GreatNMS Pro read.me, March 4, 2010 General Information =================== GreatNMS is a network management system (NMS). It can discover and perform many functions with virtually any vendor SNMP or TCP/IP devices. It provides you with the consistent view of your whole network, helps with its configuration, monitoring and troubleshooting. It is client/server application which allows secure performing NMS functions by several users simultaneously. This package/self-extractable module contains the following : 1. GreatNMS Pro (GNMS Pro) which is a full-featured version of GreatNMS. 2. GreatNMS Trial (GNMS Trial) which is a limited time period trial version of GNMS Pro. The limitations of GNMS Trial are: 3.1 30 days only 3.2 When program starts, user is given an option to select which limitation he prefers: 3.2.1 2 hours time limit of continuous work; no limit on managed nodes number. After 2 hours of continuous work the big message pop's up saying that the app will close and user must restart it again . 3.2.2 No time limit. However the number of managed nodes is limited to 5. 3.3 Must be installed in the clean (new) directory. (IMPORTANT!!!) GNMS Pro require license password (activation code) to run. This password is not required for installation, but it will be requested the first time you run the software. To obtain the password send a request to greatnms@greatnms.net Include the S/N received when you purchased the software, and the IP address of the computer on which you run GNMS Pro. You will NOT be able to change the IP address in the future, so it is recommended that you send the e-mail request AFTER you run GNMS Pro first time, because the first window will display the required IP Address. GNMS Trial does not require a password to run but it will cease operating after 30 days. GreatNMS server can run on Win98/WinMe/WinNT/Win2000/WinXP/Win2003/Vista/Win2008/Windows 7 . Additionally GreatNMS rich GUI (graphical user interface) can be accessed via Web based clientx on ANY platform remotely (see below). There are two different ways that GUI can be accessed: 1. Local GUI is provided on the same PC that is running GreatNMS server. 2. Remote Web-Console GUI can be accessed from any computer (any OS, including UNIX, Linux...), which is capable of running Sun's Java-enabled Web Browser. There is NO specific console software required. Just start your Web Browser and point it to the address: "http:///", where is IP Address of the PC GreatNMS Server is running on, e.g.: "http://192.168.1.97/" Quick Start Info. ================== 1. Install GreatNMS by running "../gnmssetupXXX.exe" self-extractable module from GreatNMS CD or downloaded installation Kit. (xxx represents the version number. You can also get the latest self-extractable module from www.gretanms.net. Start the self-extractable module via "Start"/"Run" function of MS Windows. Follow instructions on the screen. This is a standard MS Windows installation. See also the end of this file (12) for some known installation issues and installation tips. 2. Start GreatNMS server. 2.1 Start as Trial version. To run GreatNMS as Trial (no license password required), please run "Start"->"Programs"->GreatNMS->"GreatNMS Trial (trial version)" startup menu item of MS Windows. 2.2 Start as Full Commercial Version. Start GreatNMS Pro via "Start"->"Programs"->"GreatNMS"->"GreatNMS Pro (full version)" startup menu menu item of MS Windows. The "Login" Screen will appear.To login after installation, enter SUPERVISOR as "User Name" and press OK with NO password. There is also ability to run GreatNMS as Windows service. The main purpose of this feature is to allow automatically restart GreatNMS when the server reboots. To use, select "Start->All Programs->GreatNMS->Run GreatNMS as Windows Service". The first time you run GreatNMS as a service, it will also install the service. After that, you can start/stop/configure the service via Right-mouse-click on "My Computer"->"Manage"->"Services And Applications" and scroll to "GreatNMSService". In order to run GreatNMS as a Service on Windows Vista and higher (e.g. Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7), you need also start "Interactive Services Detection Service" which is specific for Windows Vista and higher. If you do not start the above Service on Windows Vista (or higer), GreatNMS Service still runs OK, but you will not see the Main GreatNMS window and correspondingly there will be impossible to configure GNMS server "locally". 3. When you start GreatNMS Pro first time, the "License Password" request screen appears. You need to enter your license password in order to continue. This password is connected to the IP Address of the PC running GreatNMS Pro. You can obtain your password via e-mail. Your e-mail request for password must include the IP Address and GreatNMS Pro Serial Number (received when the software was purchased). 4. Use GNMS Pro Main Menu "Map"/"Autodiscovery" or "Edit"/"Add" functions to add devices icons to the GreatNMS Pro map. The device icons colors mean: a. Green(OK) : the device communication status is OK. b. Red(Critical) : there is no communication with the device. c. Gray(Unknown) : the device communication status is unknown. d. Yellow(Warning): there are some warnings about this device in the alarms log. e. Purple(Info) : there are some info messages about this device in the alarms log. f. Orange(Major) : there are some major messages about this device in the alarms log. 5. Use "Edit"/"Add Link"," Map"/"Set Background Image" , "Edit"/"Add Device"(SUBMAP) to create links, Submaps and get the realistic view of your network. 6. Use "Internet Options"/"E-mail configuration" and "Options"/"Alarms Configuration" to configure alarms and e-mail notifications. Use "Monitor/Services Monitor" to monitor mission-critical network services, such as e-mail, FTP, e-commerce, and etc. 7. In order to get access via Web you must leave your GreatNMS Pro running all the time. You may reconfigure the HTTP port value via "Internet options"/"Web Server Config". (By default this port is 80). You may need to configure another value if you have another WEB-server application (like Microsoft Internet Information Server) running on the same PC. 8. You may use the Web-Console from any computer, which is connected to the Internet/Intranet. Start the Web Browser and point it to the following URL: a. If you did not reconfigure the HTTP port value (it is 80 by default) enter: "http://a.b.c.d/" b. If you reconfigured the HTTP port value (e.g. port=2000) enter: "http://a.b.c.d:2000/" (where a.b.c.d is the IP Address of the PC running GreatNMS Pro, e.g.: 192.168.1.97) Your Web browser will show the "Remote Console" Login/Password Screen. Please, note the "password" is the same "password" which is used the GreatNMS Pro Login screen. By default, after installation the supervisor's password is Empty String, so you may just press the "Login" button. 9. 9.1 IMPORTANT TROBLESHOOTING INFO!!! (1) Please make sure that Sun's Java JRE v1.4 or higher is installed on your computer and the Web Browser is allowed to use Java. This is common nowadays, but you may have some settings preventing this. 9.2 Pop-ups are allowed the "http://a.b.c.d" site (MV Pro Server computer IP Address) Pop-up blockers (like Google and others) are disabled for the above address. 9.3 Browser does not use any proxies for internet connections. For Internet Explorer: Main Menu-Tools-Internet Options-Connections-LAN Settings: The following check-boxes MUST BE UNCHECKED: "Automatically detect settings" "Use Automatic Configuration Script" "Use a proxy server...." 9.4 Please make sure that "http://a.b.c.d" is included in the list of your trusted sites. 9.5 Under Win XP and higher you may need to disable Windows Firewall for some ports. (like HTTP port 80..., (See Start->Settings->Control Panel->Windows Firewall. If you are concerned about security, please, see the GreatNMS "Web Server Config" window, which is called from MainMenu->Internet Options->Web Server Configuration. This window allows to set specific port which is supposed to to be open in the firewall. This port is used for communication between client and server. The default port value is 80. 9.6 If you are running Opera Browser, it is important to set "MainMenu->Tools->Preferences, "General" Tab , set Startup to "Start With Blank Page" (Do NOT set it nither to "Continue from last time" nor to "Continue Saved Sessions". Using the same menu item "Advanced" Tab -> History->"Check if cached page is updated on the server", set "Check Documents" to "Always" and "Check Images" to "Always". 9.7 IMPORTANT TROBLESHOOTING INFO!!!(2) If you do not succeed to see any independent window (only HTML-based screens inside your Web Browser main window) it may mean that your Web Browser does not support Java. For example, Internet Explorer/Netscape could be installed without Java option. In that case you should reinstall your Web Browser and make sure that Java option is enabled. Another reason of this is that the Popup Blocker for GNMS Server URL IP Address is enabled (it must be disabled). 9.8 When Web Client is running on Windows Platform which is set to non-English display default language, there maybe some font display problems in Java Window open via Web Browser. For example, numbers and letters may have different size. The workaround is simple: Set "English" as current display format via: "Control Panel"->"Regional and Language Options"->"Current Format". Note, that your language still will be supported by your PC. 10. Tip: While working with remote console via WEB browser there maybe physical network problems or too slow Internet connection, which can lead to the session canceling because of timeouts. User is required to enter his password again to be connected to the server and continue the work (security reasons). All the previous session windows may stay on the screen, though they are not usable any more. In that case it is recommended to close Web browser and enter it again BEFORE entering a new session. This will automatically close all the previous session windows. 11. Some known issues/installation tips/troubleshooting info. a. It is strongly recommended NOT TO INSTALL GreatNMS Pro on the DRIVES which belong to remote network computers. The issue is connected to selecting GreatNMS Pro root directory. b. It is strongly recommended NOT TO USE long directory names with spaces like "Program Files" as a root GreatNMS directory. The issue is connected to selecting GreatNMS root directory. c. It is strongly recommended NOT TO USE SLOW computers as a Web remote console. (see GreatNMS platform requirements below). This may lead to slow GUI and regular sessions canceling because of timeouts. d. If you have problems viewing devices front panel (e.g. the sizes of modules are not correct and you cannot see all the modules) or some data screens seem misaligned, please change: "Control Panel"/"Display"/"Settings"/"Font size" to "Small Fonts". e. If there is no SNMP traps received, it is recommended to turn Windows "SNMP Trap service" OFF and restart GreatNMS Pro. Note that you need first to stop the service and DISABLE it after that, otherwise it may start by itself (see Windows "Services" dialog) f. SQL Server/MSDE installation issues. Note: On Windows Vista, Windows server 2003 and higher GreatNMS installs new SQL Server Express (based on SQL Server 2005) by default. Hint for Win XP SP2 or Windows Server 2003: If you have .NET Framework 2.0 installed, GreatNMS installs new SQL Server Express, otherwise GreatNMS installs old MSDE 7.0 f1. MSDE 7.0 only. If you experience problems with MS SQL Server (MSDE), it is recommended to uninstall SQL Server (MSDE). Before doing uninstall you will have to Stop SQL Service and exit SQL Service Manager application - otherwise uninstall will fail. Sometimes in order to close SQL Service Manager it is needed to cancel it via Windows Task Manager. After SQL server uninstall is complete: delete manually MSDE directory (usually c:\mssql7 or d:\mssql7) and run GreatNMS Pro installation again. If you still experience problems with SQL Server delete the following entry from win32 registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSSQLServer and run GreatNMS Pro installation again. Note that manual Win32 registry editting is done via running "regedit.exe" from MS Windows "Start"->"Run" prompt. f2. MSDE 7.0 only. Under Windows 2003 Server the following message may pop-up during installation: "SQL Server 7.0 is not supported by this version of Windows." Please, click "Continue" and disregard this message. It still works under Windows 2003. f3. MSDE 7.0 only. If you want to use any other/more recent version of MS SQL Server or MSDE you still can do it : just install your SQL Server/MSDE after GNMS Web installation ends. It will continue to work and use your new SQL Server/MSDE. f4. If you receive the following error message: "The password does not meet the password policy requirements. Check the minimum password length, password complexity, and password history requirements." This error may happen when running on Win XP SP2 and higher or Win2000 with latest Service Packs. It means that your network security policy does not allow default empty passwords, which are used when SQL/MSDE is installed. Click "OK" and disregard the message. It should be OK. If after starting GNMS Pro you still see SQL problems: Login as LOCAL system administrative account (versus network domain account) and reinstall GreatNMS Pro. f5. MSDE 7.0 only. If you receive the following error message: "CreateProc Error", "scm.exe -Action 1 -Service MSSQLServer -Silent 1". This error may happen when you do not have administrative privileges on the computer you are installing GreatNMS Pro. f6. If SQL Database installation takes more than 25 min and does not seem to be progressing, there may be some system message which requires confirmation. This message may sometimes pop-up behind the *blue* SQL Installation Window, and therefore go unnoticed. Use "ALT-TAB" keys to check for any hidden pop-ups and acknowledge them so the installation process can resume. f7. On Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and higher GreatNMS installs SQL Server Express (based on SQL Server 2005) by default. Hint for Win XP or Windows Server 2003: If you have .NET Framework 2.0 installed, GreatNMS installs new SQL Server Express, otherwise GreatNMS installs old MSDE 7.0 f8. When installing GreatNMSon Windows 7, the SQL Server 2005 Express part of installation may present you with a warning message. The message says that this SQL Server version has a known compatibility issues with Windows 7. You can safely continue the installation by clicking "Run program" . GreatNMS will work OK, however if you have any doubts/concerns/problems you still can apply the latest service pack for SQL Server 2005 afterwards. At the time of writing this document, the latest was "Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition Service Pack 3" . f9. If SQL Server 2005 Express Install (which is launced by GreatNMS Install) passed OK, but you See "SQL Insert Error" yellow messages after GreatNMS Start, most probably SQL Server 2005 Service is not running. It is called "SQL Server (NMSSE)" in the list of services. Make sure it is started (via Windows "services" dialog) and restart GreatNMS. GreatNMS "Backup" and "Restore" procedures can be used to to replicate all maps, devices and Alarms History DB on one GNMS Server into another GNMS Server. However "Restore" of History Alarms DB does not work, if "Backup" is done on MSDE/SQL Server version which is higher than the version used for "Restore". SQL Server Express (based on SQL Server 2005) installation is supposed to install OK on both x86-based computers and the 32-bit subsystem of 64-bits computers (x64). Note, that GNMS+SQL install runs OK on x86-based computers and supports WoW64, but it does NOT support IA64. Under Windows Vista and higher (e.g. Windows Server 2008), it may be not enough to run both GNMS install and GNMS Server as administrative user. If you find that after install "History Alarms Dialog" (based on SQL Server Express DB) still does not work and there are "yellow" SQL Warning messages in the "Current Alarms Log Dialog", try the following: 1. From the "Control Panel", navigate to the "Main User Accounts Page" and disable "User Acount Control" (UAC). Reboot Windows, reinstall and restart GNMS. 2. Note that the above described problems can happen on any x64 Windows and aditional thing which can help is running both GNMS install and GNMS server as "Administrator"; note, not as "administartive user", but as "Administrator" ("administrative user" with the name "Administrator"). New issue which appeared after Microsoft had released Service Pack 3 for Win XP (Win XP SP3). SQL Server Express 2005 can work OK under XP SP3, if it had been installed BEFORE SP3 was installed. So everything will continue working after upgrading SP2 to SP3. However, installation of SQL Server Express 2005 fails under Win XP SP3 (known Microsoft problem). That is why GNMS installation installs and uses MSDE 7.0 unders Win XP SP3. So if you are installing/upgrading GNMS under Win XP SP3, old MSDE 7.0 is being installed. Unfortunatelly in that case, the previous Alarms History will be deleted. You can also workaround this problem via thse following way: 1. Exit GNMS and uninstall Service Pack 3 (XP SP3). 2. Install GNMS (this will also install/upgrade SQL Server Express 2005). Run GNMS and check that GNMS History alarms log works OK. 3. Install Service Pack XP SP3 back and start GNMS Pro. It should be working fine including History Alarms Log. f8. When installing GreatNMS on Windows 7, the SQL Server 2005 Express part of installation may present you with a warning message. The message says that this SQL Server version has a known compatibility issues with Windows 7 . You can safely continue the installation by clicking "Run program" . GreatNMS will work OK, however if you have any doubts/concerns/problems you still can apply the latest service pack for SQL Server 2005 afterwards. At the time of writing this document, the latest was "Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition Service Pack 3" f9. In Windows 7,Win Server 2008 and higher. If GreatNMS installation passed without errors (including MS SQL Server Express part) and SQL problem is seen when you start GreatNMS Pro first time, it can be solved as following. Use Right mouse click to make Windows Start Menu shortcuts : All Programs->GreatNMS->GreatNMS Pro (full version) All Programs->GreatNMS->GreatNMS Trial (trial version) to "run as Administrator" . This will be required only when you start GreatNMS first time If the above is not done, GreatNMS may suggest you using PostgreSQL engine when started first time. If you accept, it will work OK as well. g. It is required that you install GreatNMS Server ( or run it) as a Windows user, which has Administrative privileges. This requirement is important for MS Windows which is based on NT technology (like WinNT/Win2000/WinXP and higher) . Also it is important that you run GreatNMS Server as the same Windows administrative user which run the installation. Since Windows Domains can put additional restrictions on read-write access to different directories on GreatNMS Server computer, it is strongly recommended to run GreatNMS Server on a dedicated computer which is NOT a part of any Windows Domain. h. If you observe the following problem: Sudden connection interruptions - devices become red and then become green again or Web Interface times out immediately after it starts. It may happen only when: h.1 GNMS server is running on Win2000/WinNT only. h.2 Managed TCPIP devices or Web Consoles are located on IP Subnet(s) which are different from the IP Subnet GNMS Web PC is located on. h.3 GNMS web PC IP Configuration has more than one default gateways configured h.4 The second (alternate) gateway does not have a rout to the IP Subnet(s) which contain managed TCPIP devices or Web Consoles. You may solve the problem using one of the following ways: h.5 Take out alternate gateway from the IP Configuration. h.6 Make sure that alternate gateway knows how to route to the desired IP subnets. h.7 Install the latest Service Pack for Win2000 (SP4 or higher). For details (and WinNT) please see: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=285663 (Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 285663) i. If you have 2 NIC cards (two IP Addresses) on your PC and GreatNMS license screen shows IP Address which is different from the one you used in a request for the license password. i.1. Go to "Network and Dial-up Connection" screen (right mouse click on Network Connections) i.2. Temporary disable the interface(s) which correspond to "wrong" IP Address. i.3. Start GreatNMS Pro - the correct IP Address will be picked because it is the only one left. i.4. Enable second interface. It is OK, because GNMS is already running now. The above procedure works only on Win2000/WinXP and higher, because they allow "on-the-fly" IP Configuration change. k. If GNMS is being upgraded the previous version the alarm log database will be erased (but this does not apply to installtions unders Win Vista ,Windows Server 2003 and higher) l. Starting two instances of GNMS server on the same computer simultaneously may corrupt the database. m. It was observed that running MacAffee (TM) Anti-virus service software may be the reason of MSDE /MS SQL Server database installation problems. Therefore it is recommended to stop the anti-virus service when installing GreatNMS Pro n. It was observed that running GNMS Web Installation via Windows Remote Desktop Connection (Windows Terminal services) may be the reason of MSDE(MS SQL Server) database installation problems. Other problems were observed when remote VSC console was used. Therefore it is recommended to install GNMS Web LOCALLY only. o. Upgrade to a newer GreatNMS version. If you want to install a new GreatNMS Pro version over the old one and keep all the maps/devices information - just install it in the same directory the previous one was installed (usually c:\greatnms). Important: DO NOT RUN UNINSTALL! Also you must run installation as the same user who run the previous GNMS Web version installation. p. If GNMS installation suddenly closes - You probably have defective CD. Try to copy installation kit directory somewhere else and it may show exactly which files are problematic. You can always download any GNMS version from www.gretanms.net q. GreatNMS running and closes sometimes. Restart GNMS and see the last alarm log message before it ended - most probably you will find the error message that there is not enough memory - usually happens on Win XP . Increase memory. r. It was observed that running Norton Anti-virus software may be the reason of wrong Services monitoring alarms , e.g: FTP service is discovered though it is not actually running. It happens because Norton Anti-virus proxies some popular services (FTP, HTTP, SMTP...) If you see such problem, please disable this feature of Norton-Anti virus. s. It was observed that Windows Firewall (included starting from Windows XP, SP2) may be the reason of wrong Services monitoring alarms , e.g: FTP service is discovered though it is not actually running. It happens because the Firewall proxies some popular services (FTP, HTTP, SMTP...). If you see such problem and still want to monitor the services reliably, please disable Windows Firewall on the PC running GreatNMS Pro. t. For MSDE only: If you see that the History Alarms Log Window hangs up and does not work. Install the latest Service Pack for SQL Server 7.0 (MSDE 1.0). The latest one at the time of writing this document was Service Pack 3. You can get it from: http://www.microsoft.com/sql/downloads/sp3.asp u. Issue with MAC-based license password. "First time start ...." screen does not accept MAC-based password. Check that NetBIOS over TCP/IP is enabled for the network connection. See: Start->Settings->Network Connections; Right-mouse click on "Local Area Connection" , choose Internet Protocol (TCP/IP); Click on "Properties"->"Advanced", choose WINS tab. Make sure that NetBIOS over TCP/IP is enabled. w. If GreatNMS Web Interface does not work and Alarms Log displays: "Warning: Could not start Web Server! No remote Web console." It means that one of the required TCP/IP ports (See Main Menu->"Internet Options->Web Server Config" are taken by some other applications). For example, Skype (internet telephone) is such application. The workaround is to define in the "Web Server Config" another port number(s). x. There is a known issue with GNMS Pro Server "backup" function when running GNMS Pro Server as Windows Service. (MainMenu->File->Backup....) In this case, the "Make New Folder" button from the Common Windows "Browse For Folder" Dialog does not work. Fortunatelly, the workaround is obvious and simple: create the backup directory manually in Windows Explorer before starting GNMS Pro backup operation. y. It is allowed to have more than one different icon/device with the same name in different maps, however you should make sure that the devices have the same IP Address (and other communication parameters) in the "Describe" dialog. Basicaly it means that the same name icons describe THE SAME physical device. The situation when more than one different icons (in different maps) have different IP Address (and other communication parameters) is NOT allowed. GreatNMS will not report an error, however after GreatNMS restart, ALL the SAME NAME icons will be assigned the same IP Address (and other coommuication parameters: community names,polling interval etc...) z. Starting from GreatNMS 1.03 the following SQL engines can be used in GreatNMS as alternatives to Microsoft SQL Server/MSDE: - PostgreSQL. - MySQL (requires downloading some files from www.mysql.com, see below. - SQLite. User can choose the desired SQL Engine via Main GreatNMS Server Window Menu: Options->"Misc Options" menu item. All the above SQL engines are installed by GreatNMS installation. The only exception is MySQL. To use MySQL, you will have to download some files from www.mysql.com and put them in the special location under GreatNMS installation directory. More detailed instructions are below: When at www.mysql.com, select "downloads"->MySQL Community Server Choose the latest GA version (at the moment of writing this document the latest GA version was 5.1) Choose "download" -> Windows -> "Without installer (unzip in C:\)" and download mysql-noinstall-X.X.XX-win32.zip. Unzip the zip-file into C:. The directory structure will be under C:\mysql-X.X.XX-win32 . Take the following files: z1. C:\mysql-X.X.XX-win32\Embedded\DLL\release\libmysqld.dll Place libmysqld.dll into \exe directory. z2. C:\mysql-5.1.37-win32\share\english\errmsg.sys Place errmsg.sys into \mysql\english directory. Use "Main GreatNMS Server Window Menu"->"Options"->"Misc Options" menu item to set MySQL as a desired SQL Engine (it will request to restart GreatNMS Server) GreatNMS Pro platform requirements. ==================================== 1. Server Platform CPU minimum is 1Ghz. 3GHz CPU or more is recommended. Monitor minimum is 19". 21" or bigger monitor is recommended. Memory minimum is 256 MB. 512 MB or more memory is recommended. 400 MB available hard disk space is required. OS: WinNT/Win2000/WinXP/Win2003/Vista/Win2008,Windows 7, Win2003 Server is recommended. 2. Client Platform (Minimum Configuration and recommended) CPU NOT LESS than 1Ghz , 2.5 GHz or more is recommended. Important: anything less will result a slow GUI) Memory minimum 512 MB for UNIX workstations or 256 MB for PC, 19" or bigger monitor. Standard Hard Disk according to OS requirements. Any OS: MS Windows/Solaris/HP UX/AIX/Linux ... Java Enabled Web Browser like Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher or Netscape 4.x or higher. Sun Java JRE 1.4 or higher. Important note: the above platform requirements are very approximate values. Larger networks require a more powerful (in terms of CPU and RAM) computer. ===End of the GreatNMS Pro read.me file ===================================