Using ARP to monitor hosts (instead of ICMP)

General
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For most devices that don’t support SNMP, don’t allow you to install a CheckMK agent, usually I can add ICMP monitoring and keep an eye out for said device. Some devices block ICMP, but their network connectivity can be checked for by using the “arping x.x.x.x” command from a linux cli. Does CheckMK have a similar functionality / alternative means of monitoring using this method (using ARP requests / replies).

(Building off of older checkmk forum post “Monitor IOT device which does not allow ping or snmp”)

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This will only work when the querying station (the monitoring server or a third host) is in the same broadcast domain (VLAN) as the target. ARP usually only works in a single Ethernet segment.

That said, there is check_arp_ping.sh - Nagios Exchange to use arping as a Nagios plugin. You can configure it as an active check or call it via MRPE on a third host.

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Yup, the host I’d like to monitor is in the same subnet as the machine that I have checkmk running on.

Although, Im not entirely sure how to set up checkmk to use “check_arp_ping.sh” Nagios plugin.

Is this something that gets specified under

Add rule: Host check command
Setup > Hosts > Host monitoring rules > Host check command for host DEVICE_NAME_HERE > Add rule: Host check command

and setting the host check command to “Use a custom check plug in…” and entering “check_arp_ping.sh” in the text field?

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Yes. Put check_arp_ping into $OMD_ROOT/local/lib/nagios/plugins

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