Distributed Monitoring with Master, Satellites and Agents ¶

This chapter will guide you through the setup of a distributed monitoring environment, including high-availability clustering and setup details for Icinga masters, satellites and agents.

Roles: Master, Satellites and Agents ¶

Icinga 2 nodes can be given names for easier understanding:

A master node which is on top of the hierarchy.
A satellite node which is a child of a satellite or master node.
An agent node which is connected to master and/or satellite nodes.

Icinga 2 Distributed Roles

Rephrasing this picture into more details:

A master node has no parent node.
- A masternode is where you usually install Icinga Web 2.
- A master node can combine executed checks from child nodes into backends and notifications.
A satellite node has a parent and a child node.
- A satellite node may execute checks on its own or delegate check execution to child nodes.
- A satellite node can receive configuration for hosts/services, etc. from the parent node.
- A satellite node continues to run even if the master node is temporarily unavailable.
An agent node only has a parent node.
- An agent node will either run its own configured checks or receive command execution events from the parent node.

A client can be a secondary master, a satellite or an agent. It typically requests something from the primary master or parent node.

The following sections will refer to these roles and explain the differences and the possibilities this kind of setup offers.

Note

Previous versions of this documentation used the term Icinga client. This has been refined into Icinga agent and is visible in the docs, backends and web interfaces.

Tip: If you just want to install a single master node that monitors several hosts (i.e. Icinga agents), continue reading – we’ll start with simple examples. In case you are planning a huge cluster setup with multiple levels and lots of satellites and agents, read on – we’ll deal with these cases later on.

The installation on each system is the same: You need to install the Icinga 2 package and the required plugins.

The required configuration steps are mostly happening on the command line. You can also automate the setup.

The first thing you need learn about a distributed setup is the hierarchy of the single components.

Zones ¶

The Icinga 2 hierarchy consists of so-called zone objects. Zones depend on a parent-child relationship in order to trust each other.

Icinga 2 Distributed Zones

Have a look at this example for the satellite zones which have the master zone as a parent zone:

object Zone "master" {
   //...
}

object Zone "satellite region 1" {
  parent = "master"
  //...
}

object Zone "satellite region 2" {
  parent = "master"
  //...
}

There are certain limitations for child zones, e.g. their members are not allowed to send configuration commands to the parent zone members. Vice versa, the trust hierarchy allows for example the master zone to send configuration files to the satellite zone. Read more about this in the security section.

agent nodes also have their own unique zone. By convention you must use the FQDN for the zone name.

Endpoints ¶

Nodes which are a member of a zone are so-called Endpoint objects.

Icinga 2 Distributed Endpoints

Here is an example configuration for two endpoints in different zones:

object Endpoint "icinga2-master1.localdomain" {
  host = "192.168.56.101"
}

object Endpoint "icinga2-satellite1.localdomain" {
  host = "192.168.56.105"
}

object Zone "master" {
  endpoints = [ "icinga2-master1.localdomain" ]
}

object Zone "satellite" {
  endpoints = [ "icinga2-satellite1.localdomain" ]
  parent = "master"
}

All endpoints in the same zone work as high-availability setup. For example, if you have two nodes in the master zone, they will load-balance the check execution.

Endpoint objects are important for specifying the connection information, e.g. if the master should actively try to connect to an agent.

The zone membership is defined inside the Zone object definition using the endpoints attribute with an array of Endpoint names.

Note

There is a known problem with >2 endpoints in a zone and a message routing loop. The config validation will log a warning to let you know about this too.

If you want to check the availability (e.g. ping checks) of the node you still need a Host object.

ApiListener ¶

In case you are using the CLI commands later, you don’t have to write this configuration from scratch in a text editor. The ApiListener object is used to load the TLS certificates and specify restrictions, e.g. for accepting configuration commands.

It is also used for the Icinga 2 REST API which shares the same host and port with the Icinga 2 Cluster protocol.

The object configuration is stored in the /etc/icinga2/features-enabled/api.conf file. Depending on the configuration mode the attributes accept_commands and accept_config can be configured here.

In order to use the api feature you need to enable it and restart Icinga 2.

icinga2 feature enable api

Conventions ¶

By convention all nodes should be configured using their FQDN.

Furthermore, you must ensure that the following names are exactly the same in all configuration files:

Host certificate common name (CN).
Endpoint configuration object for the host.
NodeName constant for the local host.

Setting this up on the command line will help you to minimize the effort. Just keep in mind that you need to use the FQDN for endpoints and for common names when asked.

Security ¶

While there are certain mechanisms to ensure a secure communication between all nodes (firewalls, policies, software hardening, etc.), Icinga 2 also provides additional security:

TLS v1.2+ is required.
TLS cipher lists are hardened by default.
TLS certificates are mandatory for communication between nodes. The CLI command wizards help you create these certificates.
Child zones only receive updates (check results, commands, etc.) for their configured objects.
Child zones are not allowed to push configuration updates to parent zones.
Zones cannot interfere with other zones and influence each other. Each checkable host or service object is assigned to one zone only.
All nodes in a zone trust each other.
Config sync and remote command endpoint execution is disabled by default.

The underlying protocol uses JSON-RPC event notifications exchanged by nodes. The connection is secured by TLS. The message protocol uses an internal API, and as such message types and names may change internally and are not documented.

Zones build the trust relationship in a distributed environment. If you do not specify a zone for an agent/satellite and specify the parent zone, its zone members e.g. the master instance won’t trust the agent/satellite.

Building this trust is key in your distributed environment. That way the parent node knows that it is able to send messages to the child zone, e.g. configuration objects, configuration in global zones, commands to be executed in this zone/for this endpoint. It also receives check results from the child zone for checkable objects (host/service).

Vice versa, the agent/satellite trusts the master and accepts configuration and commands if enabled in the api feature. If the agent/satellite would send configuration to the parent zone, the parent nodes will deny it. The parent zone is the configuration entity, and does not trust agents/satellites in this matter. An agent/satellite could attempt to modify a different agent/satellite for example, or inject a check command with malicious code.

While it may sound complicated for agent/satellite setups, it removes the problem with different roles and configurations for a master and child nodes. Both of them work the same way, are configured in the same way (Zone, Endpoint, ApiListener), and you can troubleshoot and debug them in just one go.

Versions and Upgrade ¶

It generally is advised to use the newest releases with the same version on all instances. Prior to upgrading, make sure to plan a maintenance window.

The Icinga project aims to allow the following compatibility:

master (2.11) >= satellite (2.10) >= agent (2.9)

Older agent versions may work, but there’s no guarantee. Always keep in mind that older versions are out of support and can contain bugs.

In terms of an upgrade, ensure that the master is upgraded first, then involved satellites, and last the Icinga agents. If you are on v2.10 currently, first upgrade the master instance(s) to 2.11, and then proceed with the satellites. Things are getting easier with any sort of automation tool (Puppet, Ansible, etc.).

Releases and new features may require you to upgrade master/satellite instances at once, this is highlighted in the upgrading docs if needed. One example is the CA Proxy and on-demand signing feature available since v2.8 where all involved instances need this version to function properly.

Master Setup ¶

This section explains how to install a central single master node using the node wizard command. If you prefer to do an automated installation, please refer to the automated setup section.

Install the Icinga 2 package and setup the required plugins if you haven’t done so already.

Note: Windows is not supported for a master node setup.

The next step is to run the node wizard CLI command. Prior to that ensure to collect the required information:

Parameter	Description
Common name (CN)	Required. By convention this should be the host’s FQDN. Defaults to the FQDN.
Master zone name	Optional. Allows to specify the master zone name. Defaults to `master`.
Global zones	Optional. Allows to specify more global zones in addition to `global-templates` and `director-global`. Defaults to `n`.
API bind host	Optional. Allows to specify the address the ApiListener is bound to. For advanced usage only.
API bind port	Optional. Allows to specify the port the ApiListener is bound to. For advanced usage only (requires changing the default port 5665 everywhere).
Disable conf.d	Optional. Allows to disable the `include_recursive "conf.d"` directive except for the `api-users.conf` file in the `icinga2.conf` file. Defaults to `y`. Configuration on the master is discussed below.

The setup wizard will ensure that the following steps are taken:

Enable the api feature.
Generate a new certificate authority (CA) in /var/lib/icinga2/ca if it doesn’t exist.
Create a certificate for this node signed by the CA key.
Update the zones.conf file with the new zone hierarchy.
Update the ApiListener and constants configuration.
Update the icinga2.conf to disable the conf.d inclusion, and add the api-users.conf file inclusion.

Here is an example of a master setup for the icinga2-master1.localdomain node on CentOS 7:

[root@icinga2-master1.localdomain /]# icinga2 node wizard

Welcome to the Icinga 2 Setup Wizard!

We will guide you through all required configuration details.

Please specify if this is a satellite/agent setup ('n' installs a master setup) [Y/n]: n

Starting the Master setup routine...

Please specify the common name (CN) [icinga2-master1.localdomain]: icinga2-master1.localdomain
Reconfiguring Icinga...
Checking for existing certificates for common name 'icinga2-master1.localdomain'...
Certificates not yet generated. Running 'api setup' now.
Generating master configuration for Icinga 2.
Enabling feature api. Make sure to restart Icinga 2 for these changes to take effect.

Master zone name [master]:

Default global zones: global-templates director-global
Do you want to specify additional global zones? [y/N]: N

Please specify the API bind host/port (optional):
Bind Host []:
Bind Port []:

Do you want to disable the inclusion of the conf.d directory [Y/n]:
Disabling the inclusion of the conf.d directory...
Checking if the api-users.conf file exists...

Done.

Now restart your Icinga 2 daemon to finish the installation!

You can verify that the CA public and private keys are stored in the /var/lib/icinga2/ca directory. Keep this path secure and include it in your backups.

In case you lose the CA private key you have to generate a new CA for signing new agent/satellite certificate requests. You then have to also re-create new signed certificates for all existing nodes.

Once the master setup is complete, you can also use this node as primary CSR auto-signing master. The following section will explain how to use the CLI commands in order to fetch their signed certificate from this master node.

Signing Certificates on the Master ¶

All certificates must be signed by the same certificate authority (CA). This ensures that all nodes trust each other in a distributed monitoring environment.

This CA is generated during the master setup and should be the same on all master instances.

You can avoid signing and deploying certificates manually by using built-in methods for auto-signing certificate signing requests (CSR):

CSR Auto-Signing which uses a client (an agent or a satellite) ticket generated on the master as trust identifier.
On-Demand CSR Signing which allows to sign pending certificate requests on the master.

Both methods are described in detail below.

Note

On-Demand CSR Signing is available in Icinga 2 v2.8+.

CSR Auto-Signing ¶

A client can be a secondary master, a satellite or an agent. It sends a certificate signing request (CSR) and must authenticate itself in a trusted way. The master generates a client ticket which is included in this request. That way the master can verify that the request matches the previously trusted ticket and sign the request.

Note

Icinga 2 v2.8 added the possibility to forward signing requests on a satellite to the master node. This is called CA Proxy in blog posts and design drafts. This functionality helps with the setup of three level clusters and more.

Advantages:

Nodes (secondary master, satellites, agents) can be installed by different users who have received the client ticket.
No manual interaction necessary on the master node.
Automation tools like Puppet, Ansible, etc. can retrieve the pre-generated ticket in their client catalog and run the node setup directly.

Disadvantages:

Tickets need to be generated on the master and copied to client setup wizards.
No central signing management.

CSR Auto-Signing: Preparation ¶

Prior to using this mode, ensure that the following steps are taken on the signing master:

The master setup was run successfully. This includes:
- Generated a CA key pair
- Generated a private ticket salt stored in the TicketSalt constant, set as ticket_salt attribute inside the api feature.
Restart of the master instance.

CSR Auto-Signing: On the master ¶

Setup wizards for agent/satellite nodes will ask you for this specific client ticket.

There are two possible ways to retrieve the ticket:

CLI command executed on the master node.
REST API request against the master node.

Required information:

Parameter	Description
Common name (CN)	Required. The common name for the agent/satellite. By convention this should be the FQDN.

The following example shows how to generate a ticket on the master node icinga2-master1.localdomain for the agent icinga2-agent1.localdomain:

[root@icinga2-master1.localdomain /]# icinga2 pki ticket --cn icinga2-agent1.localdomain

Querying the Icinga 2 API on the master requires an ApiUser object with at least the actions/generate-ticket permission.

[root@icinga2-master1.localdomain /]# vim /etc/icinga2/conf.d/api-users.conf

object ApiUser "client-pki-ticket" {
  password = "bea11beb7b810ea9ce6ea" //change this
  permissions = [ "actions/generate-ticket" ]
}

[root@icinga2-master1.localdomain /]# systemctl restart icinga2

Retrieve the ticket on the master node `icinga2-master1.localdomain` with `curl`, for example:

 [root@icinga2-master1.localdomain /]# curl -k -s -u client-pki-ticket:bea11beb7b810ea9ce6ea -H 'Accept: application/json' \
 -X POST 'https://localhost:5665/v1/actions/generate-ticket' -d '{ "cn": "icinga2-agent1.localdomain" }'

Store that ticket number for the agent/satellite setup below.

Note

Never expose the ticket salt and/or ApiUser credentials to your client nodes. Example: Retrieve the ticket on the Puppet master node and send the compiled catalog to the authorized Puppet agent node which will invoke the automated setup steps.

On-Demand CSR Signing ¶

The client can be a secondary master, satellite or agent. It sends a certificate signing request to specified parent node without any ticket. The admin on the primary master is responsible for reviewing and signing the requests with the private CA key.

This could either be directly the master, or a satellite which forwards the request to the signing master.

Advantages:

Central certificate request signing management.
No pre-generated ticket is required for client setups.

Disadvantages:

Asynchronous step for automated deployments.
Needs client verification on the master.

On-Demand CSR Signing: Preparation ¶

Prior to using this mode, ensure that the following steps are taken on the signing master:

The master setup was run successfully. This includes:
- Generated a CA key pair
Restart of the master instance.

On-Demand CSR Signing: On the master ¶

You can list pending certificate signing requests with the ca list CLI command.

[root@icinga2-master1.localdomain /]# icinga2 ca list
Fingerprint                                                      | Timestamp           | Signed | Subject
-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|--------|--------
71700c28445109416dd7102038962ac3fd421fbb349a6e7303b6033ec1772850 | 2017/09/06 17:20:02 |        | CN = icinga2-agent2.localdomain

In order to show all requests, use the --all parameter.

[root@icinga2-master1.localdomain /]# icinga2 ca list --all
Fingerprint                                                      | Timestamp           | Signed | Subject
-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|--------|--------
403da5b228df384f07f980f45ba50202529cded7c8182abf96740660caa09727 | 2017/09/06 17:02:40 | *      | CN = icinga2-agent1.localdomain
71700c28445109416dd7102038962ac3fd421fbb349a6e7303b6033ec1772850 | 2017/09/06 17:20:02 |        | CN = icinga2-agent2.localdomain

Tip: Add --json to the CLI command to retrieve the details in JSON format.

If you want to sign a specific request, you need to use the ca sign CLI command and pass its fingerprint as argument.

[root@icinga2-master1.localdomain /]# icinga2 ca sign 71700c28445109416dd7102038962ac3fd421fbb349a6e7303b6033ec1772850
information/cli: Signed certificate for 'CN = icinga2-agent2.localdomain'.

Note

ca list cannot be used as historical inventory. Certificate signing requests older than 1 week are automatically deleted.

You can also remove an undesired CSR using the ca remove command using the syntax as the ca sign command.

[root@pym ~]# icinga2 ca remove 5c31ca0e2269c10363a97e40e3f2b2cd56493f9194d5b1852541b835970da46e
information/cli: Certificate 5c31ca0e2269c10363a97e40e3f2b2cd56493f9194d5b1852541b835970da46e removed.

If you want to restore a certificate you have removed, you can use ca restore.

Agent/Satellite Setup ¶

This section describes the setup of an agent or satellite connected to an existing master node setup. If you haven’t done so already, please run the master setup.

Icinga 2 on the master node must be running and accepting connections on port 5665.

Agent/Satellite Setup on Linux ¶

Please ensure that you’ve run all the steps mentioned in the agent/satellite section.

Install the Icinga 2 package and setup the required plugins if you haven’t done so already.

The next step is to run the node wizard CLI command.

In this example we’re generating a ticket on the master node icinga2-master1.localdomain for the agent icinga2-agent1.localdomain:

[root@icinga2-master1.localdomain /]# icinga2 pki ticket --cn icinga2-agent1.localdomain
4f75d2ecd253575fe9180938ebff7cbca262f96e

Note: You don’t need this step if you have chosen to use On-Demand CSR Signing.

Start the wizard on the agent icinga2-agent1.localdomain:

[root@icinga2-agent1.localdomain /]# icinga2 node wizard

Welcome to the Icinga 2 Setup Wizard!

We will guide you through all required configuration details.

Press Enter or add y to start a satellite or agent setup.

Please specify if this is an agent/satellite setup ('n' installs a master setup) [Y/n]:

Press Enter to use the proposed name in brackets, or add a specific common name (CN). By convention this should be the FQDN.

Starting the Agent/Satellite setup routine...

Please specify the common name (CN) [icinga2-agent1.localdomain]: icinga2-agent1.localdomain

Specify the direct parent for this node. This could be your primary master icinga2-master1.localdomain or a satellite node in a multi level cluster scenario.

Please specify the parent endpoint(s) (master or satellite) where this node should connect to:
Master/Satellite Common Name (CN from your master/satellite node): icinga2-master1.localdomain

Press Enter or choose y to establish a connection to the parent node.

Do you want to establish a connection to the parent node from this node? [Y/n]:

Note:

If this node cannot connect to the parent node, choose n. The setup wizard will provide instructions for this scenario – signing questions are disabled then.

Add the connection details for icinga2-master1.localdomain.

Please specify the master/satellite connection information:
Master/Satellite endpoint host (IP address or FQDN): 192.168.56.101
Master/Satellite endpoint port [5665]: 5665

You can add more parent nodes if necessary. Press Enter or choose n if you don’t want to add any. This comes in handy if you have more than one parent node, e.g. two masters or two satellites.

Add more master/satellite endpoints? [y/N]:

Verify the parent node’s certificate:

Parent certificate information:

 Subject:     CN = icinga2-master1.localdomain
 Issuer:      CN = Icinga CA
 Valid From:  Sep  7 13:41:24 2017 GMT
 Valid Until: Sep  3 13:41:24 2032 GMT
 Fingerprint: AC 99 8B 2B 3D B0 01 00 E5 21 FA 05 2E EC D5 A9 EF 9E AA E3

Is this information correct? [y/N]: y

The setup wizard fetches the parent node’s certificate and ask you to verify this information. This is to prevent MITM attacks or any kind of untrusted parent relationship.

Note: The certificate is not fetched if you have chosen not to connect to the parent node.

Proceed with adding the optional client ticket for CSR auto-signing:

Please specify the request ticket generated on your Icinga 2 master (optional).
 (Hint: # icinga2 pki ticket --cn 'icinga2-agent1.localdomain'):
4f75d2ecd253575fe9180938ebff7cbca262f96e

In case you’ve chosen to use On-Demand CSR Signing you can leave the ticket question blank.

Instead, Icinga 2 tells you to approve the request later on the master node.

No ticket was specified. Please approve the certificate signing request manually
on the master (see 'icinga2 ca list' and 'icinga2 ca sign --help' for details).

You can optionally specify a different bind host and/or port.

Please specify the API bind host/port (optional):
Bind Host []:
Bind Port []:

The next step asks you to accept configuration (required for config sync mode) and commands (required for command endpoint mode).

Accept config from parent node? [y/N]: y
Accept commands from parent node? [y/N]: y

Next you can optionally specify the local and parent zone names. This will be reflected in the generated zone configuration file.

Set the local zone name to something else, if you are installing a satellite or secondary master instance.

Local zone name [icinga2-agent1.localdomain]:

Set the parent zone name to something else than master if this agents connects to a satellite instance instead of the master.

Parent zone name [master]:

You can add more global zones in addition to global-templates and director-global if necessary. Press Enter or choose n, if you don’t want to add any additional.

Reconfiguring Icinga...

Default global zones: global-templates director-global
Do you want to specify additional global zones? [y/N]: N

Last but not least the wizard asks you whether you want to disable the inclusion of the local configuration directory in conf.d, or not. Defaults to disabled, as agents either are checked via command endpoint, or they receive configuration synced from the parent zone.

Do you want to disable the inclusion of the conf.d directory [Y/n]: Y
Disabling the inclusion of the conf.d directory...

The wizard proceeds and you are good to go.

Done.

Now restart your Icinga 2 daemon to finish the installation!

Note

If you have chosen not to connect to the parent node, you cannot start Icinga 2 yet. The wizard asked you to manually copy the master’s public CA certificate file into /var/lib/icinga2/certs/ca.crt.

You need to manually sign the CSR on the master node.

Restart Icinga 2 as requested.

[root@icinga2-agent1.localdomain /]# systemctl restart icinga2

Here is an overview of all parameters in detail:

Parameter	Description
Common name (CN)	Required. By convention this should be the host’s FQDN. Defaults to the FQDN.
Master common name	Required. Use the common name you’ve specified for your master node before.
Establish connection to the parent node	Optional. Whether the node should attempt to connect to the parent node or not. Defaults to `y`.
Master/Satellite endpoint host	Required if the the agent needs to connect to the master/satellite. The parent endpoint’s IP address or FQDN. This information is included in the `Endpoint` object configuration in the `zones.conf` file.
Master/Satellite endpoint port	Optional if the the agent needs to connect to the master/satellite. The parent endpoints’s listening port. This information is included in the `Endpoint` object configuration.
Add more master/satellite endpoints	Optional. If you have multiple master/satellite nodes configured, add them here.
Parent Certificate information	Required. Verify that the connecting host really is the requested master node.
Request ticket	Optional. Add the ticket generated on the master.
API bind host	Optional. Allows to specify the address the ApiListener is bound to. For advanced usage only.
API bind port	Optional. Allows to specify the port the ApiListener is bound to. For advanced usage only (requires changing the default port 5665 everywhere).
Accept config	Optional. Whether this node accepts configuration sync from the master node (required for config sync mode). For security reasons this defaults to `n`.
Accept commands	Optional. Whether this node accepts command execution messages from the master node (required for command endpoint mode). For security reasons this defaults to `n`.
Local zone name	Optional. Allows to specify the name for the local zone. This comes in handy when this instance is a satellite, not an agent. Defaults to the FQDN.
Parent zone name	Optional. Allows to specify the name for the parent zone. This is important if the agent has a satellite instance as parent, not the master. Defaults to `master`.
Global zones	Optional. Allows to specify more global zones in addition to `global-templates` and `director-global`. Defaults to `n`.
Disable conf.d	Optional. Allows to disable the inclusion of the `conf.d` directory which holds local example configuration. Clients should retrieve their configuration from the parent node, or act as command endpoint execution bridge. Defaults to `y`.

The setup wizard will ensure that the following steps are taken:

Enable the api feature.
Create a certificate signing request (CSR) for the local node.
Request a signed certificate i(optional with the provided ticket number) on the master node.
Allow to verify the parent node’s certificate.
Store the signed agent/satellite certificate and ca.crt in /var/lib/icinga2/certs.
Update the zones.conf file with the new zone hierarchy.
Update /etc/icinga2/features-enabled/api.conf (accept_config, accept_commands) and constants.conf.
Update /etc/icinga2/icinga2.conf and comment out include_recursive "conf.d".

You can verify that the certificate files are stored in the /var/lib/icinga2/certs directory.

Note

If the agent is not directly connected to the certificate signing master, signing requests and responses might need some minutes to fully update the agent certificates.

If you have chosen to use On-Demand CSR Signing certificates need to be signed on the master first. Ticket-less setups require at least Icinga 2 v2.8+ on all involved instances.

Now that you’ve successfully installed a Linux/Unix agent/satellite instance, please proceed to the configuration modes.

Agent Setup on Windows ¶

The supported Windows agent versions are listed here.

Requirements:

Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6 or higher. This is the default on Windows Server 2016 or later.
Universal C Runtime for Windows for Windows Server 2012 and older.

Agent Setup on Windows: Installer ¶

Download the MSI-Installer package from https://packages.icinga.com/windows/. The preferred flavor is x86_64 for modern Windows systems.

The Windows package provides native monitoring plugin binaries to get you started more easily. The installer package also includes the NSClient++ package to allow using its built-in plugins. You can find more details in this chapter.

Note

Please note that Icinga 2 was designed to run as light-weight agent on Windows. There is no support for satellite instances.

Run the MSI-Installer package and follow the instructions shown in the screenshots.

Icinga 2 Windows Setup

The graphical installer offers to run the Icinga Agent setup wizard after the installation. Select the check box to proceed.

Tip

You can also run the Icinga agent setup wizard from the Start menu later.

Agent Setup on Windows: Configuration Wizard ¶

On a fresh installation the setup wizard guides you through the initial configuration. It also provides a mechanism to send a certificate request to the CSR signing master.

The following configuration details are required:

Parameter	Description
Instance name	Required. By convention this should be the host’s FQDN. Defaults to the FQDN.
Setup ticket	Optional. Paste the previously generated ticket number. If left blank, the certificate request must be signed on the master node.

Fill in the required information and click Add to add a new master connection.

Icinga 2 Windows Setup

Add the following details:

Parameter	Description
Instance name	Required. The master/satellite endpoint name where this agent is a direct child of.
Master/Satellite endpoint host	Required. The master or satellite’s IP address or FQDN. This information is included in the `Endpoint` object configuration in the `zones.conf` file.
Master/Satellite endpoint port	Optional. The master or satellite’s listening port. This information is included in the `Endpoint` object configuration.

Icinga 2 Windows Setup

When needed you can add an additional global zone (the zones global-templates and director-global are added by default):

Icinga 2 Windows Setup

Optionally enable the following settings:

Parameter	Description
Accept commands from master/satellite instance(s)	Optional. Whether this node accepts command execution messages from the master node (required for command endpoint mode). For security reasons this is disabled by default.
Accept config updates from master/satellite instance(s)	Optional. Whether this node accepts configuration sync from the master node (required for config sync mode). For security reasons this is disabled by default.
Run Icinga 2 service as this user	Optional. Specify a different Windows user. This defaults to `NT AUTHORITY\Network Service` and is required for more privileged service checks.
Install/Update bundled NSClient++	Optional. The Windows installer bundles the NSClient++ installer for additional plugin checks.
Disable including local ‘conf.d’ directory	Optional. Allows to disable the `include_recursive "conf.d"` directive except for the `api-users.conf` file in the `icinga2.conf` file. Defaults to `true`.

Icinga 2 Windows Setup

Verify the certificate from the master/satellite instance where this node should connect to.

Icinga 2 Windows Setup

Bundled NSClient++ Setup ¶

If you have chosen to install/update the NSClient++ package, the Icinga 2 setup wizard asks you to do so.