Status Unknown, Servers listing under Other

[Ayman Altounji]

We are in the process of converting from CIM 4.9 to CIM XE 2.1. All of our Compaq servers work fine with CIM 4.9 and are trying to get them all registered under XE. We have changed the appropriate SNMP settings on all servers to send traps to both boxes along with accept SNMP packets from both boxes. CIM XE is autodiscovering our servers, but it is placing most (94 out of 100) of them in the Status Unknown, Other Category. We have tried to manually execute the Daily Device Id and the SNMP Polling, but no luck the servers stay in this category. If anyone else has seen this problem or has tips please advise.

[Ayman Altounji]

If a Compaq server is appearing as Unkown Other this is a sign that XE can't communicate with the device other than via Ping. This can be caused by incorrect community strings (make sure you set this in XE), or by the system not allowing CIM XE to talk to it. Make sure you have the IP address of the CIM XE system in the list of allowed devices.

[Ayman Altounji]

I am also seeing this problem with a server and most of my clients. I know that it is talking via SNMP because I can send a 'test trap' from the server that is showing as Unknown and the event is logged within Insight. So SNMP communication isn't the problem. It is also logging CPU Threshold alerts for that server. But, it still doesn't show any info about the server and it shows as 'Unknown'. I am not as concerned about the clients showing as Unknown, but this one server really needs to be normal. Thanks!

[Moe_5]

OK I have had this problem in the past....MAny times here is the fix Make sure you have the Insight Agents or as the newer version of them is named "foundation agents" started this is the main reason why servers are showing up as an unknowed SNMP devices also make sure that you are accepting SNMP packets from your XE server and your LOOPBACK ip (this is very important).
Let me know if you have any questions.
moasg@hotmail.com

[Ayman Altounji]

agraves - it is not true that sending a trap indicates a properly setup SNMP system. If the device is set to send traps to XE (ie the trap destination is configured) then it will go though regardless of the community string settings or the IP security settings. All these things need to be check as well.

That said, it is definately important to make sure all of your agents are running properly. Check the eventlog on the system that you can't manage and make sure that all of the agents (especially cpqhost) startup correctly.

[Ayman Altounji]

I too am having a problem with Servers showing up as other. Two of my new servers, were both showing up in EX as servers until I installed the Compaq Power Management Utility to monitor Compaq UPS. Now they both show as other.

[Ayman Altounji]

There are a few things to check:
a) Community strings must match - make sure CIM XE & devices are using the same one.
b) Under WinNT/2K, one community on the device must be set to READ CREATE.
c) The CIM XE system must be allowed to make SNMP requests to the device - make sure the
SNMP security settings aren't preventing this. Under WinNT/2K, either the "Allow SNMP packets from any host" must be
selected or the address of the CIM XE server must be in the list of allowed hosts.
d) localhost (127.0.0.1) must also be allowed to make SNMP requests to the host.
e) The Insight Management Agents must be installed and running properly on the servers you are trying to manage. Check the
NT Event Log to make absolutely sure they are running (you should see 'Agents started' messages and
no errors.)

[Ayman Altounji]

We have the exact same problem here.... what do you mean by "localhost (127.0.0.1) must also be allowed to make SNMP requests to the host" if the option "Allow SNMP packets from any host" must be selected"... the later already imply the former right ?

[Ayman Altounji]

You are correct. My sentence was poorly worded.

If you don't have "Accept from any host" enabled, then you need to make sure both localhost and the XE server are in the allowed hosts list.

[Ayman Altounji]

We have the exact same problem.... everything works fines under CIM 4.9 (running only Compaq Servers). The community string is Public in the config of SNMP service, in the Insight manager and also in XE but the status is still unknown on 90% of the servers.... trying to find the difference betwork those with a known status but I've no idea..... any more advice ?

[Ayman Altounji]

Hi again,

did double check and we set the SNMP community string to Public (not public) at the following places:

* SNMP Service (Traps tab, Security Tab - Accepted community names) with READ CREATE right
* Accept SNMP packets from any hots
* Insight Manager 4.9, the Globa Settings menu option
* when manualy adding device in the XE Console, the Monitor community, the control community are all set to Public

did stop and restarted SNMP (and dependant) services

still same problem: status unknown

did have to remove and add the machine in local CIM 4.9 so the status could change on the XE console... weird... any comment on this ? Is there any "time delay" involved when doing changes in the SNMP configs ?

[Ayman Altounji]

There is a time delay, I just realized that you need to cause the identification process run again now that things are 100% setup. You should manually execute the Daily Device Identification task and see if that doesn't clear up the issues.

[Ayman Altounji]

I have tried everything posted here with no luck on this one server. All Foundation Agents have been updated and are running with no errors. I have defined both public and Public with READ CREATE on all devices, and within IM XE both at the "settings" level and under the specific device under SNMP Community Strings. The server is set to accept all packets. I don't know what else to try. I have restarted all SNMP services, and have done the manual device detection, and it still shows as Other.

[Ayman Altounji]

I have found that IM XE decides to uncheck SNMP polling in this situation. I simply had to manually edit the device and ensure it was checked again.

[Ayman Altounji]

The reply from Willij5 solved mt problem with 'unknown' device.

Matt

[Ayman Altounji]

Where exactly are you checking that setting? When I go to the edit the device, it just says "SNMP Communication Settings" but no check box to enable or disable. When I go the main Settings page, then Server, then Protocols, "Enable SNMP" is still checked.

Am I missing another place to look? Mine is still not working. Thanks.

[Ayman Altounji]

Agraves,

Settings - Discovery - Manual Discovery - Edit Device
Enter device name and get device parameters. Check the SNMP box is ticked.

Hope this works for you,

Matt

[Ayman Altounji]

agraves - can CIM XE see the server at all? What does it know about the device?

If CIM XE has a record of the device, what does it call it - Unknown Other or what?

If you drill into the device (select it from the list) what does XE know about the device (look at the big table on the left side)?

[Ayman Altounji]

Yes, CIM XE sees the device and also gets CPU Threshold traps from it occasionally. It classifies it as "Other" on the general overview of devices. When I drill down to it, it says "Unknown" with a blue dot. It knows the IP and knows it's a web server. It knows the device name, DNS name, and HTTP name. One thing I found interesting is that when I follow the advice of previous posts, and go to Settings...Manual Discovery...Edit Device, the SNMP box is *NOT* checked. So, I can check it and hit apply. When I refresh the device list, and go back into the device, it has unchecked it again. It also seems to be unchecked after doing a Manual Device Discovery. However, after I check it again for SNMP, if I exit and then go right back in, it has remained checked. But once I go to the Device Overview and select it, it doesn't list SNMP as a Management Protocol anymore which tells me it's probably unchecked again. I'm not sure why it won't stay checked but that's probably part of the problem.

Thanks for any help!
Angie

[Ayman Altounji]

ADDENDUM:

I tried something else: I tried UN-checking the HTTP protocol from within Settings...Manual Discovery...Edit Device. Now it seems to keep the SNMP checked-temporarily. When I go to the Device Overview, then select "other", then select this server, it now shows SNMP as the Management Protocol. however: it still shows as Unknown.

So, I thought I would do a manual Device Discovery. I did that, and now it shows the server with no management protocols at all. So it still unchecked SNMP when it did the discovery process.

No matter what I have done, it has never shown as anything but Unknown.

[Ayman Altounji]

agraves - XE removes the SNMP checkbox because we aren't getting a response via SNMP. Are you positive the community strings and SNMP security are set right?

[Ayman Altounji]

My SNMP settings on the server are very generic but maybe something is set wrong. Here is exactly what I have:
On the server, under the SNMP Services...Properties, the community name is public. Under the 'security' tab, the box that says "Send authentication trap" is checked. Under Accepted Community Names, it shows public, then READ CREATE. Accept SNMP packets from any host is selected.

When I send a test trap from the Compaq Management Agents program in Control Panel, it works. Enable SNMP Sets, Remote Reboot, and Application Exception Trap are all checked.

In Insight XE, under Settings, Manual Discovery, Edit Device, the monitor and control community is set to public.

When I go to the server under Devices, and go to SNMP settings, monitor and control are both public.

Please let me know if I should try changing something! Thanks.

[Ayman Altounji]

A suggestion:

If you installed the SNMP service from the original installation media after having already applied a service pack you will need to reinstall the service pack and then the management agents. Another (better) approach is to remove the SNMP service, re-install SNMP using the service pack files (you can uncompress SP6a by running "msnt128.exe -X"). In some cases you may need to reinstall the management agents.

This has worked for every server I have had this problem with.

BTW: (SP5 & later fixed a known bug with the SNMP community strings being improperly read - see the service pack(s) bugfix lists)

Hope this helps ...

[Ayman Altounji]

agraves - some other ideas: can you ping the server from the XE platform?

Unfortunately the ability to send traps to XE doesn't ensure that XE can talk to the server.

At this point everything looks find - perhaps you should start a support case.

[Ayman Altounji]

i don't know if this is relevant, but i just upgraded our servers to the 5.0 agents last night, and their status didn't change from "unknown" to "normal" until the "daily device identification" ran. I'm not 100% sure if that was the key, but the devices were unknown for 12 hours and just became known and that seems to be the only event close in time. I've never had this situation with the other agent upgrades.