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With Checkmk, you can monitor single files for pure existence, their age, size, etc. But it is also sometimes necessary to group several files into one service and impose those rules and thresholds on such a filegroup.

Configuration of the agent

First, we must tell the agent which files should be monitored. This can be done with the Checkmk agent bakery in Checkmk Enterprise, Enterprise Free, and managed service edition. In Checkmk RAW Edition, this needs to be done manually.

With agent bakery (Enterprise editions):

  1. To create a new rule, go to Setup → Agents → Windows, Linux, Solaris, AIX → Agent rules → Count, size, and age of files and specify which files to be included:
    Screenshot new rule to count the size and age of files

    Take a look at the inline help for possible patterns.

  2. Bake & Sign the agents to deploy the new agent configuration.

Without agent bakery (RAW edition):

Note

Paths and files are case-sensitive, even in the Windows agent.

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  1. In the file C:\ProgramData\checkmk\agent\check_mk.user.yml, create a fileinfo section like this:

    Code Block
    languagepowershell
    themeRDark
    fileinfo:
    enabled: true
    path:
    - c:\temp\*.txt
    - c:\path\to\file.dat

    .

  2. Restart the Checkmk agent

Monitoring of single files

  1. Rediscover your host, and you will find the single files that you configured in Step 1, and you can add them to monitoring:
    Screenshot displaying four files in a status of OK

    After that, you can create rules to specify how to monitor those files.
    .
  2. Click on the "hamburger" menu of that service, then "Parameters for this service."
    Screenshot showing where the parameters for this services is located
    .
  3. Click "Size and age of single files" to create a rule
    Screenshot detailing the location of size and age of single files option.

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For example, this is with a threshold for the maximum age.

Screenshot showing the maximal age thresholds

Monitoring of file groups

Sometimes it is desired not to monitor the individual files but a file group instead. To do this, you need to create a rule on the type "File Grouping Patterns" There, you have to specify a name for the group, "Include Patterns," and optionally "Exclude Patterns."

  1. Go to Setup → Services → Service monitoring rules → Grouping Patterns → Add rule
    Screenshot detailing file grouping patterns
    .
  2. After a Re-Discovery, the single file services will vanish, and the file group will appear, and you can add the new service to the monitoring
    Screenshot showing all four files as vanished and a new group service is available.
    .
  3. Create a rule by clicking on the "hamburger menu" / Parameters for this service
    Screenshot showing where the parameters for this services is located
    .
  4. Click "Size, age, and count of file groups" to create a rule as desired
    Screenshot detailing the location of size and age of single files option.


Example

Screenshot showing the maximal age thresholds

Special case: file(s) does not exist during discovery

Sometimes you have a special use case where the single files or files that are part of file groups do not exist (during discovery). E.g., you want to monitor the quarantine directory of antivirus software, which should normally be empty.

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By creating such an enforced rule, you can force Checkmk to create a service check, and you can monitor files that are not present during discovery.

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