Zenoss ZenTech Community

I have been referred to the ova demo. I'm trying to track down a tutorial regarding how to get it installed and then what I can do with it.

Is anyone aware of any web posts, blogs, magazine articles, etc. that walk one through a basic intro to Zenoss from installing the ova to getting results on the screen

If everyone is faced with starting from scratch, then so be it. But if I can find tips to avoid common problems, I'm all for that.

Subject:	Starting from scratch
Author:	[Not Specified]
Posted:	2016-03-17 08:26

The best way honestly is to start from scratch; create a new Linux virttual machine and allocate enough disk space as per the planning guide:https://www.zenoss.com/sites/default/files/documentation/Zenoss_Core_Planning_Guide_r5.1.1_d1031.16.061.pdf

Then follow the installation guide located here: https://www.zenoss.com/sites/default/files/documentation/Zenoss_Core_Installation_Guide_r5.1.1_d1051.16.060.pdf

It looks daunting but it's really a quick installation; the installation documenation is accurate, all the commands to run are there and can be copy/pasted into the console (for the most part),about half of it can be skipped ifyou're setting up a single server to act as both the Control Center and the ZenOSS instanceand overall it's less than an hour's worth of time start to finish. Advantage here is that if you do decide to stay with the platform (and for all the warts with the documentation, it really is a good monitoring tool), you're already there.

One caveat; the serverfqdn will get you to the Control Centre interface only; the ZenOSS interface will be found at https://zenoss5..

Subject:	Thank you
Author:	Larry Virden
Posted:	2016-03-17 08:28

I appreciate the pointers and the recommendation.

If you don't mind an additional question.

Are there any "walkthrough" or quick start documents for somone to learn the fundamentals of what zenoss provides

I know there are many reference documents, but I feel like a novice standing in the local hardware store, knowing that I need to fix a problem and not knowing the tools necessary for the job (or how to go about fixing the problems).

I know what we are doing today. And I know that Zenoss appears to support that and more. But having never used it before, I am uncertain that the reference guides, etc. will get me going with the basic quickly.

Subject:	To be honest, not really.
Author:	[Not Specified]
Posted:	2016-03-17 08:46

To be honest, not really. Mostly personal blogs and problem-specific 'quick-tip' posts around the internet; documentation is really one of ZenOSS' weakest points, without a doubt.

Having said that, the interface is fairly intuitive. They did a good job there; you can find most of what you're looking for in a few minutes or less. I agree; when I first installed it I'm sure was looking at it stunned look on my face an a "OK, now what" look in my eyes. However, I was pretty comfotable navigating and setting parameters within the hour - it really was that easy to navigate. Adding a device, for example, is as quick as selecting the Infrastructure link at the top, selecting the 'Add Device' button (looks like a computer monitor with a '+' sign), and filling in the appropriate details; I've attached a screenshot of what that looks like (for anyone else wandering in who's just being introduced to monitoring systems in general - hi! Hope you folks also find this thread helpful.). Monitoring performance and capacity requires a few additional settings set in the Details tab (couldn't call it Settings, of course); the documentation for the Windows ZenPack is quite good at showing where to set those and describing the configuration of the linux server to communicate with the Windows domain, and where you set the parameters to communicate with the Windows servers is the same location where you would set parameters for all other types of monitoring.

Caveat here, though, is that all settings are inherited throughout the device tree unless explicitly set lower down; so if you set a default SNMP community string at the /Devices level, all servers in the /Devices/Server/Microsoft container will have that string set, and must be either removed or changed at that level (if you choose to, and as an example of inheritance).

akirch@gvit.com

Need Zenoss support, consulting or custom development Look no further. Email or PM me!

Ready for Distributed Topology (collectors) for Zenoss 5 Coming May 1st from GoVanguard

Subject:	No changes
Author:	[Not Specified]
Posted:	2016-03-23 15:50

No, not really. Most of the changes from 5.0 to 5.1 looks to be on the back-end; so far I've found no differences in the frontend between versions.

Subject:	even between Z4 and Z5 the
Author:	Andrew Kirch
Posted:	2016-03-24 10:57

even between Z4 and Z5 the front end isn't significantly different. The graphs are new and interactive, and some of the stuff in the Advanced Tab has changed. I wouldn't expect a UI rewrite for awhile.

Andrew Kirch

akirch@gvit.com

Need Zenoss support, consulting or custom development Look no further. Email or PM me!

Ready for Distributed Topology (collectors) for Zenoss 5 Coming May 1st from GoVanguard

Subject:	Wonderful news!
Author:	Larry Virden
Posted:	2016-03-24 12:00

Thank you very much

Subject:	The Administrator's guide for
Author:	Andrew Kirch
Posted:	2016-03-25 12:46

The Administrator's guide for 5.1should be on the docs site in about 2 hours.

Subject:	Thank you
Author:	Larry Virden
Posted:	2016-03-28 08:07

I appreciate your help.

Subject:	Kicking the Zenoss tires
Author:	Larry Virden
Posted:	2016-03-17 07:02

Kicking the Zenoss tires