8.8 Managing Nagios Users

The Nagios User Management tool allows you to add and delete Nagios users, or re-create users to configure new passwords for them. Before you can access the Nagios website, you must use this tool to set a password for the Nagios user nagiosadmin.

8.8.1 Creating or Re-Creating a Nagios User

  1. Log in to Novell Remote Manager as the Linux root user.

  2. Go the Novell Remote Manager Configuration Options page.

  3. Under Nagios Configuration Options, click Nagios User Management.

  4. Specify the user name for a Nagios user.

  5. Set the password for the Nagios user. Type a password, then type it again to confirm.

    Passwords are required by default. You must set a password to ensure that authentication is required to access the Nagios web-based dashboard.

  6. Click Create User.

    The user name and password are saved in the /etc/nagios/htpasswd.users file. The password is stored in encrypted format. The password is enforced on the next login to Nagios.

  7. If you are creating a new Nagios user, ensure that you configure the contact information for the user and the actions the user is allowed to make. Continue with the following sections:

8.8.2 Setting Passwords for Nagios Users

You typically set passwords for Nagios users when you create the user names.

To add or modify a password for an existing Nagios user:

  1. Log in to Novell Remote Manager as the Linux root user.

  2. Go the Novell Remote Manager Configuration Options page.

  3. Under Nagios Configuration Options, click Nagios User Management.

  4. Specify the user name for an existing Nagios user.

  5. Set the password for the user. Type a password, then type it again to confirm.

  6. Click Create User.

    The user name and password are saved in the /etc/nagios/htpasswd.users file. The password is stored in encrypted format. The password is enforced on the next login to Nagios.

8.8.3 Deleting a Nagios User

Only Nagios users are allowed to access the web-based Nagios dashboard. Do not delete the Nagios user name of a Nagios contact who needs access to the dashboard.

IMPORTANT:Do not delete the default Nagios user nagiosadmin.

  1. Log in to Novell Remote Manager as the Linux root user.

  2. Click the Configure icon in the toolbar to go to the Novell Remote Manager Configuration Options page.

  3. Under Nagios Configuration Options, click Nagios User Management.

  4. Specify the user name for an existing Nagios user.

  5. Ignore the Password and Confirm Password fields.

  6. Click Delete User.

    The user name and password are removed from the /etc/nagios/htpasswd.users file. The access is denied on the user’s next login to Nagios.

8.8.4 Configuring Nagios Contacts and Notification Methods for Them

After you create a Nagios user, you should define the user as a Nagios contact, in order to control what that user is allowed to do and see. Define the contact in the Nagios Object Contact configuration file on the Novell Remote Manager Configuration Options page (or in the /etc/nagios/objects/contacts.cfg file). You can use the nagiosadmin definition as a template. You must restart Nagios to apply the changes.

To define a new contact:

  1. Log in to Novell Remote Manager as the Linux root user.

  2. Click the Configure icon to go to the Novell Remote Manager Configuration Options page.

  3. Under Nagios Configuration Options, click Nagios User Management, then create a user name and password for the user.

    For more information, see Section 8.8, Managing Nagios Users.

  4. Under Nagios Configuration Options, click Edit Nagios Object Contact configuration.

  5. Add a contact definition for the existing user name, and provide a valid email address where you want to receive alert notifications for the user.

  6. (Optional) Add other contact methods to the contact definition, such as pager, cell phone, instant message, audio alert, and so on.

  7. (Optional) Add the contact name as a member of the contact group admins, or to another contact group that you have defined.

  8. Under the editing window, click Save Changes.

  9. Configure the contact or the contact group for CGI access.

    For more information, see Section 8.8.5, Configuring Nagios CGI Authorization for Contacts.

  10. Under Nagios Configuration Options, click Restart Nagios to apply the changes.

8.8.5 Configuring Nagios CGI Authorization for Contacts

The Nagios CGI settings determine who has access to view monitoring and configuration information, and who can submit commands to the Nagios daemon through the web interface. By default, in the CGI configuration file (/etc/nagios/cgi.cfg), the Nagios contact nagiosadmin has all the necessary authorizations to manage and use Nagios:

  • System and process information

  • Configuration information

  • System and process commands via the Nagios command CGI file (/usr/lib/nagios/cgi/cmd.cgi)

  • All hosts information

  • All services information

  • All host-related commands via the Nagios command CGI file (/usr/lib/nagios/cgi/cmd.cgi)

  • All service-related commands via the Nagios command CGI file (/usr/lib/nagios/cgi/cmd.cgi)

You can configure a Nagios contact's authorization settings in the Nagios CGI configuration file on the Novell Remote Manager Configuration Options page (or in the /etc/nagios/cgi.cfg file). The configuration options are described in-line in the configuration file. You must restart Nagios to apply the changes.