Technical FAQ
It is impossible to explain all technical details about WOTAN MONITORING on this website. Read here the most frequently asked questions and don't hesitate to contact us for more informations.
What can be monitored by WOTAN?
WOTAN MONITORING contains around 600 configured Check templates. Thanks to our comprehensive Template System, generic Check routines and close cooperations with our customers, new templates are added all the time.
A short extract:
Network & Hardware: 3PAR, 3Ware, Alcatel, Brocade, Cisco, D-Link, Dell, EMC, EtherBox, Fujitsu, HP, IBM, KEMP, MODBUS, NetApp, Printer of many manufacturers, QNAP, Rittal, SUN, UPS,
TCP, UDP, VoIP, SNMP, NTP, …... more
Systems: AIX, HP, Linux, Novell, OS400, SUN, Unix, VMWARE, ...
Windows: DHCP Server, Disk u. File Checks, Active Directory, Memory & Paging, Performance, Registry, Scheduled Tasks, Time, Windows Log, Processes, Windows Services, Exchange Server
Applications: APX, Citrix, Exchange Server, E-Mail, JMX, Lotus Notes, Movex, Nessus,SharePoint, SysLog, XEN,
SAP: System Checks, Processes and Jobs, EndToEnd Monitoring, Change Management, more
Business Processes: Business Processes from a user's point of view, more
Environmental Sensors: Humidity, temperature, water penetration, power supply, … , more
End 2 End Monitoring: Simulate a user, …
How do I start WOTAN MONITORING?
A virtual Appliance is quite easy to install. You simply download an image from our website, start it within your virtual environment, assign an IP address and start Wotan Web GUI with the delivered URL.
WOTAN comes with a set of tools, making the first configuration of the system quite easy. Nevertheless, based on our longtime experience we recommend to configure WOTAN MONITORING with the help of our experts. We assure you that this will save you time and money. Besides basic configuration our employees can also realize your individual requirements on a monitoring system.
Depending on the size of your IT-Infrastructure you can not only implement a complete Monitoring System, including the monitoring of hundreds of devices and servers but also have a system, that is configured based on your personal requirements. All this we can offer you just within 1-5 workshop days.
This includes training of your employees, the implementation of roles and individual dashboards, the configuration of SLA Reports, the use of Wotan Wiki and the creation of emergency manuals.
How can I alert via SMS?
Sending notifications via SMS requires a SMS Modem. If you already have a SMS Modem and it is available via LAN you only have to configure it in WOTAN's system settings. Afterwards, contacts can be alerted via sms.
Can I acknowledge an Alert via SMS?
Yes you can. Just answer to the source address. Only insert the four-digit ID from the original SMS.
Can I try WOTAN MONITORING?
Yes you can
- you can register on this website and try out our Demo Server with its predefined Dashboards and even create individual Dashboards,
- watch some Video Tutorials for configuration details,
- aks for a live presentation or an evaluation version to get to know our WOTAN Appliance within your IT-Environment.
Why does WOTAN uses Icinga as its Monitoring Engine?
GHI managed Nagios respectively Icinga projects within different companies for a long time. Over the years we implemented quite a lot features and applications ourselves, what results to the WOTAN MONITORING Appliance. Icinga still remain one of the most comprehensive Monitoring engines and is maintained by a great community. Therefore, we are still convinced of Icinga's high stability, great scalability, large community and its constant development.
How do I generate SLA Reports?
That's really easy. You just have to group a set of existing services and define the required threshold.
From this point on you can create a report whenever you want and over every time-period you require. Furthermore, reports can be created regularly and automatically with the WOTAN Report Scheduler. Reports can be generated daily, weekly, ..., or annually. Those reports are saved on a network share or locally. Furthermore, they can be sent per Email as soon as they are available.
What's the WOTAN Alerting and Escalation Management Server?
The WOTAN Alerting and Escalation Management Server has been developed independently of WOTAN MONITORING and can be used stand-alone as well. Windows and Linux Agents are available to use alerting and escalation management for all kind of further applications and requirements.
Even large and complex on-call schedules can be managed easily thanks to an integrated Contact Catalog, Holiday-Calendars, different calendar views and various automation tools.
What's about permission management?
WOTAN MONITORING contains a flexible role system to manage user access even for large companies. Roles do not only limit access for users, but are also used to assign individual Dashboards to individual groups of users.
You can even control the execution of particular commands (acknowledge, downtime, ...) to individual Checks.
Can I login with my Active Directory Account?
Yes, WOTAN can be configured to authenticate against Active Directory.
Furthermore, it is possible to assign AD groups to WOTAN roles. This means that you can manage WOTAN permissions completely in your Active Directory.
How many WOTAN appliances can I use?
As many as you want.
Can I combine several WOTAN appliances in one Dashboard?
Yes, every Dashboard Widget can be configured to work with a particular WOTAN appliance or even with multiple appliances.
E.g.: The Problems Dashboard displays not only current incidents of one WOTAN but of all your running WOTAN appliances.
How often do I get Updates and how can I install them?
Security Updates are provided on a regular base. Once or twice a year larger upgrades are released containing new features and other improvements. Upgrades to fix critical security issues are also always published via E-Mail.
Release upgrades are including operating system upgrades as well. Therefore, you do not have to install or upgrade anything on operation system level. It is not necessary for WOTAN to have Internet access, all upgrades can be installed locally.
Does Wotan need to be online for an Update?
No, updates can be downloaded from our support center and can be installed locally.
How does Wotan save my passwords?
WOTAN provides an integrated Password Safe to store critical information encrypted.
What can I do, if a required check is missing?
Ask our our Support Team. Most requirements can be met by creating a new template with one of our existing checks. Even if the check does not exist at all, it's very likely that our support team is implementing it for you.
That's our way to create this large Check template database.
Licenses
Here you find Answers to frequently asked questions about our licensing model
For how long is my license valid?
A WOTAN license is granted for one year.
Beside my license fee are there any additional cost?
There are no additional costs for the use of the WOTAN Appliance. If you want to order a workshop, individual extensions or special hardware (environmental sensors, SMS Modem) please contact us!
Do I get support?
The implementation is done by our experts at your company and sometimes via Remote Desktop. They will help you to meet your personal requirements and teach you to work with WOTAN.
Questions and requests can be asked at support@wotan-monitoring.com all the time. For individual requirements please take a look at our service prices.