[Nagiosplug-devel] Improved check_oracle (TS check with autoextend)

[Karl DeBisschop]

On Wed, 24 Mar 2004 13:19:37 +0100
joerg.helmert at aracomp.de wrote:

> > The I think new committed infrastructure for embedded Perl 
> > Nagios (ePN) support does precisely this ie if the plugin 
> > bombs out because of
> > 
> >  . compile time errors (probably because of the ePN environment)
> > 
> >  . run time errors
> > 
> > then UNKNOWN is returned (along with a dump depending on log 
> > level of the ePN).
> > 
> > I share the former writers concern about spurious alerts.
> > 
> > I canvassed this proposal (for new behaviour for ePN) with an 
> > RFC to both Nag-users and Nag-devel and possibly plugindevel 
> > as well, and got _no_ comments.

I don't recall seeing the question on plugin devel. I don't always
follow nag-* closely, so it would have been easy for me to miss there.

> > Personally, I have been running this way for some months now 
> > and much prefer it to the former nightmare of committing a 
> > new plugin only to find it notifies people unnecessarily 
> > (yes, I test; use the epn simulator etc but still things go wrong).

There is ample precedent in the plugins for this behaviour

> > Stanley Hopcroft

> But think of following:
> A plugin runs successfully and returns ok.
> You start to rely on.
> Now something occurs, causing a runtime error.
> (someone deletes a file needed or changes permission or filesystem
> gets corrupted or whatever)
> It is true, that the status of that check in reality is unknown.
> But for me the overal picture is more important.
> Something is going wrong after it was ok.
> I want to KNOW a status but only find out that the status is unknown.
> That is critical for me. 

Then you set nagios to page you for UNKNOWN. 

> I reread the development guidelines and found that I missed something:
> 
> 3 | Unknown | <snipped> or the plugin was unable to check the status
> of the given hosts/service
> 
> That clearly states, what you implemented.
> 
> My opinion is still different.
> 
> Implementing it UKNOWN is more polite and keeps operators sleeping...
> ...but if knowing what is going on is most important, lets wake them
> up. ;-)

It only lets operators sleep if that's how you have configured nagios.

--
Karl