Troubleshooting Alarm Management

The ZENworks for Servers 3 alarm management system can be an extremely useful tool when debugging LAN- and server-related issues through the use of a number of alarm events. But if a problem exists in the alarm management system itself, you may not be notified. The following sections discuss steps to take if you are experiencing problems with the alarm management system.

Verifying SNMP Agents Are Loaded on Devices

The first step when troubleshooting the alarm management system is to verify that the SNMP agents are loaded on the servers. The agents are responsible for capturing events as they occur. If the agent is not loaded, then events will not be captured. Therefore, you should check your servers and any other devices, such as a bridge, that may have SNMP agents loaded. (For more information on SNMP agents, see Chapter 11, "Using ZENworks for Servers 3 Alarm Management.")

Verifying Status of Alarm Manager Database

Next check the status of the Alarm Manager database on your NetWare management server. To do this, first make certain that the database is loaded. Then make sure that the server itself is not having problems and that there are no error messages relating to the database. (For more information on the Alarm Manager, see Chapter 11.)

Verifying SNMP Connectivity Between Management Console and SNMP Devices

After you verify that the Alarm Manager database is up, you need to verify connectivity to the devices. Use the connectivity test utility, discussed in Chapter 11, to test the SNMP connectivity between the management console and all devices from which you are not receiving alarms.

Verifying Alarm Thresholds

After you verify that the SNMP service on the devices in question can communicate with the management console, you should verify the alarm thresholds for the alarms that you are not receiving. If the alarm threshold is too great, or too little for falling thresholds, it may never be reached and trigger the alarm. (See Chapter 11 for more information on alarm thresholds.)

Receiving and Using Unknown Alarms

If you are receiving the alarm, but it shows up as an unknown alarm, there is no alarm template available in the MIB pool. It is likely that the alarm is being triggered by a third-party device or software. If you need to use an alarm that is showing up as unknown, you should obtain an MIB from the device or software vendor and add it to the MIB pool.