Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)

FreeBSD Manual Pages

  
 
  

home | help
MRTG-NW-GUIDE(1)		     mrtg		      MRTG-NW-GUIDE(1)

NAME
       mrtg-nw-guide - MRTG for	NetWare

SYNOPSIS
       This guide is intended to aid in	the installation and configuration of
       MRTG on a NetWare server.

OVERVIEW
       MRTG is a relative newcomer to the NetWare platform. Earlier versions
       of NetWare could	not run	MRTG natively for several reasons:

          Absence of NetWare OS support in the	MRTG package.

          A NetWare server commandline	length limitation.

          Absence of the Rateup executable (Rateup.nlm).

          A standard installation method.

          Problems with NetWare's implementation of Perl.

       Support	for  the  NetWare  OS  has  now	 been  fully  added into MRTG,
       beginning with MRTG release 2.12.2.

       Liberally  minded  operating  systems  support  a  commandline	length
       approaching 1000	characters. In such environments it was	an easy	matter
       to  pass	 the sometimes high number of parameters used by MRTG's	Rateup
       executable directly on the commandline. Until NetWare 6.5, NetWare  had
       a commandline limit of 512 characters. This limitation was also removed
       for  NetWare  6.0  by  Service  Pack  5.	For other NetWare versions and
       earlier Service Packs, this limitation remains. To permit a  'standard'
       interface  for NetWare, the Rateup executable has been modified to also
       read its	parameters from	a file,	and the	MRTG script has	been  modified
       to support this method on a NetWare platform.  (See New Rateup Switch)

       A  Rateup  NLM  is  now	available, along with the necessary scripts to
       build it	if required. See the  NetWare Support section of this document
       for further details. Additionally, mrtg.pl has been revised because  of
       the unique (to NetWare) name of executables (NLM).

       The  absence  of	 a  specific installation procedure has	caused MRTG to
       fail in the past	because	the Perl script	could not  find	 or  load  the
       Rateup  executable.  The	 installation  method supplied here will solve
       this problem for	now.

       The MRTG.pl script in the 2.12.2	(or later) version of  MRTG  has  been
       configured  to  suit  all likely	versions of NetWare able to use	Perl5,
       and bypasses all	of the known problems with NetWare Perl	running	MRTG.

PREREQUISITES
       You will	need the following:

          Perl	5.8.0 for NetWare with latest Perl Updates (February, 2005  or
	   later; previous versions MAY	work)

          NetWare 5.1 w/ SP8, NetWare 6.0 w/ SP5 or NetWare 6.5 w/ SP2.

          A copy of the MRTG Package (v2.12.2 at time of writing)

          Three  .ncf files to	execute	the Perl scripts at the	NetWare	server
	   console.

          A copy of the Rateup	NLM (Pre-built or compiled)

          Optionally, any NetWare supported Web Server	(Netscape, Apache  1.3
	   or 2.0)

       For  copies  of	the  .ncf files	and Rateup NLM,	see NetWare Support in
       this document.

INSTALLING MRTG
       1.  Install the latest Perl 5.8.x release on your server. See the  Perl
	   documentation for details.

       2.  Create the following	directories:

		    SYS:/Mrtg
		    SYS:/Mrtg/bin
		    SYS:/Mrtg/contrib	 (Optional for this document)
		    SYS:/Mrtg/doc	 (Optional for this document)
		    SYS:/Mrtg/html
		    SYS:/Mrtg/html/images
		    SYS:/Mrtg/html/work
		    SYS:/Mrtg/lib
		    SYS:/Mrtg/logs
		    SYS:/Mrtg/translate

       3.  Copy	from the MRTG package the following files:

	    \bin\*	  to  SYS:/Mrtg/bin		 All files. See	Note 1.

	   Note	 1:  Add  a .pl	extension to the mrtg, cfgmaker	and indexmaker
	   files.  The rateup.exe will NOT be needed on	the NetWare server.

	    \contrib\*	  to  SYS:/Mrtg/contrib/	 Include sub-directories
	    \doc\*	  to  SYS:/Mrtg/doc/		 All files
	    \images\*	  to  SYS:/Mrtg/html/images/	 All files
	    \translate\*  to  SYS:/Mrtg/translate/	 All files. See	Note 2.

	   Note	2: For English-only language  support,	all  \translate	 files
	   EXCEPT Locales_mrtg may be deleted.

	    \lib\*	  to  SYS:/Mrtg/lib		 Include sub-directories. See Note 3.

	   Note	  3:  This  will  create  the  SYS:/Mrtg/lib/mrtg2  and	 ./pod
	   directories.

       4.  Create copies of the	three .ncf files and install them:

	    *.ncf	  to  SYS:/Mrtg/bin

	   See NetWare Support in this document	for details on how  to	create
	   copies of these files.

       5.  See	 Compiling  Rateup.nlm">  in  this  document  for  details  on
	   compiling the Rateup	NLM yourself if	desired.  A prebuit verion  is
	   available in	the .\mrtg\bin directory where it must remain.

CONFIGURING MRTG
          Refer  to  Novell  documentation  on	 configuring  and loading SNMP
	   support on your server if this is the device	to be monitored.

          Edit	sys:/mrtg/bin/MakeMrtgCfg.ncf:

	   replace ccccc with the GET  community  name	for  the  SNMP	device
	   (typically 'public'),

	   replace  ddddd  with	the DNS	name or	IP address of the device to be
	   monitored.  e.g    public@www.myserver.com, public@10.202.65.180

	   Note	1: These are NOT mail addresses, they just look	like one!

	   Note	2: If multiple devices are to be monitored, add	their  entries
	   to the same line:

	   e.g	 perl cfgmaker.pl public@www.myserver.com public@10.202.65.180
	   > sys:/mrtg/bin/mrtg.cfg

	   In this "Getting Started", it is  'suggested'  to  only  monitor  a
	   single device.

          At the server console, run:

	    sys:/mrtg/bin/MakeMrtgCfg.ncf

	   This	will create Mrtg.cfg in	sys:/mrtg/bin.

          Edit	 the Mrtg.cfg configuration file created in the	previous step.
	   Note	the following:

	   It was found, when testing MRTG on a	NetWare	6.5 server using a NIC
	   Interface, that mrtg.cfg contained the following message:

	    ###	Interface 1 >> Descr: 'Intel(R)-8255x-based-Network-Connection'...
	    ###	The following interface	is commented out because:
	    ###	* has a	speed of 0 which makes no sense
	    #
	    ...

	   If  this  occurs,  edit  MakeMrtgCfg.ncf  and  add  the   following
	   parameter as	shown:

	    perl sys:\mrtg\bin\cfgmaker.pl --zero-speed=nnn public@10.202.65.180 > sys:\mrtg\bin\Mrtg.cfg

	   where  nnn  is  the	interface  speed in bits per second. For a 100
	   Megabit LAN NIC, nnn	= 10000000. It will be necessary to re-execute
	   the MakeMrtgCfg.ncf script before continuing	with this section.

	   Below line 16 (*** Global Defaults),	add:

	    HtmlDir:  <a path>	e.g  HtmlDir:  sys:/mrtg/html
	    ImageDir: <a path>	e.g  ImageDir: sys:/mrtg/html/work
	    LogDir:   <a path>	e.g  LogDir:   sys:/mrtg/logs
	    IconDir:  <a path>	e.g  IconDir:  ./images

	   Note	1. The HtmlDir entry specifies where MRTG will create its HTML
	   pages.

	   Note	2. The ImageDir	entry  specifies  where	 the  created  graphic
	   icons are placed.

	   Note	 3.  The IconDir entry specifies where the supplied MRTG icons
	   are located.	 It MUST be a relative path from HtmlDir  or  absolute
	   URL.	The value shown	is recommended.

          At the server console run:

	    sys:/mrtg/bin/RunMrtg.ncf

	   several  times.  By	the  third  time it should run without showing
	   error messages on the console screen.

	   This	should create.

	   - A HTML page in the	(HtmlDir) directory for	each monitored device,

	   - A .dat file  in  the  (ImageDir)  directory  for  each  monitored
	   device,

	   - Several .png icons	in the (ImageDir) directory,

	   - Some log file entries in the (LogDir) directory.

	   Note:  If  you  experience  a "Use of uninitialised value in	split"
	   error, it will be necessary to create a 'Path' environment variable
	   at the server console; use the following example

	    env	path="SYS:\"  (The actual value	is immaterial, as long as the var itself exists.)

          Edit	sys:/mrtg/bin/MakeMrtgIndex.ncf. Change	the  indicated	<path>
	   shown  in  the  following  example  to  match the value entered for
	   (HtmlDir).

	    perl --noscreen sys:/mrtg/bin/indexmaker.pl	sys:/mrtg/bin/Mrtg.cfg > <path>/index.html

          Create an index.html	page linking the separate device HTML page(s).
	   At the server console, run:

	    sys:/mrtg/bin/MakeMrtgIndex.ncf

	   This	will create index.html in the (HtmlDir)	directory.

          Optionally,	configure  a  Web  Server  to  permit  access  to  the
	   directory  specified	in (HtmlDir) to	view the MRTG graphs remotely,
	   at, for example:

	    http://ip_or_dns/mrtg/index.html

	   A sample configuration for an Apache	Webserver is shown:

	    Alias /mrtg/ "SYS:/mrtg/html/"
	    <Directory "SYS:/mrtg/html">
			AllowOverride None
			Order allow,deny
			Allow from all
	    </Directory>

          Set the property of the directory  pointed  to  by  (ImageDir),  to
	   'Purge Immediate'.

          Finally,  read  the	MRTG  documentation  for  much	more  detailed
	   configuration/usage information.

       Welcome to MRTG!!

MAKE MRTG RUN ALL THE TIME
       MRTG can	be made	to run periodically by at least	two means:

          Using CRON Scheduling

          Running MRTG	in Daemon Mode

   CRON	Scheduling
       To use CRON scheduling, create a	CRON Scheduler entry  to  execute  the
       RunMrtg.ncf  file on a frequency	appropriate for	the server environment
       and information desired.	The following entry  in	 the  sys:\etc\crontab
       file will execute MRTG every five minutes:

	0,5,10,15,20,25,30,35,40,45,50,55 * * *	* sys:\mrtg\bin\runmrtg.ncf

       The CRON	Scheduler (cron.nlm) can be started automatically by adding it
       in AUTOEXEC.ncf or, manually loading it at the server console.

   MRTG	in Daemon Mode
       Refer   to  the	MRTG-Reference	document  for  information  about  the
       'RunAsDaemon' option. Its use is	outside	the scope of this document.

TROUBLESHOOTING
       Read the	MRTG documents,	Perl documents or, finally,  submit  questions
       to the MRTG User	forums.

       For  NetWare  specific  issues,	submit	questions to the Perl forum at
       news://developer-forums.novell.com/novell.devsup.perl (Novell Developer
       Forums).

COMPILING RATEUP.NLM
       In addition to the rateup.c and Makefile.Netware	supplied with the MRTG
       release,	you will also need:

          Metrowerks CodeWarrior with NetWare Support OR GCC Compiler (v3.0.3
	   or later) with NlmConv Utility

          Novell LibC NDK (February 2004 or later)

          GD Graphics Library (v2.0.33	or later)

          LibPNG Graphics Library (v1.2.8 or later)

          ZLib	Library	(v1.2.3	or later)

          The get_ver.awk script

          A	 copy	  of	 the	 GNU	 build	   tools.	  (See
	   http://sourceforge.net/projects/gnuwin32/)

       The auxiliary libraries can be obtained from:

       GD Graphics Library.   (See http://www.boutell.com/gd/ )

       PNG Graphics Library.   (See http://libpng.sourceforge.net/ )

       zLib Compression	Library.   (See	http://www.gzip.org/zlib/ )

       Edit  the  Makefile.Netware file	as required to match your installation
       paths; search the file for the key word 'Edit'.

NETWARE	SUPPORT
       For copies of the NCF and get_ver.awk scripts, see Appendix.

       For NetWare specific issues, submit questions  to  the  Perl  forum  at
       news://developer-forums.novell.com/novell.devsup.perl (Novell Developer
       Forums).

       To  move	the MRTG application to	a volume other than SYS: you will need
       to edit the NCF scripts provided	plus the MRTG[.pl]  script  itself  in
       two places.

NEW RATEUP SWITCH
       The   MRTG[.pl]	 script,   when	 used  on  a  NetWare  platform,  uses
       Rateup[.nlm] with the new commandline switch:

	    RATEUP -f filename

       where the filename parameter can	include	a leading path element.

       The file	format is exactly the same as that used	on the commandline  by
       other  operating	 systems,  including  the leading path and name	of the
       Rateup NLM.

APPENDIX
       The Appendix includes 'copies' of the following files:

          The NCF files used during MRTG configuration,

       To create copies	of these files,	 simply	 'cut  and  paste'  into  your
       favourite  'text	 editor'  and  save  under their respective names. You
       should remove the leading space from each line.

       MakeMrtgCfg.NCF

	# MakeMrtgCfg.NCF
	# Purpose : Create the MRTG Configuration File
	# Changed :  5/05/2005	New
	# Located : SYS:MRTG\BIN
	# Set For :
	# Params  :

	# Edit this file and:

	# Replace ccccc	with your device GET SNMP Community Name - If unsure try 'public'.
	# Replace ddddd	with your device IP (n.n.n.n) or domain	name.

	perl --noscreen	sys:\mrtg\bin\cfgmaker.pl ccccc@ddddd >	sys:\mrtg\bin\Mrtg.cfg

	#
	# End of MakeMrtgCfg.NCF

       RunMrtg.NCF

	# RunMrtg.NCF
	# Purpose : Run	the MRTG Application
	# Changed :  5/05/2005	New
	# Located : SYS:MRTG\BIN
	# Set For :
	# Params  :

	# The paths are	as per the examples recommended	in "Getting Started".

	perl --noscreen	sys:\mrtg\bin\mrtg.pl sys:\mrtg\bin\mrtg.cfg

	#
	# End of RunMrtg.NCF

       MakeMrtgIndex.NCF

	# MakeMrtgIndex.NCF
	# Purpose : Create the HTML Index File for MRTG	HTML data pages
	# Changed :  5/05/2005	New
	# Located : SYS:MRTG\BIN
	# Set For :
	# Params  :

	# Note:	Edit this file and change the redirected output	to the location
	#	specified for HtmlDir or WorkDir. The sys:\apache2\htdocs\mrtg\index.html
	#	is based on the	examples in "Getting Started".

	perl --noscreen	sys:\mrtg\bin\indexmaker.pl sys:\mrtg\bin\Mrtg.cfg > sys:\mrtg\html\index.html

	#
	# End of MakeMrtgIndex.NCF

LICENSE
       GNU General Public License

CREDITS
       The MRTG	for NetWare exists largely  through  the  efforts  of  Guenter
       Knauf and feedback from beta testers.

AUTHOR
       Norm W..

2.17.10				  2022-01-19		      MRTG-NW-GUIDE(1)

Want to link to this manual page? Use this URL:
<https://man.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=mrtg-nw-guide&sektion=1&manpath=FreeBSD+Ports+14.3.quarterly>

home | help