If you would like VitalSigns to send SNMP traps to another system, you need to complete 3 steps:

1) Enable SNMP Traps.

2) Create an Alert Definition which sends traps in response to detected events.

3) Import the VitalSigns MIB into the external system.


Step 1: Enable SNMP Traps

  1. You first need to tell VitalSigns where to send the traps in Alerts » Alert Settings.

  2. Check the box Enable SNMP traps.

  3. Enter the host name of the computer that will be listening for trap messages.

    If you want to send the traps to HP Openview, enter hostname of the HP Openview machine here.


Step 2: Create an Alert Definition which sends Traps

  1. Go to Alerts » Alert Definitions. 
  2. Either create a new alert or edit an existing one. 
  3. In the section Hours & Destinations, select SNMP Trap as the Alerting Mechanism.



Step 3: Import the MIB into the other system

SNMP Traps are not human-friendly. They consist largely of very long numbers such as 1.3.6.1.4.1.26062.1.1.1.9.   The computer which receives these numbers needs a file to decode it.  For example: the number segment 26062 which appears in the middle of the trap uniquely identifies the trap as being from VitalSigns. 
  1. The file which allows a receiving system to decode a trap is called a 'MIB' and the file is located in the \program files(x86)\VitalSignsPlus folder. 
  2. Look for a file called VITALSIGNS-MIB.mib and copy this file to your other machine (for example HP Openview). 
  3. Every system has a different process for importing a MIB so the best solution is to simply Google for 'import MIB productname' such as 'import MIB HP Openview' and follow the instructions found.

You may see two MIB files VITALSIGNS-MIB.mib and VITALSIGNS-MIB1.mib in the VitalSignsPlus folder.   Select the smaller ( VITALSIGNS-MIB.mib) file.

What is in a trap?  The trap basically sends five values to the other system.  

These represent Alert Type, Server Type, Server Name, Details, and Date.


VITALSIGNS-MIB DEFINITIONS ::= BEGIN


        IMPORTS

            OBJECT-TYPE         FROM RFC-1212            

            TRAP-TYPE        FROM RFC-1215            

            enterprises        FROM RFC1155-SMI            

            DisplayString        FROM RFC1213-MIB;


vitalsigns OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { enterprises 26062 }


vitalsignsTraps OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { vitalsigns 1 }


trapVars OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { vitalsignsTraps 1 }


        detail OBJECT-TYPE

            SYNTAX DisplayString

            ACCESS read-only

            STATUS mandatory

            DESCRIPTION

                "Complete trap message"

            ::= { trapVars 1 }        


        alertType OBJECT-TYPE

            SYNTAX DisplayString

            ACCESS read-only

            STATUS mandatory

            DESCRIPTION

                "Status of the server experiencing the alert."

            ::= { trapVars 2 }

        deviceType OBJECT-TYPE

            SYNTAX DisplayString

            ACCESS read-only

            STATUS mandatory

            DESCRIPTION

                "The device (Exchange, SameTime etc.) experiencing the alert."

            ::= { trapVars 3 }

        deviceName OBJECT-TYPE

                    SYNTAX DisplayString

                    ACCESS read-only

                    STATUS mandatory

                    DESCRIPTION

                        "Name of the device experiencing the alert."

            ::= { trapVars 4 }

        

        date OBJECT-TYPE

                    SYNTAX DisplayString

                    ACCESS read-only

                    STATUS mandatory

                    DESCRIPTION

                        "Date of alert condition detection"

            ::= { trapVars 5 }            

        trapAlert TRAP-TYPE

            ENTERPRISE vitalsigns

            VARIABLES { detail, alertType, deviceType, deviceName, date }                

            DESCRIPTION

                "alert notification"

            ::=  1    

            

          

        END