Check_mk Data Collector

This standalone PHP application collects data managed by check_mk's inventory feature. It synchronizes hardware information with an iTop instance using Synchronization Data Sources.

• Collects Server and PC inventory along with Models, Brands, OS Families and Versions.
• Connects to iTop via the web interface.

Requires direct (read) access to check_mk's inventory files. This means that it must be run on the machine check_mk is installed on (with adequate permissions). Alternatively, the inventory data files used by check_mk must be copied somewhere the application may access them.

Distinguishing between PCs and Servers must be achieved by manually specifying host name patterns. See Configuration below.

• PHP Version 5.3.0
• Read access on check_mk's inventory files
• Access to the iTop REST service

• Extract the contents of the archive.
• Edit conf/params.local.xml with your iTop credentials.
• Create collectors/params.distrib.xml from collectors/params.template.xml and edit the configuration options.

Edit the following parameters in conf/params.local.xml:

<itop_url>https://localhost/</itop_url>
<itop_login>admin</itop_login>
<itop_password>admin</itop_password>

These parameters must also be set in collectors/params.distrib.xml:

<default_org_id>Demo</default_org_id>
<check_mk_dir>/var/lib/check_mk/inventory</check_mk_dir>
<type_mapping type="array">
  <pattern>/.*pc.*/PC</pattern>
  <pattern>/.*srv.*/Server</pattern>
</type_mapping>

The following boolean parameters may be set in collectors/params.distrib.xml:

<use_network_hostname>false</use_network_hostname>
<skip_gz>true</skip_gz>
<skip_dot>true</skip_dot>

It may be useful to give a constant value that should be assigned to a specific field that isn't otherwise filled by the collector. This is done in collectors/params.distrib.xml:

<default_fields type="hash">
  <field_name>field value</field_name>
  <field_name2>another field value</field_name2>
</default_fields>

The data in check_mk is gathered from a variety of sources and thus may not always fit the existing iTop data. A mapping table is used to define how data should be converted to fit in with your needs when the above items are being added to iTop.

In this collector, this applies to Brand, OS Family and OS Version objects.

Mapping tables are edited in collectors/params.distrib.xml. The file collectors/params.template.xml, supplied in the archive, contains examples and further documentation.

Example:

<osfamily_mapping type="array">
  <pattern>/.*linux.*/Linux</pattern>
  <pattern>/.*windows.*/Windows</pattern>
  <pattern>/.*mac os.*/Mac OS</pattern>
  <pattern>/.*solaris.*/Solaris</pattern>
  <pattern>/.*bsd.*/BSD</pattern>
  <pattern>/.*/$1$s</pattern>
</osfamily_mapping>

This will map Linux, Windows, Mac OS, Solaris and BSD OS family variations. <pattern>/.*/$1$s</pattern> will allow the collector to add any values which don't fit any other patterns to iTop without manipulating them.

The first time the collector is run, the following command is recommended:

php exec.php --configure_only

This will create the Synchronization Data Sources if they don't already exist.

To collect the data without synchronizing with iTop, run

php exec.php --collect_only

This will store the collected data in CSV files in the data/ subdirectory of the collector - this is useful for checking the data before it is passed over to iTop. Mapped values can be checked and mapping tables updated - however, note that collection should be run again after such changes.

Finally, to perform iTop synchronization with the data collected:

php exec.php --synchro_only

Data collection and synchronization (and data source update/creation if necessary) can be performed in a single step if desired:

php exec.php

While this is simpler, it affords less control over the synchronization process.

More information on running the collector may be found on the itop-data-collector-base page.

Servers and PCs have the same data collected about them.

* denotes mandatory fields - the rest can and will be ignored if the relevant data is not present in check_mk without preventing the object from being synchronized.