CheckMK OETIKER+PARTNER BGP Monitor

Version 1.0.0 - CheckMK 2.4 (v2 API) compatible

This extension pack contains a CheckMK special agent that monitors BGP sessions on network devices. It contacts your networking equipment to discover BGP sessions and monitor their operational state.

Features

• Multi-vendor support: Works with different device types
• Automatic discovery: Discovers all BGP sessions automatically
• State monitoring: Tracks session state (Established, Idle, etc.)
• Uptime metrics: Reports BGP session uptime with historical graphing
• SSL verification: Configurable SSL/TLS certificate validation
• CheckMK 2.4 ready: Uses modern v2 API

Supported Devices

• Cisco Nexus 9000 (HTTP/HTTPS JSON-RPC API)
• Huawei Sx700 (SSH with CLI commands)
• Palo Alto Networks (HTTPS XML API)

More drivers can be added in the future.

Requirements

• CheckMK version: 2.4 or newer (uses v2 API)
• Python dependencies:
  • requests (included with CheckMK)
  • pexpect (required for Huawei devices only - install with pip3 install pexpect in OMD site)

Installation

1. Download the MKP package: oposs_bgp_mon-1.0.0.mkp
2. Install via command line:

   cmk -P install oposs_bgp_mon-1.0.0.mkp

   Or via Web UI: Setup → Maintenance → Extension packages

Configuration

1. Navigate to Setup → Agents → VM, Cloud, Container → OETIKER+PARTNER BGP Monitor
2. Create a new rule for your BGP-enabled device:
   • Username: Device login username
   • Password: Device password (stored securely)
   • Driver: Select your device type:
     • Cisco Nexus 9000 HTTP
     • Cisco Nexus 9000 HTTPS
     • Huawei Sx700 SSH
     • Palo Alto Networks XML API
   • Verify SSL certificates:
     • ✅ Enabled (default, recommended for production)
     • ❌ Disabled (for self-signed certificates)
3. Apply the rule to your host(s)
4. Run service discovery on the host

Service Discovery

After configuration, run discovery to create services:

cmk -II your-router-hostname

This will create one service per BGP session in the format:

• Service name: BGP AS{asn} {neighbor-ip}
• Example: BGP AS65001 10.0.0.1

Monitoring States

• OK (Green): Session state is Established
• CRITICAL (Red): Session state is Idle
• WARNING (Yellow): Session in transitional state (e.g., Active, OpenConfirm)
• UNKNOWN (Gray): Cannot retrieve session data

Metrics

Each BGP session reports:

• oposs_bgp_mon_uptime: Session uptime in seconds (graphed over time)

Service details display:

• VRF/Virtual Router name
• Address family (IPv4/IPv6 Unicast, L2VPN EVPN)
• Neighbor ID
• Neighbor AS number
• Current state

Migrating from bgp_mon (v1)

If you're upgrading from the old bgp_mon plugin, see MIGRATION_TO_V2.md for detailed migration instructions.

Key changes:

• Plugin renamed: bgp_mon → oposs_bgp_mon
• New SSL verification option
• Historical data automatically preserved
• Services migrate automatically with supersedes mechanism

Troubleshooting

No services discovered

Cause: Special agent not configured or not running

Solution:

1. Check rule is applied to host: Setup → Agents → VM, Cloud, Container → OETIKER+PARTNER BGP Monitor
2. Test special agent manually:

   /omd/sites/SITE/local/lib/python3/cmk_addons/plugins/oposs_bgp_mon/libexec/agent_oposs_bgp_mon \
     -u USERNAME -p PASSWORD -r DRIVER HOSTNAME

SSL certificate errors

Cause: Device uses self-signed certificate

Solution: Disable "Verify SSL certificates" in the WATO rule

Huawei devices fail

Cause: Missing pexpect Python library

Solution: Install in OMD site:

pip3 install pexpect

Parse errors service appears

Cause: Agent output contains malformed data

Solution: Check service details for error messages and verify device driver selection

Screenshots

The Monitoring Screen

The Setup Screen (note: updated for v2 with SSL verification option)

Development

• Plugin location: local/lib/python3/cmk_addons/plugins/oposs_bgp_mon/
• Directory structure: Follows CheckMK 2.4 v2 API conventions
• Metric naming: Uses oposs_bgp_mon_ prefix to avoid conflicts

License

GNU General Public License v2

Authors

Original Plugin (v1):

• Tobias Oetiker tobi@oetiker.ch

v2 Migration:

• OETIKER+PARTNER AG

Support

• GitHub Issues: https://github.com/oposs/cmk-oposs_bgp_mon/issues
• Migration Guide: MIGRATION_TO_V2.md

Enjoy!

---

© 2023-2025 OETIKER+PARTNER AG