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Windows Telegraf Agent

Telegraf is an observability tool implementing the OpenTelemetry protocol.

This monitoring connector is a proof of concept, Centreon does not recommend to use it in production. It has some limitations such as:

  • the need to restart the Telegraf service whenever the configuration is changed.
  • the impossibility to display the informational output message of the host or service (due to limitations of the OpenTelemetry protocol).

You may refer to this page for more information about Centreon's integration with Telegraf.

Pack assets​

Templates​

The Monitoring Connector Windows Telegraf Agent brings a host template:

  • OS-Windows-Telegraf-Agent-custom

The connector brings the following service templates (sorted by the host template they are attached to):

Service AliasService TemplateService Description
NtpOS-Windows-Telegraf-Ntp-Agent-customCheck the synchronization with a NTP server.
Pending-RebootOS-Windows-Telegraf-Pending-Reboot-Agent-customCheck if Windows needs rebooting.
SessionsOS-Windows-Telegraf-Sessions-Agent-customCheck the number of active sessions.
UpdatesOS-Windows-Telegraf-Updates-Agent-customCheck if there are pending updates.

The services listed above are created automatically when the OS-Windows-Telegraf-Agent-custom host template is used.

Collected metrics & status​

Here is the list of services for this connector, detailing all metrics linked to each service.

Metric nameUnit
certificates.detected.countcount
certificate#certificate.expires.daysd

Prerequisites​

Network flow​

Two TCP flows must be open from the host to the poller.

SourceDestinationProtocolePortPurpose
Monitored hostPollerTCP1443Access to the configuration of the Telegraf agent.
Monitored hostPollerTCP4317OpenTelemetry data flow.

System prerequisites on the poller​

To be able to use the Telegraf agent, you must use a poller with at least version 24.04.2 of centreon-engine. The Telegraf agent will configure itself via a HTTPS request sent to Centreon Engine.

  1. For this to work, you must first get a valid certificate or generate a self-signed one on the poller as detailed below.

In the command below, replace ${HOSTNAME} with the poller's FQDN if they don't match.

openssl req -new -subj "/CN=${HOSTNAME}" -addext "subjectAltName = DNS:${HOSTNAME}" -newkey rsa:2048 -sha256 -days 365 -nodes -x509 -keyout /etc/centreon-engine/conf-server.key -out /etc/centreon-engine/conf-server.crt
chown centreon-engine: /etc/centreon-engine/conf-*

The -days 365 option limits the certificate's validity to one year. You may choose a longer or shorter duration according to your security/maintainance preferences.

  1. Then provide Engine with the connection information it needs to give to the Telegraf agent so that it can send information to Engine.
host_ip=$(hostname -I)
cat > /etc/centreon-engine/otl_server.json <<EOF
{
    "otel_server": {
        "host": "0.0.0.0",
        "port": 4317,
        "encryption": true,
        "certificate_path": "/etc/centreon-engine/conf-server.crt",
        "key_path": "/etc/centreon-engine/conf-server.key"
    },
    "max_length_grpc_log": 0,
    "telegraf_conf_server": {
        "http_server" : {
            "port": 1443,
            "encryption": true,
            "certificate_path": "/etc/centreon-engine/conf-server.crt",
            "key_path": "/etc/centreon-engine/conf-server.key"
        },
        "engine_otel_endpoint": "${HOSTNAME}:4317",
        "check_interval":60
    }
}
EOF
chown centreon-engine: /etc/centreon-engine/otl_server.json

Configure Engine​

  1. In the Configuration > Pollers > Engine configuration menu, on the Data tab, add an entry to the Broker modules to load and enter the /usr/lib64/centreon-engine/libopentelemetry.so /etc/centreon-engine/otl_server.json directive. Save the form.

  2. Export the poller's configuration, selecting the Restart option.

System prerequisites on the monitored host​

The official installation procedure is here but you'll find the main steps below.

Installing the Telegraf agent​

  1. Download and unarchive the agent.
wget https://dl.influxdata.com/telegraf/releases/telegraf-1.30.1_windows_amd64.zip -UseBasicParsing -OutFile telegraf-1.30.1_windows_amd64.zip
Expand-Archive .\telegraf-1.30.1_windows_amd64.zip -DestinationPath 'C:\Program Files\InfluxData\telegraf\'
  1. Install the service:
"C:\Program Files\InfluxData\telegraf\telegraf-1.30.3\telegraf.exe" --config https://<poller_ip_address>:1443/engine?host=<windows_server_name> --service install

Download centreon_plugins.exe​

Download the centreon_plugins.exe from the latest release available here and copy it in the same place as the Telegraf agent (that should be "C:\Program Files\InfluxData\telegraf\telegraf-1.30.3\") if you followed the procedure to the letter.

Import the poller's certificate​

  1. Open the Edge web browser.
  2. Browse to https://<poller_ip_address>:1443.
  3. Accept the certificate. No host service found from get parameters should be displayed.
  4. Click on the certificate on the left of the URL bar.
  5. Go to Details.
  6. Export the certificate.
  7. Open the file explorer.
  8. Right-click on the certificate where you downloaded it.
  9. Select Install the certificate.
  10. Select Local machine then Next.
  11. Specify you want to choose the certificate store manually.
  12. Select Trusted Root Certificate Authority then OK.
  13. Click Next, then Finish.

Installing the monitoring connector​

Pack​

  1. If the platform uses an online license, you can skip the package installation instruction below as it is not required to have the connector displayed within the Configuration > Monitoring Connectors Manager menu. If the platform uses an offline license, install the package on the central server with the command corresponding to the operating system's package manager:
dnf install centreon-pack-operatingsystems-windows-telegraf-agent

  1. Whatever the license type (online or offline), install the Windows Telegraf Agent connector through the Configuration > Monitoring Connectors Manager menu.

  2. Create the corresponding connector:

In the Configuration > Commands > Connectors menu, click Add and fill the following fields:

ParameterValue
Connector NameTelegraf Agent
Connector DescriptionTelegraf Agent
Command Lineopentelemetry --processor=nagios_telegraf --extractor=attributes --host_path=resourceMetrics.scopeMetrics.metrics.dataPoints.attributes.host --service_path=resourceMetrics.scopeMetrics.metrics.dataPoints.attributes.service
Used by commandSelect all the commands named like OS-Windows-Telegraf-Agent-*
Connector StatusEnabled

Plugin​

This connector relies on an integration supported by Centreon Engine and does not need a plugin.

Using the monitoring connector​

Using a host template provided by the connector​

  1. Log into Centreon and add a new host through Configuration > Hosts.
  2. Fill the Name, Alias & IP Address/DNS fields according to your ressource settings.
  3. Apply the OS-Windows-Telegraf-Agent-custom template to the host. A list of macros appears. Macros allow you to define how the connector will connect to the resource, and to customize the connector's behavior.
  4. Fill in the macros you want. Some macros are mandatory.
MacroDescriptionDefault valueMandatory
SYSTEMLANGUAGELanguage installed on the Windows system (default: 'en')en
TELEGRAFPLUGINSPath where the centreon_plugins.exe plugin can be found./Program\\ Files/InfluxData/telegraf/telegraf-1.30.3X

  1. Deploy the configuration. The host appears in the list of hosts, and on the Resources Status page. The command that is sent by the connector is displayed in the details panel of the host: it shows the values of the macros.

  2. Restart the Telegraf Data Collector Service service on the Windows server. The host and services' statuses will update in the next minutes.

Using a service template provided by the connector​

  1. If you have used a host template and checked Create Services linked to the Template too, the services linked to the template have been created automatically, using the corresponding service templates. Otherwise, create manually the services you want and apply a service template to them.
  2. Fill in the macros you want (e.g. to change the thresholds for the alerts). Some macros are mandatory (see the table below).
MacroDescriptionDefault valueMandatory
FILTERSUBJECTFilter certificate by subject (can be a regexp).
FILTERTHUMBPRINTFilter certificate by thumbprint (can be a regexp).
FILTERPATHFilter certificate by path (can be a regexp).
THRESHOLDSUNITSelect the time unit for the expiration thresholds. May be 's' for seconds,'m' for minutes, 'h' for hours, 'd' for days, 'w' for weeks. Default is seconds.d
WARNINGCERTIFICATEEXPIRESThresholds.60:
CRITICALCERTIFICATEEXPIRESThresholds.30:
WARNINGCERTIFICATESDETECTEDThresholds.
CRITICALCERTIFICATESDETECTEDThresholds.
EXTRAOPTIONSAny extra option you may want to add to the command (E.g. a --verbose flag). Toutes les options sont listées ici
  1. Deploy the configuration. The service appears in the list of services, and on page Resources Status. The command that is sent by the connector is displayed in the details panel of the service: it shows the values of the macros.

How to check in the CLI that the configuration is OK and what are the main options for?​

Test that the plugin is able to monitor your Windows server by using a command like this one (replace the sample values by yours):

"\Program Files\InfluxData\telegraf\telegraf-1.30.3\centreon_plugins.exe" --plugin os::windows::local::plugin --mode sessions --language='fr' --timeout='30' --use-new-perfdata

The expected command output is shown below:

OK: Sessions created: 0, disconnected: 0, reconnected : 0, current active : 1, current disconnected : 1 | 'sessions.created.total.count'=0;;;0; 'sessions.disconnected.total.count'=0;;;0; 'sessions.reconnected.total.count'=0;;;0; 'sessions.active.current.count'=1;;;0; 'sessions.disconnected.current.count'=1;;;0;

Available modes​

In most cases, a mode corresponds to a service template. The mode appears in the execution command for the connector. In the Centreon interface, you don't need to specify a mode explicitly: its use is implied when you apply a service template. However, you will need to specify the correct mode for the template if you want to test the execution command for the connector in your terminal.

The plugin brings the following modes:

ModeLinked service template
certificates [code]OS-Windows-Telegraf-Certificates-Agent-custom
pending-reboot [code]OS-Windows-Telegraf-Pending-Reboot-Agent-custom
sessions [code]OS-Windows-Telegraf-Sessions-Agent-custom
time [code]OS-Windows-Telegraf-Ntp-Agent-custom
updates [code]OS-Windows-Telegraf-Updates-Agent-custom

Available options​

Generic options​

All generic options are listed here:

OptionDescription
--modeDefine the mode in which you want the plugin to be executed (see--list-mode).
--dyn-modeSpecify a mode with the module's path (advanced).
--list-modeList all available modes.
--mode-versionCheck minimal version of mode. If not, unknown error.
--versionReturn the version of the plugin.
--pass-managerDefine the password manager you want to use. Supported managers are: environment, file, keepass, hashicorpvault and teampass.
--verboseDisplay extended status information (long output).
--debugDisplay debug messages.
--filter-perfdataFilter perfdata that match the regexp. Eg: adding --filter-perfdata='avg' will remove all metrics that do not contain 'avg' from performance data.
--filter-perfdata-advFilter perfdata based on a "if" condition using the following variables: label, value, unit, warning, critical, min, max. Variables must be written either %{variable} or %(variable). Eg: adding --filter-perfdata-adv='not (%(value) == 0 and %(max) eq "")' will remove all metrics whose value equals 0 and that don't have a maximum value.
--explode-perfdata-maxCreate a new metric for each metric that comes with a maximum limit. The new metric will be named identically with a '_max' suffix). Eg: it will split 'used_prct'=26.93%;0:80;0:90;0;100 into 'used_prct'=26.93%;0:80;0:90;0;100 'used_prct_max'=100%;;;;
--change-perfdata --extend-perfdataChange or extend perfdata. Syntax: --extend-perfdata=searchlabel,newlabel,target[,[newuom],[min],[m ax]] Common examples: Convert storage free perfdata into used: --change-perfdata=free,used,invert() Convert storage free perfdata into used: --change-perfdata=used,free,invert() Scale traffic values automatically: --change-perfdata=traffic,,scale(auto) Scale traffic values in Mbps: --change-perfdata=traffic_in,,scale(Mbps),mbps Change traffic values in percent: --change-perfdata=traffic_in,,percent()
--extend-perfdata-groupAdd new aggregated metrics (min, max, average or sum) for groups of metrics defined by a regex match on the metrics' names. Syntax: --extend-perfdata-group=regex,namesofnewmetrics,calculation[,[ne wuom],[min],[max]] regex: regular expression namesofnewmetrics: how the new metrics' names are composed (can use $1, $2... for groups defined by () in regex). calculation: how the values of the new metrics should be calculated newuom (optional): unit of measure for the new metrics min (optional): lowest value the metrics can reach max (optional): highest value the metrics can reach Common examples: Sum wrong packets from all interfaces (with interface need --units-errors=absolute): --extend-perfdata-group=',packets_wrong,sum(packets_(discard |error)_(in|out))' Sum traffic by interface: --extend-perfdata-group='traffic_in_(.*),traffic_$1,sum(traf fic_(in|out)_$1)'
--change-short-output --change-long-outputModify the short/long output that is returned by the plugin. Syntax: --change-short-output=pattern~replacement~modifier Most commonly used modifiers are i (case insensitive) and g (replace all occurrences). Eg: adding --change-short-output='OK~Up~gi' will replace all occurrences of 'OK', 'ok', 'Ok' or 'oK' with 'Up'
--change-exitReplace an exit code with one of your choice. Eg: adding --change-exit=unknown=critical will result in a CRITICAL state instead of an UNKNOWN state.
--range-perfdataRewrite the ranges displayed in the perfdata. Accepted values: 0: nothing is changed. 1: if the lower value of the range is equal to 0, it is removed. 2: remove the thresholds from the perfdata.
--filter-uomMask the units when they don't match the given regular expression.
--opt-exitReplace the exit code in case of an execution error (i.e. wrong option provided, SSH connection refused, timeout, etc). Default: unknown.
--output-ignore-perfdataRemove all the metrics from the service. The service will still have a status and an output.
--output-ignore-labelRemove the status label ("OK:", "WARNING:", "UNKNOWN:", CRITICAL:") from the beginning of the output. Eg: 'OK: Ram Total:...' will become 'Ram Total:...'
--output-xmlReturn the output in XML format (to send to an XML API).
--output-jsonReturn the output in JSON format (to send to a JSON API).
--output-openmetricsReturn the output in OpenMetrics format (to send to a tool expecting this format).
--output-fileWrite output in file (can be combined with json, xml and openmetrics options). E.g.: --output-file=/tmp/output.txt will write the output in /tmp/output.txt.
--disco-formatApplies only to modes beginning with 'list-'. Returns the list of available macros to configure a service discovery rule (formatted in XML).
--disco-showApplies only to modes beginning with 'list-'. Returns the list of discovered objects (formatted in XML) for service discovery.
--float-precisionDefine the float precision for thresholds (default: 8).
--source-encodingDefine the character encoding of the response sent by the monitored resource Default: 'UTF-8'.

Modes options​

All available options for each service template are listed below:

OptionDescription
--filter-thumbprintFilter certificate by thumbprint (can be a regexp).
--filter-subjectFilter certificate by subject (can be a regexp).
--filter-pathFilter certificate by path (can be a regexp).
--unitSelect the time unit for the expiration thresholds. May be 's' for seconds,'m' for minutes, 'h' for hours, 'd' for days, 'w' for weeks. Default is seconds.
--warning-certificates-detectedThresholds.
--critical-certificates-detectedThresholds.
--warning-certificate-expiresThresholds.
--critical-certificate-expiresThresholds.
--no-psDon't encode powershell. To be used with --command and 'type' command.
--commandCommand to get information (default: 'powershell.exe'). Can be changed if you have output in a file. To be used with --no-ps option!!!
--command-pathCommand path (default: none).
--command-optionsCommand options (default: '-InputFormat none -NoLogo -EncodedCommand').
--ps-displayDisplay powershell script.
--ps-exec-onlyPrint powershell output.

All available options for a given mode can be displayed by adding the --help parameter to the command:

"\Program Files\InfluxData\telegraf\telegraf-1.30.3\centreon_plugins.exe" --plugin=os::windows::local::plugin --mode=certificates --help