How to add a node to OpenNMS - Digital Magnificent

Find out how easy it is to add a node to the OpenNMS network management system.

How to add a node to OpenNMS
Find out how easy it is to add a node to the OpenNMS network management system.

With OpenNMS installed, the first thing you might want to do is add a node. What is a node? A node can be a server, a desktop, or just about any device attached to your network. However, we are going to concentrate on servers.

To demonstrate, I’m going to add an Ubuntu Server to an instance of OpenNMS. Once added, you can stay informed on the status of that node, as well as manage it from within the OpenNMS web interface.

So let’s add a node.

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What you’ll need

The only things you’ll need for this are:

A working instance of OpenNMS
A remote server (on a network accessible by the OpenNMS server) to add as a node

With this ready, let’s add that node.

How to add the node

To add a node, log into OpenNMS as the admin user, or a user with admin rights. From the main window, click the Admin menu (top right corner) and then click Quick-Add Node (Figure A).

Figure A

You will be prompted to enter a name for the new requisition (Figure B).

Figure B

Type of the name of the requisition (node) and click OK. In the resulting window (Figures C and D), type out the information for the new node.

Figure C

The top half of the new node add window.

Figure D

The bottom half of the new node add window.

Note: For some of the configurations, instead of typing information, you must hit the spacebar to view all available options.

If you’re adding Linux servers, you will (most likely) use SSH as the Access Method. Once you’ve entered all the relevant information, click the checkbox for Auto Enable, and then click Provision and the node will be added.

How to check your new node

To make sure the node has been properly added, click Info | Nodes. In the resulting window (Figure E), you should see information appear for the newly-added node.

Figure E