings in the generic .DAT file (for example, the SYSMGR.DAT file). You may then delete the node-specific files.

You may now start the new version of NMServer.

DPI Installation Questions

@D1. The NM*Master process is up but none of the subagent processes will stay up.

This is generally caused by one of two things:

A community entry must exist in COMTEK$MASTER_COMM that allows read (or write) access to the IP address 127.0.0.1 with a network mask of 255.255.255.255 By default, the COMTEK$MASTER_COMM file contains the community entry:
public 255.255.255.255 127.0.0.1 read
This entry allows the subagents to connect to the NM*Master agent process. You may change the access from read to write. You may also change the community string public to another value. If you change the community string to a value other than public, you must edit each of the subagent configuration files (COMTEK$SYSMGR_CONFIG, COMTEK$TRPMGR_CONFIG, COMTEK$CONSOLE_CONFIG, and COMTEK$VMSMON_CONFIG) and add a community entry similar to the entry below:
COMMUNITY=newCommunity
Where newCommunity is the case-sensitive community string you specified in the COMTEK$MASTER_COMM file.

The hostname localhost is not defined on the VMS system. Use your TCP/IP product's PING command to ping the hostname localhost. If the ping doesn't successfully complete, follow the directions for your TCP/IP product to define the hostname localhost with the IP address 127.0.0.1

@D2. NM*Master, NM*SysMgr, NM*TrpMgr, NM*Console and NM*VmsMon processes don't stay up.

This usually indicates that either another SNMP agent is already using port 161 (see questions D7 below for information) or the community strings in the community file COMTEK$MASTER_COMM have conflicting privileges. Examine the COMTEK$MASTER_COMM file and verify that all instances of a community string have the same access privilege. For instance, if the "public" community is listed multiple times, each instance must have the same privilege. It is not valid to grant one instance of a community string "read" access while granting another instance of the same community string "write" access.

@D3. NMServer NM* processes are up and running but they don't respond to my SNMP manager.

Examine the COMTEK$MASTER_COMM file. Verify that the IP address listed in this file is the correct IP address for your SNMP manager. Make sure that the network mask is correctly defined. The simplest use of the IP address/network mask pair is to explicitly list each of your SNMP manager on separate entries in this file and use the network mask 255.255.255.255 for each manager.

Make sure that the community string that you have placed in the COMTEK$MASTER_COMM file is the community string that your SNMP manager is using for gets/sets. If you want to allow your manager to do SNMP gets and SNMP sets, you may need to make 2 entries in the COMTEK$MASTER_COMM file, one entry for the get community string with the access of read and another entry for the set community string with the access of write.

If you have made any changes to the COMTEK$MASTER_COMM file, you must stop and restart NMServer processes for the change to take effect.

Verify that your SNMP manager is configured to send SNMP requests to this VMS node on the correct port. By default NMServer listens for request on UDP port 161 and, also by default, SNMP managers send their requests to this port. If, however, you wish to run NMServer on a port other than 161, you must configure your SNMP manager to send its requests to the user-defined port.

Use your TCP/IP product's PING command to make sure that you have connectivity between the VMS system and the SNMP manager system.

Use your TCP/IP product's TCP trace command to verify that SNMP requests are being received on the correct port (usually 161).

Use a TCP trace facility on your SNMP manager system to verify that SNMP responses are received by your SNMP manager's system..

Verify that UDP ports 161 and 162 are not being blocked by a router of firewall within your network.

Make sure that you are not getting Authentication Failure traps from NMServer every time you make an SNMP request. Authentication Failures indicate that the community information for the SNMP manager is not valid.

Make sure that you have installed all relevant patches to your TCP/IP product.

@D4. My SNMP manager isn't getting any traps.

Examine the COMTEK$MASTER_TRAP file. Verify that the IP address listed in this file is the correct IP address for your SNMP manager.

Make sure that the community string that you have placed in the COMTEK$MASTER_TRAP file is valid for the SNMP manager (most SNMP managers do not validate the community string that is put in a trap message).

Verify that your SNMP manager is listening for traps on the port you specified on the COMTEK$MASTER_TRAP file. UDP port 162 is the standard port for the SNMP manager to use to receive traps.

If you have made any changes to the COMTEK$MASTER_TRAP file, you must stop and restart NMServer processes for the change to take effect.

Use your TCP/IP product's PING command to make sure that you have connectivity between the VMS system and the SNMP manager system.

Use your TCP/IP product's TCP trace command to verify that traps are being sent out on the correct port (usually 162).

Use a TCP trace facility on your SNMP manager system to verify that traps are being received on the correct port (usually 162).

Verify that UDP ports 161 and 162 are not being blocked by a router of firewall within your network.

Make sure that your SNMP manager is listening for traps on the specified port (usually port 162). Another trap receiving process may be enabled that is locking port 162 preventing your SNMP manager from receiving traps.

Make sure that you have installed all relevant patches to your TCP/IP product.

@D5. Can I run NMServer and another SNMP agent on the same system?

Yes. The RUN_NMSERVER command takes an optional port number that identifies what port NMServer should use to receive SNMP requests from the SNMP manager. If no port number is defined on the RUN_NMSERVER command, NMServer uses UDP port 161. Consult the section "Running NMServer on a Port Other than 161" in chapter 2 of the NMServer for OpenVMS User's Guide for more information.

@D6. Can I remove the default "public" community from the COMTEK$MASTER_COMM community
file?

Yes and no. You can't totally remove the entry that allows read access to the 127.0.0.1 (the IP address for localhost), but you can change the public community string to another string and you can change the access from read to write. Keep in mind that although you may have multiple instances of the same community string in this file, all instances of a particular community string must have the same access (read or write). Also, if you choose to replace the public string with another string, you will have to add an entry to each subagent's configuration file specifying the new community string. See questions D1 for more information.

@D7. The NM*Master process terminates with the message "bind(fd): address already in use".

This error indicates that another process (probably an SNMP agent provided with your TCP/IP stack) is already using the default SNMP port 161. You may either stop the process that is already using port 161 or you may start NMServer on another port. Consult the section "Running NMServer on a Port Other than 161" in chapter 2 of the NMServer for OpenVMS User's Guide for more information.

eSNMP Installation Questions (UCX or TCP/IP Services)

@E1. How do I enable the SNMP service?

If this is the first time SNMP has been enabled on this system, it is best to use UCX$CONFIG or TCPIP$CONFIG to enable and configure SNMP. Otherwise, you can use the TCPIP or UCX commands ENABLE SERVICE SNMP and SHOW SERVICE SNMP/FULL to enable SNMP or display the SNMP service settings.

@E2. How do I set-up Community strings?

If this is the first time SNMP has been enabled on this system, use UCX$CONFIG or TCPIP$CONFIG to set-up the community string. To make changes to SNMP community information later, use the commands TCPIP SET CONFIG SNMP or UCX SET CONFIG SNMP. Use the command TCPIP SHOW CONFIG SNMP/FULL or UCX SHOW CONFIG SNMP/FULL to view the current settings. Consult HP's documentation for further information.

@E3. How do I define where traps should be sent?

If this is the first time SNMP has been enabled on this system, use UCX$CONFIG or TCPIP$CONFIG to set-up trap destinations. To make changes to SNMP trap destinations later, use the commands TCPIP SET CONFIG SNMP or UCX SET CONFIG SNMP. Use the command TCPIP SHOW CONFIG SNMP/FULL or UCX SHOW CONFIG SNMP/FULL to view the current settings. Consult HP's documentation for further information.

@E4. How do I start/stop the SNMP service?

To start HP eSNMP master agent and subagents:
@sys$manager:tcpip$snmp_startup -or- @sys$manager:ucx$snmp_startup
To stop HP's eSNMP master agent and subagents:
@sys$manager:tcpip$snmp_shutdown -or- @sys$manager:ucx$snmp_shutdown

@E5. I'm having trouble getting the SNMP service of UCX or TCP/IP Services to run.

Use TCPIP$CONFIG to stop and disable the SNMP service. Enable the service and re-enter the SNMP configuration data. The first time the SNMP services is enable it must be configured via TCPIP$CONFIG.

@E6. I'm using TCP/IP Services v5.0a or v5.1 and my SNMP manager isn't receiving any traps.

By default, TCP/IP Services v5.0a and v5.1 send traps as SNMPv2 format traps. Many SNMP managers only recognize SNMPv1 format traps. Both v5.0a and v5.1 can be configured to send SNMPv1 traps. NOTE: If you are using v5.0a, you must install ECO1 to for the SNMPv1 trap capability. The following instructions for configuring SNMPv1 traps were provided by HP:

By default TCPIP SNMP sends SNMPv2 traps, which can be configured through either TCPIP$CONFIG.COM or the $ TCPIP SET CONFIGURATION SNMP command. See the TCP/IP Services Management guide for details. With TCPIP V5.0a ECO 1, TCPIP SNMP can be configured to also send SNMPv1 format traps. The instructions below describe how to configure your installation to send V1 traps. This functionality will also work with TCPIP V5.1.

The file SYS$SYSDEVICE:[TCPIP$SNMP]TCPIP$VMS_SNMP_CONF.DAT is required for the upgraded functionality to work. With TCPIP V5.0a ECO the file is not provided by default, as it is for V5.1; however the user can set up the file using the following steps:

1.   Create the file:

$ CREATE SYS$SYSDEVICE:[TCPIP$SNMP]TCPIP$VMS_SNMP_CONF.DAT

2.   Make sure it has the following owner and protections (as shown by the DCL command $ DIRECTORY/SECURITY). Settings should be correct by default; if they are not use the DCL command $ SET FILE to change them as needed:

Owner: [TCPIP$AUX,TCPIP$SNMP]

Protection: (RWED,RWED,RE,)

3.   To implement individual SNMPv1 format traps (with SNMPv2 traps still the default) add a line for each trap destination to the file created in step 1. Use the following format (with no leading white space):

trap v1 {community name} {IP address[:port]}

where

·         community name is a string without embedded white space, in the same format as used in the command $ TCPIP SET CONFIGURATION SNMP/COMMUNITY={community name}

- IP address is for the host which is listening for traps

·         If a colon and port number are not included, the default is 162

In both TCPIP V5.0a ECO 1 and TCPIP V5.1 it is also possible to set SNMPv1 traps as the default type. In V5.1 it is possible to use a configuration entry in TCPIP$VMS_SNMP_CONF.DAT (see the Release Notes for that version); however, for V5.0a ECO 1 the following you must assign a logical name using one of the following commands:

$ ASSIGN/SYSTEM 1 TCPIP$SNMP_V1_TRAP_DEFAULT                 ! system level

$ ASSIGN/TABLE={group table id} 1 TCPIP$SNMP_V1_TRAP_DEFAULT ! group level

To determine correct group logical name table for the second format use the following commands:

$ SET DEFAULT SYS$SYSTEM

$ MCR AUTHORIZE SHOW/IDENTIFIER TCPIP$SNMP

     Name                             Value           Attributes

     TCPIP$SNMP                       [000375,000040]

For this example, the correct group table name is LNM$GROUP_000375, so that the group level assignment command would be:

$ ASSIGN/TABLE=LNM$GROUP_000375 1 TCPIP$SNMP_V1_TRAP_DEFAULT

To retain this default across OpenVMS system restarts, add the desired $ ASSIGN command to the appropriate system startup file.

When the SNMPv1 default trap option is used, traps configured through the TCPIP$CONFIG.COM procedure or the $ TCPIP SET CONFIGURATION SNMP command are sent in SNMPv1 format. In this case, to send SNMPv2 format traps you must add a line for each trap destination to the file created in step 1. Use the following format (with no leading white space):

trap v2c {community name} {IP address[:port]}

See step three for a description of the parameters.

Note that no matter which trap type is the default, you can control the trap type for individual trap destinations by using the appropriate tag, v1 or v2c, for each trap listed in TCPIP$VMS_SNMP_CONF.DAT. For example, the following entries will cause a v1 trap to go to host 120.2.1.2, and a v2 trap to go to 120.2.2.2. Both traps go to the default, well-known port 162:

trap v1 v1type 120.2.1.2

trap v2c v2name 120.2.2.2

UCX and TCP/IP Services Questions

@U1. How do I run a TCP trace on UCX or TCP/IP Services?

$ TCPTRACE

@U2. How do I disable the SNMP agent that comes with UCX or TCP/IP Services?

Use either TCPIP$CONFIG or UCX$CONFIG
Select Server Components
Select SNMP
Select Disable and Stop Service on this Node

MultiNet Questions

@M1. How do I run a TCP trace on MultiNet?

$ TCPDUMP or $ TCPVIEW

@M2. How do I disable the default SNMP agent that comes with MultiNet?

MULTINET CONFIGURE/SERVERS
DISABLE SNMP
SAVE
RESTART
EXIT

If you are running v4.3 or later of MultiNet, you must also enter the following to shutdown the SNMP_AGENT process:

$ MULTINET NETCONTROL SNMP SHUTDOWN

TCPware Questions

@T1. How do I run a TCP trace on TCPware?

$ TCPDUMP

@T2. How do I disable the default SNMP agent that comes with TCPware?

To disable the default TCPware SNMP agent:
         @TCPWARE:CNFNET SNMP
         NO
         @TCPWARE:SHUTNET SNMP

Web Interface Questions

@W1. How do I start/stop HP's Management Agents?

To start HP's Management Agents, including the web server:
@sys$specific:[wbem]wbem$startup
To stop HP's Management Agents, including the web server:
@sys$specific:[wbem]wbem$shutdown
Note: These commands require cmkrnl privilege.

@W2. What URL do I use to browse the VMS system?

Browse the URL http://<target>:2301 where <target> is the IP address or the domain name of the target VMS system.

@W3. How do I configure the web interface so that the pages automatically update?

If using Frames mode, select the "Options" link in the top left frame. If using No-Frames mode, select the "Options" link on the page banner. Once on the Options page, select "On" for the current Auto Refresh value. NMServer and NMServer Monitor page refresh interval is controlled by how frequently the agent gathers the statistics for the page.

NMServer for OpenVMS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

General Questions

DPI Installation Questions

eSNMP Installation Questions (UCX or TCP/IP Services)

UCX and TCP/IP Services Questions

MultiNet Questions

TCPware Questions

Web Interface Questions

General Questions

DPI Installation Questions

eSNMP Installation Questions (UCX or TCP/IP Services)

UCX and TCP/IP Services Questions

MultiNet Questions

TCPware Questions

Web Interface Questions