Troubleshooting when fetcher for host HOST times out after X seconds
This article helps troubleshoot the "Fetcher for host" timeout error within Checkmk.
LAST TESTED ON CHECKMK 2.3.0P1
Problem
You receive error messages like the following.
Fetcher for host "$HOST" times out after X secondsBackground
Read this section about helper processes in Checkmk to understand the following.
There are several reasons why a fetcher might time out. Below is a listing of some typical reasons.
Plugins and local checks
Sometimes a plugin or a local check needs a very long time to provide data or will not provide data at all.
Depending on your Microcore timeout - which defaults to 60 seconds - you reach the timeout and receive the error message from above.
Use the following commands to time the agent execution time:
Linux
time /usr/bin/check_mk_agent
Windows
Measure-Command {start-process 'C:\Program Files (x86)\checkmk\service\cmk-agent-ctl.exe' dump -Wait}
Solution
Find possible solutions below based on the possible problem.
Plugins and local checks
Plugin or local check never finishes
If the plugin or local check throws errors or never finishes, you must learn how to fix this.
Plugin or local check finishes after a long time
In case the plugin or local check finish but needs longer than the Microcore timeout, you can run the plugin asynchronously. Follow this guide to configure asynchronous execution of agent plugins: Asynchronous execution of Windows plugins
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