Installing the Check_MK Agent on CentOS/RHEL — Manual Install

Step 1: Download and uncompress the latest version of check_mk agent.

The check_mk agent for Linux consists of only two files: a shell script called ‘check_mk_agent.linux’ and a configuration file for ‘xinetd.conf’. They both can be found in the downloaded archive.

Example:

# cd /tmp
# wget http://mathias-kettner.de/download/check_mk-1.1.12p7.tar.gz
# tar -xvzf check_mk-1.1.12p7.tar.gz

Step 2: Installing ‘xinetd’.

Make sure ‘xinetd’ is installed

# rpm -qa | grep -i xinetd

If ‘xinetd’ is not installed then install it.

# yum install xinetd

Step 3: Copy the files and give the execute permissions for ‘check_mk_agent’.

# cd /tmp/check_mk-x.x.x
# tar -xvzf agents.tar.gz
# cp check_mk_agent.linux /usr/bin/check_mk_agent
# cp xinetd.conf /etc/xinetd.d/check_mk
# chmod +x /usr/bin/check_mk_agent

Step 4: Set the IP address of the monitoring server.

Set the IP in ‘/etc/xinetd.d/check_mk’ file.

"only from = IP_OF_MONITORING_SERVER"

Add the IP to ‘/etc/hosts.allow’.

"check_mk_agent : IP_OF_MONITORING_SERVER"

Step 5: Reload ‘xinetd’.

# service xinetd reload

In case if ‘xinetd’ has just been installed:

# service xinetd stop && service xinetd start

Step 6: Set the ‘xinetd’ to start at boot.

# chkconfig xinetd on

Step 7: Check that ‘xinetd’ is listening to port 6556.

# netstat -lpn | grep 6556

Example:

# netstat -lpn | grep 6556
tcp        0      0:::6556                    :::*                        LISTEN      28273/xinetd

Step 8: Add the rule to IPTABLES, if you use the firewall.

# vi /etc/sysconfig/iptables

Append the following line before the REJECT line, to open port 6556.

# iptables -I INPUT -p tcp --dport 6556 -j ACCEPT

Save and close the file. Restart the firewall.

# service iptables restart

Step 9: Test the connection.

If the agent is running properly, you should be able to connect to your Linux host.

Test the connection locally.

# telnet localhost 6556
<<<check_mk>>>
Version: 1.1.12p7
AgentOS: linux
***

Test the connection remotely from your monitoring server.

# telnet your.server.com 6556
<<<check_mk>>>
Version: 1.1.12p7
AgentOS: linux
***