Nagios/Monitoring Plugin: IBM System Storage TS 3x00 Tape Library

Last Update: March 10, 2014

This plugin is used to check an IBM System Storage TS Tape Library. It checks for the current status (GlobalStatus), the cleaning status of the tape drives, and outputs some basic information like serial number or firmware version.

check_ibm_ts_tape.pl Download plugin and save it in your Nagios plugin folder (e.g. /usr/local/nagios/libexec) 5429 downloads so far...

Compatibility with IBM Tape Libraries
TS3100: Fully compatible
TS3200: Fully compatible

Version History
20120316 Finished first version (my very first perl script, yay!)
20120822 Tape Drive needs cleaning with different code (22)
20120901 Different approach to check for cleaning state

Requirements
1) Perl must be installed on your Nagios (or other monitoring) server
2) SNMP (v1) must be enabled on the tape library (should usually be already activated by default)

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Usage

On the command line as nagios user:

./check_ibm_ts_tape.pl -H host [-C community] -m model -t checktype

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Definition of the parameters

-H Hostname or IP address of tape library.
-C SNMP community name (if not set, public will be used).
-m Model of the tape library. Must be either ts3100 or ts3200.
-t Type to check. See below for valid types.
--help Show this help/usage.

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Definition of the different check types:

info -> Show basic information of the tape library (hostname, serial number, etc)
status -> Checks the current status and outputs error codes if status is not ok
clean -> Checks all drives of tape library if cleaning is required\n";

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Command definition in your commands.cfg:

# check_ibm_ts_tape
define command {
command_name check_ibm_ts_tape
command_line $USER1$/check_ibm_ts_tape.pl -H $HOSTADDRESS$ -C $ARG1$ -m $ARG2$ -t $ARG3$
}

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Service checks:

# Check IBM Tape Library Info
define service{
use generic-service
host_name ibm-ts-library1
service_description Info
check_command check_ibm_ts_tape!public!ts3200!info
}

In this example, the basic information of a TS3200 tape library will be shown.

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# Check IBM Tape Library Global Status
define service{
use generic-service
host_name ibm-ts-library1
service_description Global Status
check_command check_ibm_ts_tape!public!ts3200!status
}

The most important check is the global status of the tape library. If there's an error, you will be notified with this check. It also outputs the error code and error description.

-------

# Check IBM Tape Library Cleaning Status
define service{
use generic-service
host_name ibm-ts-library2
service_description Cleaning Status
check_command check_ibm_ts_tape!public!ts3100!clean
}

In this example, a TS3100 is checked (note the ts3100 argument). All tape drives are checked for their current status. In case at least one drive needs to be cleaned, this check will alert you.

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