Pandora:Changes 2.0 en
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What's new in Pandora FMS 2.0?
Next all innovations and improvements that have been implemented in Pandora Flexible Monitoring System version 2.0.
New Main Screen
In Pandora FMS new version the monitor and data health indicator, that was needle type has been replaced by bar indicators that show the data health by percentage.
We also have included a frame with the health level of Pandora FMS servers, very useful in case some of them stop working.
Besides a frame that shows the last events and fired alerts has been added, so it is possible to obtain more available information, in a clear way in the main screen. The events and alerts associated to agents have a link to go straightly to the agent detail.
The section of the last registered activity has been removed from the console, because it did not give information about systems monitoring.
Also we have introduced straight links in frame "Monitor checking ", so it is possible to see the details of each line clicking on it. From here it is possible to get access to:
- Monitor checks
- Monitor OK
- Monitor BAD
- Monitor Unknown
- Monitor Not Init
- Alerts Fired
- Alerts Total
Events at the Agent Detail Section
Now Pandora FMS shows an agent last events list in agent detailed view. In this way time is saved and more essential information is given in the same place.
New Network Map
The new Pandora FMS 2.0. network map automatically creates a map from the connected and self-discovered machines by Recon server.
The network map can show up to five different disposals for machines:
- Circular
- Flat
- Radial
- Spring 1
- Spring 2
Improved Visual Console
One of Pandora FMS 1.3.x weakest point was the visual Console, very difficult to configure and not very grateful
In Pandora FMS 2.0 new version we have take care of the the visual Console.It has been done completely interactive and very easy to configure.
Now you have only to select a map and add elements. To move them you will only have to pull them on the map with the mouse. In order to edit them you have only to pull them along the edition menu. To delete them you have only to pull them to trash can.
You will can create union lines between the elements in an easier way, just select the relation within them.
Help: Online and Contextual
Pandora FMS 2.0 implements two types of help in Web Console:
- Contextual help
- Online help
The "Contextual help" gives small advices and reminders regarding the elements that it come with (form fields, and so)
The "Help on line" gives a lot of information regarding the elements it goes with (form fields etc), but it could also give it over the page that user is looking up; such as the alerts generation page for a module that has a general help
Improved Reports
Reports generation forms, both graphic and data ones, are now easier and interactive. The quality of graphs showed has been improved and customized.
Now, for graphs you can select between three different types of graph type:
- Area
- Line
- Piled-up Area
And you can select an scale factor to see graph clearly.
Reports give more information that before, doing graphs complementaries and showing the details from agents data are obtained from, making possible to obtain an bigger context of the report and its graphs.
Besides, now the reports can be send to a PDF file, and also they can be seen in HTML format.
RSS Events Feed
Now Pandora FMS 2.0 has an event RSS provider so you could subscribe to it from your favourite news supplier.
CSV Event Exportation
Pandora FMS 2.0 can export events to a CSV file to they can be processed or implemented into another devices
Marquee
Another way to see only Pandora FMS events is using sliding Marquee.The Marquee only shows a black screen with blank text about events.
New Agents Options
Remote Configuration
Remote configuration allows to edit an agent local configuration from Pandora FMS console. It will appear an edition icon with the agent name when his configuration would be available.
Once the remote configuration in the agent has been fit, activating option remote_config, this will send his configuration to server in an automatic way the next time it connects. From this moment, the agent will check if there is a new configuration available each time he connects with server. If so, it will download overwritten his local configuration and it will read the new configuration and execution will continue.
It is important to consider that remote configuration always overwrites the local configuration. If changes in agent local configuration are made, then it is essential to delete the server configuration in order that changes work out
logevent Module
There is a new module module_logevent, that allows to obtain information from Windows event log. This module gives back the events that agree with a defined pattern, allowing also to filter according the source and the kind of event.
To avoid showing repeated info, there will be only considered the events that took place from the last time the agent was fired.
module_logevent accepts the next parameters:
- module_source: Event Source (System, Application, Security).
- module_eventtype: Event Type (error, information...).
- module pattern: Pattern to look for.
For example, to show all events of error type system we could define the following module:
module_begin module_name log_events module_type generic_data_string module_description System errors module_logevent module_source System module_eventtype error module_end
To show all events with the word PandoraAgent:
module_begin module_name log_events module_type generic_data_string module_description PandoraAgent related events module_logevent module_pattern PandoraAgent module_end
XML encoding
Parameter encoding has been added to the Pandora FMS Windows agent configuration. This allows o specify the XML data file in order to avoid possible mistakes throughout analysis.
This option was already available for agents of other operative systems.
Duplicate Configuration
Now it is possible to duplicate the configuration from one agent to another one, feature very useful and requested
Scheduled Downtime
With Pandora FMS 2.0 it is possible to schedule the unplugging of an agent.You will only need to give the beginning date and the end of unplugging and a short optional description.
To choose date, there are interactive windows.
This page has Online help.
ODBC Module for Windows Agent
An standard access module to data base has been developed through ODBC interface in Windows agent.This now allows to do SQL request to data servers that have this system such as Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL o PostgreSQL among others. Support has been developed with ODBC++ library
Tentacle
Tentacle is a client/server file transfer protocol that aims to be:
- Secure by design.
- Easy to use and integrate with other platforms
- Versatile, flexible and cross-platform.
Tentacle has been created to replace more complex tools like SCP/SSH and FTP and to do transfers of simple files and and switch from authentication mechanisms like.netrc,interactive logins and SSH keys to X.509 certificates. Simple password authentication over a SSL secured connection is supported as well.
The client and server are designed to be run from the command line or called from a shell script, and no configuration files are needed.
Tentacle is implemented in Perl and ANSI C (Windows platforms included).
Tentacle is the new default value used in Pandora FMS to transfer info from agents to Pandora FMS data server
Pandora FMS WMI Server
Pandora FMS server to do native WMI calls in a centralized way
Pandora FMS Plugin Server
Pandora FMS server to do complex user checking developed in any language and implemented in Pandora FMS interface and managed in a centralized way
Pandora FMS Prediction Server
The new Pandora FMS artificial intelligence server and prediction implements in an statistic way a data forecast based on past data (up to 30 days in four temporary references)
A complementary data model to that of Pandora 1.3.x. has been implemented. It allows that data that contain prediction data could fed from real module data.The new modules predictive type are processed by a new server that works only with predictive data in a completely modular way, so it is easy to implement (even in different languages) different engines of processing info to make predictions more completes based on neural network procedures or bayesian networks
Alerts
In Pandora FMS 2.0 mail alerts does not need an external server to work, thanks to thesendmail Perl package inclusion.
Combined Alerts
The Pandora FMS process core allows to link any number of alerts between them, regardless their origin, reusing the alerts classic model and complementing it.
From 2.0 version combined alerts can be defined. They have a logic equation that goes with a number of alerts, simple or combined. They are related between them by logic operators AND, OR, XOR y NOT. The individual alerts can be associated to different agents and they keep all the restrictions, temporary, time zone, scheduled, activation or partial deactivation ones and so, allowing lot of flexibility.
These combined alerts can be created, activated, deactivated and modify from the same management interface that Pandora FMS 1.3.x had.
Firing Days
In this Pandora FMS version a selection of days has been included where the alert will be valid. If the conditions for firing the alert are in a non marked day, it won't be fired.
Data Escalation
Pandora FMS 2.0 sets up a data escalation system that allows virtually a distributed implementation that is able to monitor an unlimited number of information, if it is well designed and dispersed in different information profiles.
The idea is that in a hierarchical installation, Pandora FMS lowest level installations send filtered info to the higher ones.
Extensions
The extensions for Pandora FMS 2.0 Console are the easiest an modular way to add new features. The extensions can be activated and deactivated and also new ones in a manual way and through Open Update Manager.
The extensions must be written in PHP.
Open Update Manager
The Open Update Manager is the tool that will keep updated your Pandora FMS installation with Open Update Manager you could obtain Pandora FMS code and console updates each time they would be available. In this way you will manage to update your installation and that it has all improvements, extensions, complements,new module libraries, that are in Artica's repositories.
Gettext
Now Pandora FMS 2.0 uses [gettext] for translations, so it avoids using files with hundred of chains to translate and the most used method for open project translation is used.
Previous translations have not been lost, on the contrary, they have been mixed up in each corresponding file and they are upload to Rosetta, where translations will be coordinated from now.
Pandora FMS Setup
The following features had been added and improved:
Available Languages
Thanks to the inclusion of translations in Rosetta, we hope to have the application completely translated into several languages very soon. However the available languages are:
- Spanish
- English
And the partially available languages:
- Deutch
- Aragonés
- Asturiano
- Catalá
- Français
- Galego
- Italian
- Brazilian Portuguese
- Swedish
- Euskera
If you wish you can contribute to translate it into your language registering at Rosetta
Graph Colors
From Pandora FMS general configuration you can change predefined graphic colors in an easy way.
Datetime Settings
Thanks to location/internationalization, several formats of date/hour kind strftime can be selected. A help window for this option is provided.
Show last fired alerts in global view
There is an option to activate/deactivate the fired alerts view in Pandora FMS global view.
Show unknown modules in global view
There is an option to activate/deactivate the view of unknown modules in Pandora FMS global view.
