Web-based Network Monitoring Program for Linux and Unix
nPULSE Copyright 2001, Horsburgh.com. All Rights Reserved.
Author: Steve Horsburgh, shorsburgh@horsburgh.com
Version: 0.42
CONTENTS
nPULSE is a web-based network monitoring package for Linux and Unix-like operating systems. It can quickly monitor tens, hundreds, even thousands of sites/devices at a time on multiple ports. nPULSE is written in Perl 5 and comes with its own mini web server (SSL optional) for extra security.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
This is the FAQ for nPulse. I've assembled some of the re-occuring questions and placed the answer/solution here. If you have difficulty with nPulse this is the FIRST place to check. If you can't find your answer here, feel free to send me an Email at npulse@horsburgh.com. The latest version of this FAQ is at http://www.horsburgh.com/h_npulsefaq.html. Also checkout the nPulse Developers Page. (This FAQ assumes that the defaults where used for file locations during setup.)Contents
A:
IP address and port numbers are located in /usr/local/npulse/etc/configfile
Most of the configuration files are located in the /usr/local/npulse/etc directory. You can edit this file either within nPulse (via the Setup button) or with your favorite text editor. You can also export an existing database/spreadsheet using the format:
IPADDRESS<space>PORTLIST
A: Email notification is very sensitive to your sendmail setup. nPulse uses the Perl module: 'Mail::Mailer' as the mail routine. First, make sure you have the most recent version of 'Mail::Mailer' (# perl -MCPAN -e 'install Mail::Mailer'). Second, make sure that the Automatic Monitoring feature is enabled and that you have entered a valid email address. Third, make sure 'autorecheck.pl' is running (via the Status Page). Lastly, the notification only takes place on the 'next' automatic monitoring interval. So if you used the 20 minute default, it could be 40 (2 * 20) minutes before you receive a notification.
A: The 'Basic' and 'Compact' display are generated by either the 'AutoCheck' background process (when it finishes a run) or by clicking the 'Recheck' button.
A:
As root issue the following command:
# /usr/local/npulse/etc/restart
Also you can stop/start nPulse using the following:
# /usr/local/npulse/etc/stop
# /usr/local/npulse/etc/start
A:
Yes. There is a file that contains all of the name, email, phone, etc. It's called
/usr/local/npulse/data/infofile.txt
It contains the textual information for each device. The format is
key1 => "value1", key2 => "value2", etc...
one line per device with the 'ip' and 'os' and 'icon' keys required.
A: Yes, I've considered it. No, it's not implemented yet.... (I'm also looking for suggestions).
A: No, nPulse does not currently work on any Windows operating systems. Since nPulse uses NMAP as its network scan engine, it is only available for Linux and Unix operating systems.
A: nPulse Pro is not yet ready for public release. Currently I'm putting nearly all of the features into nPulse Standard as freeware. Once the code stabilizes, has been tested on many system types, and documentation written, I will release the Pro version (which will probably have a price tag for support).
A:
Use the utility 'usermod':
# /usr/local/npulse/usermod -m admin newpassword
A: Use the utility 'usermod' to modify/create/delete users and modify passwords.
A: Users other than 'admin' will only be allowed access to the home, help, copyright, basic, compact, and detail pages. There is limited access to the detail page as well.
A: Most likely the 'auto check' is on (running/sleeping) when you are making your changes in the Settings section. The best thing is to turn off 'auto check' before you make any settings change and then turn it back on after you finish. The reason this happens is that if 'auto check' is enabled and you make a change to any setting then the 'auto check' process restarts and rescans the network, thus your timeout. Note that the process DOES continue to completion in the background.
A: No. If you only want status (up/down) information then leave the port numbers blank.
A: Use groups (ranges) of ip addresses instead of single address values. nPULSE runs **much** faster if you use ranges of ip address rather than a single entry for each address. For example 192.168.1.10-50 21,23,80 is about 20 times faster than single entries for each ip address.
A: As of version 0.04p1 nPulse supports SSL.
A: Using the 'Ping Sweep' feature on the 'Status Page' will provide information on what devices are responding that you are not currently monitoring. It also gives a quick overview status (up/down) of each of the devices.
A: Yes. Go to the 'Details' page for the device. Then choose the icon from a pulldown menu and click 'update'. This feature became available in version 0.40p2.
A: The email report is only sent when monitored devices transition from an 'up' state to a 'down' state or from a 'down' state to an 'up' state. If only the port status changes on a device that is already up, no email is sent.
A: Yes, simply set the email notification address to a group email account.
A: Not yet....
A: Starting with v0.32p2 I've implemented a 'sort' feature. It can sort the 'Basic' and 'Compact' screens in a variety of ways. You might use the 'Location' or 'CustomerID' fields to specify your grouping and then sort.
A: No. I've had a number of good suggestions, but, I've not had time to delve too deeply into it yet.
A:
Yes. Simply edit the 'preferences.pl' file and add the fields to the variable '$Templatetext'. Template lines are of the form
Name_Position => undef
where 'Name' is the field name (letters and digits only) and 'Position' is the line number you want the info to appear on. For example: MyCustom1_9 => undef defines a field called 'MyCustom1' displayed on line 9.
A: Yes. There are a number of ways to display the information on the 'Basic' and 'Compact' overview pages. From the 'Settings' page, choose 'Configuration' and set the 'UseAliases' value to one (1) and then set 'CustomName' so that it displays the info you want.
A:
Yes. An undocumented feature allows you to limit user/admin access to nPulse to only a specified ip or subnet. Edit the /usr/local/npulse/etc/miniserv.conf file and insert the following line:
allow=IPADDR/NETMASK
where IPADDR is a base IP address and NETMASK is the sub-network mask. For example:
allow=192.168.0.0/255.255.255.0
gives access to systems on ip addresses 192.168.0.1 to 192.168.0.254. To limit to a single IP use a netmask of 255.255.255.255
A: The 'Edit Filters' menu choice under the pull-down 'overview' menu allows you to specify different groupings of devices. Each grouping (or filter) has it's own name, style, and ip list. Different filters can be specified for each user.
A: Customization of the home page for both regular users and admin users is available starting with version 0.40p5. There are two files: userwelcome and adminwelcome (in /usr/local/npulse) that contain the HTML that appears when the user clicks on the 'Home' button. You can use these files to add custom instructions, company logos, system-wide messages, etc.
A: Of course! nPulse is Open Source. Suggestions, bug fix submissions, enhancements are always welcome. When submitting an enhancement or bug fix, please include the version number and if possible a 'diff' file to npulse@horsburgh.com.
Sorry, I've not had the time yet...
Just go to the home page and click on the 'setup' button. Then either manually enter the ip addresses (NUMERIC ONLY), or enter a numeric ip address range into the discover box and let it figure out the config file.
Example:
192.168.0.1-3,5
This checks addresses 192.168.0.1, 192.168.0.2, 192.168.0.3, 192.168.0.5.
Then click on the 'Recheck' or 'Auto Check' button to start monitoring.
The rest should be fairly intuitive. Note: if browser timeouts occur, go to the Status page and wait for scan completion.
Please send all bug reports (and solutions if you have them) to npulsebug@horsburgh.com
This is BETA software and my not be suitable for production use.
You have been warned..........