Citrix NetScaler monitoring
This plugin retrieves metrics from several origins
- Introduction
- Compatibility matrix
- Requeriments
- Configuration
- Manual execution
- Modules generated by the plugin
Introduction
This plugin allows you to monitor Citrix NetScaler balancing systems through the JSON-based REST API provided by the device.
This plugin will collect the list of all the services configured in the device, as well as their information, creating an agent per configured service.
Compatibility matrix
Systems where it has been tested: NSMPX-10500.
Systems where it should work: compatible API.
Requeriments
The parameters required for monitoring are:
- User name to authenticate to the device's REST API (read-only).
- Password of that user.
- Full Url (FQDN/IP) and API path of the device (e.g. https://myns.mydomain/nitro/v1/stat/).
Configuration
The Pandora plugin configuration file for Citrix NetScaler allows you to specify the following parameters:
#================================================================
# Citrix NetScaler Plugin conf file
#================================================================
# Citrix NetScaler API configuration
ns_url = http://mycitrixns/nitro/v1/stat/
ns_user = username
ns_pass = password
# Services to be analized
# ns_services=service_name;value
# value = 0 -> main information
# value = 1 -> child information
ns_services=lbvserver;1
ns_services=system;0
# modules to be gathered
# comment to disable filter
modules_list = state,status,vbshealth,primaryaddress,cpuusage,disk1avail,memusagepcnt,powersupply2status
#,cursrvrconnections,establishedconn,totalrequests,totalrequestbytes,responsesrate,totalresponses,totalresponsebytes,vslbhealth
# NetScaler Agent configuration
agent_name = ns1.gslbi.dexmedia.com
# Agent configuration
agent_interval = 300
agent_group = Load Balancer
# Module interval
module_interval = 1
module_tags = Networking
module_group =
# Pandora API configuration
api_url = http://inna.lab.artica.lan/pandora_console/include/api.php
api_user = admin
api_user_pass = pandora
api_pass = 1234
# Pandora Server configuration
mode = tentacle
tentacle_ip = inna.lab.artica.lan
tentacle_port = 41121
tentacle_opts =
tentacle_client = "C:\Program Files\pandora_agent\util\tentacle_client.exe"
temp = .
ns_url, ns_user, ns_pass
Basic information (required) to connect to NetScaler.
ns_services
Services to be analyzed (0→belong to the main agent - netscaler, 1→belong to the service agents).
modules_list
List of modules to be generated.
agent_interval
Interval of the agents created.
agent_group
Group of the agents created.
module_interval
Interval of the modules.
module_group_group
Module group (classification).
mode
It can be tentacle or local. If you set local, you must specify a destination folder where the .data files containing the agent information extracted from NetScaler will be delivered.
Manual execution
The Pandora FMS plugin for the Citrix Netscaler balancing system monitoring is deployed as follows:
Run as server plugin/ crontab integration:
# /etc/crontab
# Netscaler Plugin
*/5 * * * * root /usr/bin/perl citrix_netscaler.pl citrix_netscaler.conf
Modules generated by the plugin
The parameters monitored by the plugin are:
At the NetScaler level:
- General system information (temperature, disk usage, CPU usage, RAM usage, voltages, fan speeds, power status, etc.)
At the service level:
- Service status.
- Servers that provide it (IP) and status in each of them.
- Connections (active/total/established, etc.).
- Packets (received/sent/failed).
- Response rates.
- Health of the service.