Email alerts from multiple FreeNAS servers in same network

[Black Ninja]

Hi guys,

When you have a few freenas boxes running in the same network how can you tell who is sending you an alert ?
Is there proper way to setup freenas that will include in subject line or anywhere for that matter, who is sending the alert ?
When you have a problem and got an alert is it my main system that has a "Critical Alert", or my backup freenas, or my test freenas server ?

Is this make sense what I am asking ?

P.S. IPMI Remote management has the option to set a name for the system is coming from. Otherwise when there is problem you get the same generic message like "This is a message test from FreeNAS" and you will not know who send it ?

 

[Mlovelace]

Just change the default name (freeNAS) of each server to something descriptive of its role/location.

 

[Mirfster]

Doesn't it already contain the server name in the subject line of the e-mail?

 

[Mlovelace]

Doesn't it already contain the server name in the subject line of the e-mail?

It does but you're assuming he changed the default name from freeNAS.

 

[Black Ninja]

Just change the default name (freeNAS) of each server to something descriptive of its role/location.

Oh of course I did that. All machines have different names, but freenas is not including this info in the mail. You get the same generic message:"Test message from FreeNAS" from all machines. Despite non of them I left with the default name "FreeNAS"

 

[BigDave]

I may be wrong here but I think that between whateveryounamedit.local
and your pool name should be different for every machine or VM
when being sent by FreeNAS. I'm really not sure about IPMI though...

 

[Black Ninja]

Doesn't it already contain the server name in the subject line of the e-mail?

I just destroy the pool on one test freenas server named "freenastestr" and I got a mail from my gmail server with subject line:" Critical Alerts" and in the body of the email: "The volume testpool (ZFS) state is UNKNOWN:"

So answer is: It doesn't. But I wish it was. That's my point.

 

[BigDave]

I'm looking over my emails received and the subject line says stuff like:
freenas.local security run output
UPS report generated by freenas.local
Cron <root@freenas> PATH= blah, blah, blah -t 14 poolnamehere

 

[Black Ninja]

I may be wrong here but I think that between whateveryounamedit.local
and your pool name should be different for every machine or VM
when being sent by FreeNAS. I'm really not sure about IPMI though...

You are not wrong , and it is different, but the email that comes don't take that into account.

 

[Black Ninja]

I'm looking over my emails received and the subject line says stuff like:
freenas.local security run output
UPS report generated by freenas.local
Cron <root@freenas> PATH= blah, blah, blah -t 14 poolnamehere

Send yourself a test email from any machine, or destroy a pool if you can and the message it won't contain info who send it. Guaranteed

 

[Mlovelace]

The test email does come across at from freenas (must be a script) but all the messages I get about starting a scrub or SMART test errors have always been from the server name.

Example:

Code:

Cron <root@SRCLNAS> PATH="/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/root/bin" /usr/local/libexec/nas/scrub -t 10 tank
srclnas@xxxxx.xxx
Tue 3/15/2016 10:00 AM


To:MLovelace <MLOVELACE@XXXXXX.XXX>;




  starting scrub of pool 'tank'

 

[Black Ninja]

By the way you are correct that when I get one of these :"freenas.local security run output" emails , then the name of the machine name is there: "Cron <root@freenastestr> PATH= blah, blah, blah" So I know this message is from freenas machine called "freenastestr".

BUT I am still saying that if you destroy you pool, you wont get info who send it. Which is even more important than knowing about the cron job.

 

[BigDave]

Send yourself a test email from any machine, or destroy a pool if you can and the message it won't contain info who send it. Guaranteed

He's correct!
I sent a test email from my machine running 10 master and it says:
"Test message from FreeNAS"

 

[BigDave]

Black Ninja, perhaps a Feature Request?

 

[BigDave]

I just destroy the pool on one test freenas server named "freenastestr" and I got a mail from my gmail server with subject line:" Critical Alerts" and in the body of the email: "The volume testpool (ZFS) state is UNKNOWN:"

The volume name should be different as well, should it not?

 

[Black Ninja]

The test email does come across at from freenas (must be a script) but all the messages I get about starting a scrub or SMART test errors have always been from the server name.

Example:

Code:

Cron <root@SRCLNAS> PATH="/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/root/bin" /usr/local/libexec/nas/scrub -t 10 tank
srclnas@xxxxx.xxx
Tue 3/15/2016 10:00 AM


To:MLovelace <MLOVELACE@XXXXXX.XXX>;




  starting scrub of pool 'tank'

That's right. And you'll know which server is scrubbing, but you won't know when you pool is gone which machine is that !

 

[Black Ninja]

The volume name should be different as well, should it not?

Yes that's right. That's the only way to work around this: You will not know which machine has a pool fail, but you will know eventually the name of the pool and have to track back which machine has that pool name. So you never has to have the same pool name on any of your machines local or remote.

 

[Black Ninja]

Black Ninja, perhaps a Feature Request?

I don't do these anymore.

 

[Mlovelace]

That's right. And you'll know which server is scrubbing, but you won't know when you pool is gone which machine is that !

Meh, if the pool faults then the business processes associated with that pool will fail and I will be notified. If I have to log into a half dozen servers to see which one crapped that's not a big deal. What I want are notifications of problems that would help me prevent the pool from faulting, which freeNAS already does.

 

[Black Ninja]

I guess is good to know in both cases: You want the warnings to prevent ( if possible, you can't always prevent it) a pool failure and what to know when pool fail so you can minimize the damage. Freenas does that, but it would be nice to know who send the alert in order to locate it faster and not mess something else. I guess is not very important for most people since is not meant to be used in Enterprise environment.

Anyways if it's not there, that's fine. I just wanted to make sure is not something that I miss-configured.

P.S. Features that are "critical" in enterprise environment I just find them "cool" home environment. Like the IPMI which I can't live without now.