MATRIXX SNMP Agent

MATRIXX uses SNMP Agents to monitor the health of its environment. SNMP Agents run on the entire MATRIXX platform and on its major components. For example, it runs on MATRIXX Engine, Traffic Routing Agent (TRA), Network Enabler (NE), Route Cache, and on the MATRIXX web-facing components.

Configuring the MATRIXX platform includes setting the SNMP Agent configuration parameters. The SNMP Management Information Base (MIB) files contain the SNMP MIB tables and object ID (OIDs). The MIB tables and OIDs define the individual statistics that monitor the MATRIXX platform and its components. When you install each component (engine, TRA, or NE), the corresponding SNMP MIB file is installed.

The MIB files also include trap-directed notifications that can alert your third-party Network Operations Center (NOC) when:
  • A change occurs in a service status.
  • An error occurs.
  • A threshold has been crossed.
  • A cluster state changes.
  • The system topology changes.

The traps are sent to the NOC if they are triggered during the system monitoring interval. They are also written to the system log. After the NOC receives and displays the event, administrators can choose to take an action based on the event. For example, it might poll the MATRIXX SNMP Agent or specific devices directly to get a better understanding of the issue.

The MIB files described below are stored in the ${MTX_DATA_DIR}/snmp/mibs directory. For details and descriptions, see the discussion about MATRIXX MIB files in MATRIXX Monitoring and Logging.

For more information about the MATRIXX environment variables, see the discussion about container directories and environment variables in MATRIXX Installation and Upgrade.

MATRIXX Engine SNMP MIB Plug-In

When you install and run MATRIXX Engine RPM, MATRIXX Engine SNMP MIB plug-ins are loaded into the SNMP Agent that runs on MATRIXX Engine. The SNMP Agent monitors the status and health of MATRIXX Engine. It monitors the status and health of all MATRIXX components in a processing or publishing server, including the availability of all servers and clusters, and collects statistics to aid in identifying potential processing problems. Each MATRIXX process has a statistics task that uses counters to record performance data for the server. For example, the number of errors reported, the number of messages in the server's queue, and the amount of CPU and memory used during processing. The data is saved to the statistics database at a scheduled interval, after which the SNMP Agent runs a query to check for processing problems. If the SNMP Agent discovers anything, it sends a real-time notification and trap through the SNMP Gateway to a NOC. The SNMP Agent also allows external SNMP-based monitoring systems to poll for the statistics information. This provides real-time monitoring capabilities for MATRIXX Engine.

The SNMP counters and notifications for this SNMP service are defined in the ${MTX_DATA_DIR}/snmp/mibs/matrixx_mib.txt and matrixx_common_mib.txt files on the MATRIXX Engine servers.

Traffic Routing Agent SNMP MIB Plug-In

When you install and run the TRA RPM, the TRA SNMP MIB plug-in is loaded into the SNMP Agent that runs on all TRA nodes. The SNMP Agent monitors the status and health of TRA services. For the TRA-RT-(SI/DR), TRA-SI, and TRA-DR, the Agent collects statistics to aid in identifying potential traffic problems between the network and MATRIXX Engine. The SNMP Agent monitors the number of active (open) TCP and UDP connection bridges and the number of upstream and downstream bytes set to and from MATRIXX Engine. For the TRA-PROC, the SNMP Agent collects statistics to aid in identifying potential traffic problems between MATRIXX Engine processing servers.

The SNMP counters and gauges for this SNMP service are defined in the ${$MTX_DATA_DIR}/snmp/mibs/matrixx_tra_mib.txt and matrixx_common_mib.txt files.

Network Enabler SNMP MIB Plug-In

When you install and run the Network Enabler RPM, the Network Enabler SNMP MIB plug-in is loaded into the SNMP Agent that runs on Network Enabler. SNMP Agent monitors the status and health of the Network Enabler services.

The SNMP counters and gauges for this SNMP service are defined in the ${MTX_DATA_DIR}/snmp/mibs/matrixx_ne_mib.txt file.

Route Cache SNMP MIB Files

When you install the TRA RPM, the Route Cache SNMP MIB files are loaded into the SNMP Agent that runs on the TRA servers. SNMP monitors the status and health of the Route Cache.

The SNMP counters and gauges for this SNMP service are defined in the ${MTX_DATA_DIR}/snmp/mibs/matrixx_rc_mib.txt file.

Monitoring MATRIXX Engine Using Your Third-Party SNMP Tool

Using a third-party SNMP tool, monitor MATRIXX component SNMP statistics by configuring an SNMP Network Operations Center (NOC) to listen on MATRIXX Engine management IP address and the port number you set during configuration. The management IP address is available in the mtx_config.xml file. For more information about port numbers on which to listen, see the discussion about port configuration in MATRIXX Configuration.