Henrik, Since you are adding new features, I would like to request one. Would it be possible to add a web interface for adding and deleting clients? I have implemented Hobbit where I work and at two other places where my friends work and everyone LOVES it. I have no problem with unix and the vi editor but most everyone I know has no idea how to handle it....they are mostly windows (where do I click?) people. Trying to explain unix and ANY editor is like trying to teach physics to a brick....it doesn't matter who the teacher is...it's still a brick. Having a web interface would enable them to manage this all by themselves (as well as my co-workers!). If this is too much trouble....no big deal but it never hurts to ask.
Regards
KEvin
On Sat, Apr 16, 2005 at 07:25:40PM -0400, kevin hanrahan wrote:
Since you are adding new features, I would like to request one. Would it be possible to add a web interface for adding and deleting clients?
It's possible, yes - but not terribly high on my priority list.
There are really two parts of this.
First, we need some kind of "property editor" for the hosts that are defined in Hobbit - a tool where you can tweak all of the host-specific settings, like what network tests to perform, whether it should be tested using IP-address or host name, what IP address it's got etc. This ought to be really simple - it's essentially building a web front-end to a simple database - except that the database holding the records is a flat text-file, not a real DB. So we should convert Hobbit into using a database instead of a plain text file for this data, and this is something I have on my to-do list - all of the tools using the bb-hosts file have been converted into using an API for fetching the data in the bb-hosts file, so it's just a matter of coming up with a MySQL back-end for it.
The second part requires a bit more web GUI creativity - it's about how you can create a web front-end to define the page layouts for Hobbit (the "page", "subpage", "group-compress", "title" etc. tags you currently have in bb-hosts, but which do not relate to any specific host). Since I'm really a nuts-n-bolts engineering kind of guy, I have no idea how best to tackle this. If there's some brilliant web-designer out there who would care to lend a hand with this, it would be very helpful.
Of course, for completeness we'd need a web-interface to the alert configuration. I haven't given that much thought yet.
Regards, Henrik
On 4/17/05, Henrik Stoerner <henrik at hswn.dk> wrote:
fetching the data in the bb-hosts file, so it's just a matter of coming up with a MySQL back-end for it.
What about a sqlite backend as well? While I have mysql servers available, it might be nice to use sqlite for standalone installations.
-Robert
On Sun, 2005-04-17 at 08:28 +0200, Henrik Stoerner wrote:
On Sat, Apr 16, 2005 at 07:25:40PM -0400, kevin hanrahan wrote:
The second part requires a bit more web GUI creativity - it's about how you can create a web front-end to define the page layouts for Hobbit (the "page", "subpage", "group-compress", "title" etc. tags you currently have in bb-hosts, but which do not relate to any specific host).
So... make them apply to a specific host. Just like with the alternate pagesets.
I maintain three bb-hosts files: bb-hosts - has a few defaults, the BB infrastructure servers, etc. bb-hosts-network - has all of the devices that I monitor with MRTG, generated from a mysql database. bb-hosts-network-pages - has all of the page structure.
So, in bb-hosts-network, I might have: 0.0.0.0 brackenridge-2950.austin-energy.net # nodisp prefer ntp NETMAP:central-brackenridge 0.0.0.0 brackenridge-3750.austin-energy.net # nodisp prefer ntp NETMAP:central-brackenridge 0.0.0.0 brackenridge-probe.austin-energy.net # nodisp prefer NETMAP:central-brackenridge 0.0.0.0 brackenridge-ups-789.austin-energy.net # nodisp prefer NETMAP:central-brackenridge 0.0.0.0 brackenridge-ups.austin-energy.net # nodisp prefer NETMAP:central-brackenridge
And in bb-hosts-network-pages I have: netmappage central central netmapsubpage central-balcones balcones netmapsubpage central-brackenridge brackenridge netmapsubpage central-cameron cameron netmapsubpage central-centralaustin centralaustin
These can easily be split into different tables. I'd probably set up my page table to have a parent field, so that you can support arbitrary levels. You might want to put groups in the same table, with some sort of flag to distinguish between a group and a page. But a group is merely another hierarchical place to stick hosts.
Then, in the host table, just add a field that signified the page/group that the host belongs to. To support alternate pagesets, you might want to make that a linked table in an 1:n relationship.
Since I'm really a nuts-n-bolts engineering kind of guy, I have no idea how best to tackle this. If there's some brilliant web-designer out there who would care to lend a hand with this, it would be very helpful.
Of course, for completeness we'd need a web-interface to the alert configuration. I haven't given that much thought yet.
-- Daniel J McDonald, CCIE # 2495, CNX Austin Energy
dan.mcdonald at austinenergy.com
participants (4)
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dan.mcdonald＠austinenergy.com
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henrik＠hswn.dk
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idxman01＠gmail.com
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kevin＠ewormhole.com