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MRTG-NT-GUIDE(1) mrtg MRTG-NT-GUIDE(1)
NAME
mrtg-nt-guide - The MRTG 2.16.4 Windows Installation Guide
SYNOPSIS
Installing MRTG on a Windows box is not quite as "click and point" as some might want it to be. But then again, it is not
all that difficult if you follow the instructions below.
PREREQUISITES
To get MRTG to work on Windows you need the following:
o A current copy of Perl. For Example ActivePerl 5.8.8 from ActiveState
http://www.activestate.com/store/activeperl/download/
o The latest version of MRTG from http://oss.oetiker.ch/mrtg/pub. Look for mrtg-2.16.4.zip or better. The archive also
contains a precompiled copy of rateup.exe for Win32.
INSTALLING
I suggest you do the following from the machine that will be running MRTG, which, in this case, is also a web server. All
examples are for doing things to a LOCAL machine.
First
Unzip MRTG to C:\mrtg-2.16.4 on the Windows machine of your choice.
Next
Install Perl on the same Windows machine. You might want to make sure that the Perl binary directory is listed in
your system path.
C:\Perl\bin;%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;...
You can manually check this by going to [Control Panel]->[System]->[Environment]
To see if everything is installed properly you can open a Command Shell and go into c:\mrtg-2.16.4\bin. Type:
perl mrtg
This should give you a friendly error message complaining about the missing MRTG configuration file. Now, you have
successfully installed MRTG and Perl.
CONFIGURING MRTG
Now it is time to create a configuration for MRTG. But before we begin you need to know a few things. Take an opportunity
to gather the following information:
o The IP address or hostname and the SNMP port number, (if non standard), of the device you want to monitor.
o If you want to monitor something other than bytes in and out, you must also know the SNMPOID of what you want to
monitor.
o Finally you need to know the read-only SNMP community string for your device. If you don't know it, try public, that
is the default.
For the rest of this document we will be using device 10.10.10.1 ( a CISCO Catalyst 5000) with Community string public.
We are interested in monitoring traffic, and the CPU load. Let's begin.
The first thing we do in setting up MRTG is making a default config file. Get to a cmd prompt and change to the
c:\mrtg-2.16.4\bin directory. Type the following command:
perl cfgmaker publicAT10.1 --global "WorkDir: c:\www\mrtg" --output mrtg.cfg
This creates an initial MRTG config file for you. Note that in this file all interfaces of your router will be stored by
number. Unfortunately, these numbers are likely to change whenever you reconfigure your router. In order to work around
this you can get cfgmaker to produce a configuration which is based on Ip numbers, or even Interface Descriptions. Check
cfgmaker
If you get an error message complaining about no such name or no response, your community name is probably wrong.
Now, let's take a look at the mrtg.cfg file that was created.
In Perl, a "#" is a comment, synonymous with "REM" in DOS.
Add the following to the top of the mrtg.cfg file:
WorkDir: c:\www\mrtg
This is where the web pages are created, usually a web root.
######################################################################
# Description: LCP SUWGB
# Contact: Administrator
# System Name: LC-Bridge
# Location: Here
#.....................................................................
TargetDevice's IP Address:Interface Number:Community:IP Address
Target[10.10.10.1.1]: 1:publicAT10.1
This is the interface speed (Default is 10 megabits; for 100Mbit devices use 12500000 and so on...)
MaxBytes[10.10.10.1.1]: 1250000
Title[10.10.10.1.1]: LC-Bridge (sample.device): ether0
This section determines how the web page headers will look
PageTop[10.10.10.1.1]: <H1>Traffic Analysis for ether0</H1>
<TABLE>
<TR><TD>System:</TD><TD>LC-Bridge inAndover</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>Maintainer:</TD><TD>Administrator</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>Interface:</TD><TD>ether0(1)</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>IP:</TD><TD>sample.device(10.10.10.1)</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>Max Speed:</TD>
<TD>1250.0 kBytes/s (ethernetCsmacd)</TD></TR>
</TABLE>
Target[10.10.10.1.2]: 2:publicAT10.1
MaxBytes[10.10.10.1.2]: 1250000
Title[10.10.10.1.2]: LC-Bridge (): ulink0
PageTop[10.10.10.1.2]: <H1>Traffic Analysis for ulink0</H1>
<TABLE>
<TR><TD>System:</TD><TD>LC-Bridge inAndover</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>Maintainer:</TD><TD>Administrator</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>Interface:</TD><TD>ulink0(2)</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>IP:</TD><TD>()</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>Max Speed:</TD>
<TD>1250.0 kBytes/s (ethernetCsmacd)</TD></TR>
</TABLE>
#---------------------------------------------------------------
And that's a very basic MRTG config file. You can run this and see your results by going into the c:\mrtg-2.16.4\bin
directory and typing:
perl mrtg mrtg.cfg
It is normal to get errors for the first two times you run this command. The errors will alert you about the fact that
there have not been any log files in existence before.
If you take a look at those web pages they are not very exciting (yet). You need to have the MRTG files run every five
minutes to produce the desired results. Just run it again after a few minutes. You should now be able to see the first
lines in your graphs.
MAKE MRTG RUN ALL THE TIME
Starting MRTG by hand every time you want to run it is not going to make you happy I guess.
There is a special option you can set in the MRTG configuration file so so that MRTG will not terminate after it was
started. Instead it will wait for 5 minutes and then run again.
Add the option
RunAsDaemon: yes
to your mrtg.cfg file and start it with:
start /Dc:\mrtg-2.16.4\bin wperl mrtg --logging=eventlog mrtg.cfg
If you use wperl instead of perl, no console window will show. MRTG is now running in the background. If it runs into
problems it will tell you so over the EventLog. To stop MRTG, open the Task Manager and terminate the wperl.exe process.
If mrtg has anything to tell you these messages can be found in the event log.
If you put a shortcut with
Target: wperl mrtg --logging=eventlog mrtg.cfg
Start in: c:\mrtg-2.16.4\bin
into your start-up folder, MRTG will now start whenever you login to your NT box.
If you do not want to log into your box just to start MRTG. Have a look at http://www.firedaemon.com/mrtg-howto.html
which describes a free tool to start any program as a Service. The pages gives specific instructions for MRTG users.
HOW TO SETUP MRTG AS A WINDOWS SERVICE
Additional Prerequisites
o MRTG must be installed and fully configured on the target system. In the following exercise the assumption is that
MRTG is installed under c:\mrtg\ and all the sample files use this location.
o Microsoft Tools SRVANY.exe (Applications as Services Utility) and INSTSRV.exe (Service Installer) - Those files can
be downloaded from Microsoft as a part of Windows 2000 Resource Kit at
<http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/tools/default.asp>;. They are also available from other
locations such as <http://www.electrasoft.com/srvany/srvany.htm>;, <http://www.iopus.com/guides/srvany.htm>;, etc.
Detailed instructions on how to use this package are available at <http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q137890/>;. In
order to follow the steps in this HOW-TO you MUST obtain both executables.
o You must have administrative rights on the target system.
Preparation
Please complete the following steps before starting the installation:
o Copy srvany.exe and instsrv.exe to c:\mrtg-2.16.4\bin\ (your MRTG bin directory).
o Create a file called mrtg.reg anywhere on your system and paste the following content into it:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MRTG\Parameters]
"Application"="c:\\perl\\bin\\wperl.exe"
"AppParameters"="c:\\mrtg-2.16.4\\bin\\mrtg --logging=eventlog c:\\mrtg-2.16.4\\bin\\mrtg.cfg"
"AppDirectory"="c:\\mrtg-2.16.4\\bin\\"
Service Installation
Once again, assuming that MRTG is already fully installed and configured on the target system under c:\mrtg\ the
following steps are necessary to setup MRTG as a service.
Using the command prompt go into the temporary directory where you unzipped the package. When there type the following
command to create a service named "MRTG" in the Windows Services management console:
instsrv MRTG c:\mrtg\bin\srvany.exe
Now you need to create the App* entries required for the new service. You can do this by either right-clicking on the
mrtg.reg file and selecting 'merge' or by running the following command:
regedit /s mrtg.reg
After setting up the registry entry it is time to point it to your MRTG installation. If you have installed MRTG under
c:\mrtg\, you can skip this step. Open your registry editor (Start -> Run -> regedt32), and locate the
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MRTG] key. Make sure that the ImagePath variable is correctly
pointing to srvany.exe located in your MRTG bin directory (for example c:\mrtg\bin\srvany.exe). Next you have to expand
the MRTG tree, and go to the [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MRTG\Parameters] key. Under
Parameters make sure that all the Application variables are setup properly.
At this point you are ready to run the service. The only thing left to do is to start the MRTG service in the Services
management console. After you do this, you should see two new processes running on your system: srvany.exe and
wperl.exe. Make sure to stop any previously running MRTG processes to avoid conflict.
Note that it is imperative to set the RunAsDaemon: yes option or the service will stop after just one single run!
EXAMPLE
Now lets look at a config file to monitor what we wanted to on our mythical Cisco Cat 5000 -- utilization on ports 3, 5,
10, and 24, and the CPU Load, which will show us nonstandard mrtg configurations as well as more options..
WorkDir: c:\www\mrtg
RunAsDaemon: yes
######################################################################
# Description: LCP SUWGB
# Contact: Administrator
# System Name: LC-Bridge
# Location: Here
#.....................................................................
Target[10.10.10.1.1]: 3:publicAT10.1
MaxBytes[10.10.10.1.1]: 1250000
Title[10.10.10.1.1]: LC-Bridge (sample-device): ether0
PageTop[10.10.10.1.1]: <H1>Traffic Analysis for ether0</H1>
<TABLE>
<TR><TD>System:</TD><TD>LC-Bridge inAndover</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>Maintainer:</TD><TD>Administrator</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>Interface:</TD><TD>ether0(3)</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>IP:</TD><TD>sample-device(10.10.10.1)</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>Max Speed:</TD>
<TD>1250.0 kBytes/s (ethernetCsmacd)</TD></TR>
</TABLE>
#---------------------------------------------------------------
Target[10.10.10.1.2]: 5:publicAT10.1
MaxBytes[10.10.10.1.2]: 1250000
Title[10.10.10.1.2]: LC-Bridge (): ulink0
PageTop[10.10.10.1.2]: <H1>Traffic Analysis for ulink0</H1>
<TABLE>
<TR><TD>System:</TD><TD>LC-Bridge inAndover</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>Maintainer:</TD><TD>Administrator</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>Interface:</TD><TD>ulink0(5)</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>IP:</TD><TD>()</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>Max Speed:</TD>
<TD>1250.0 kBytes/s (ethernetCsmacd)</TD></TR>
</TABLE>
#---------------------------------------------------------------
Target[10.10.10.1.1]: 10:publicAT10.1
MaxBytes[10.10.10.1.1]: 1250000
Title[10.10.10.1.1]: LC-Bridge (sample-device): ether0
PageTop[10.10.10.1.1]: <H1>Traffic Analysis for ether0</H1>
<TABLE>
<TR><TD>System:</TD><TD>LC-Bridge inAndover</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>Maintainer:</TD><TD>Administrator</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>Interface:</TD><TD>ether0(10)</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>IP:</TD><TD>sample-device(10.10.10.1)</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>Max Speed:</TD>
<TD>1250.0 kBytes/s (ethernetCsmacd)</TD></TR>
</TABLE>
#---------------------------------------------------------------
Target[10.10.10.1.2]: 24:publicAT10.1
MaxBytes[10.10.10.1.2]: 1250000
Title[10.10.10.1.2]: LC-Bridge (): ulink0
PageTop[10.10.10.1.2]: <H1>Traffic Analysis for ulink0</H1>
<TABLE>
<TR><TD>System:</TD><TD>LC-Bridge inAndover</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>Maintainer:</TD><TD>Administrator</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>Interface:</TD><TD>ulink0(24)</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>IP:</TD><TD>()</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>Max Speed:</TD>
<TD>1250.0 kBytes/s (ethernetCsmacd)</TD></TR>
</TABLE>
#---------------------------------------------------------------
# Router CPU load %
Target[cpu.1]:1.3.6.1.4.1.9.2.1.58.0&1.3.6.1.4.1.9.2.1.58.0:publicAT10.1
RouterUptime[cpu.1]: publicAT10.1
MaxBytes[cpu.1]: 100
Title[cpu.1]: CPU LOAD
PageTop[cpu.1]: <H1>CPU Load %</H1>
Unscaled[cpu.1]: ymwd
ShortLegend[cpu.1]: %
XSize[cpu.1]: 380
YSize[cpu.1]: 100
YLegend[cpu.1]: CPU Utilization
Legend1[cpu.1]: CPU Utilization in % (Load)
Legend2[cpu.1]: CPU Utilization in % (Load)
Legend3[cpu.1]:
Legend4[cpu.1]:
LegendI[cpu.1]:
LegendO[cpu.1]: Usage
Options[cpu.1]: gauge
This is a nice example of how to monitor any SNMP device if you know what OID you want to use. Once again, for an
explanation of the more advance features of mrtg, please see the rest of the documentation.
AUTHORS
Tobi Oetiker <tobiAToetiker.ch>, David S. Divins <ddivinsATmoon.com>, Steve Pierce <MRTGATHDL.com>, Artyom Adjemov
<one.bofhATgmail.com>, Ilja Ivanov <ivanovATbseu.by> Karel Fajkus <http://fajkus.cz/>;
2.16.4 2010-05-17 MRTG-NT-GUIDE(1)
