
snmpstats2 - The Merit Statistics collection program for SNMP data

DESCRIPTION
--------------
This directory contains the code necessary to collect SNMP statistics from
a network full of nodes.  

DATA RULES
-------------------------------------------------------------
The list of hosts and the community name form the community is kept in 
the $HOME/etc directory.  These config file names take on the form:

			<net>.snmp.hosts
			<net>.snmp.community
			
where:
<net> is the "Name" of the network you are monitoring.

The code will automatically create the /rtdata/<net>/snmp/<host> directory,
where the data will be stored.  Each host gets its own directory for SNMP
data.  Note that if the /rtdata directory does not exist, or the permissions
prevent the creation of this or underlying directories, the data can
not be stored.

Under each host directory, SNMP statistics file will be created for each
day, and the files take on the name: 

			<object>.<datestr>

where:
<object> refers to the SNMP object (or table) that is being collected
<datestr> identifies the day the data was collected in YYMMDD form.

The data rules state that the data within these files must contain a 
timestamp for each collection interval, regardless fo whether the node 
responded or not.

Why this format?

All of these data rules were carefully thought out, and allow for a system that

1) can provide easy random access to the data stored in this format
2) allow the use of standard unix utilities (like find) for archiving
3) allow the use of standard unix utilities (like find) for skulking
4) provide an environment in which a shell programmer can easily craft reports
5) allow a server to provide easy acccess to specific intervals of data
6) provide for extensibility; specifically in # of nodes, objects, networks,
   and types of data to be collected.

HOW TO START COLLECTING NETWORK STATISTICS
---------------------------------------------------
We have found this very useful, and easy to set up.  Since all of the 
directories get created for you, all you have to do is:

1) create a /rtdata root directory (or a symlink) with the persmissions set
to allow your collector ID to write into it.
2) create a $HOME/etc/<net>.snmp.hosts file, containing the IP addresses of
the hosts in your network.
3) create a $HOME/etc/<net>.snmp.community file, contain the community name 
of the net.
4) make a crontab that invokes 

		snmpstats2 <net> <objects> 
		
at the appropriate interval.


Hope this helps,

Bill
