5 Step Guide to Monitoring Windows 10 with SNMP with Nagios XI

Want a lightweight yet powerful way to monitor your Windows 10 system? This guide walks you through configuring SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) for seamless integration with Nagios XI. With SNMP, you can remotely track system performance without extra agents—making it an efficient, low-overhead solution. Enhance your monitoring capabilities effortlessly.

Prerequisite

• Access to a Windows 10 machine
• An instance of Nagios XI with administrative privileges

Step 1: Install SNMP on Windows 10

1. Open Settings on your Windows machine.

2. Navigate to Optional Features.

3. Click “+” icon and search for “snmp”, then select both check boxes.

4. Click Add and wait for the installation to complete.

5. Verify the installation by searching for SNMP under the Added Features section.

Step 2: Configure SNMP

1. Open Services by typing it into the Windows search bar.

2. Scroll down to SNMP Service, right-click, and select Properties.

3. Under the General tab, set the Startup Type to Automatic.

4. Navigate to the Agent tab and select the services you want SNMP to monitor.

5. Go to the Security tab:

6.  Choose whether to accept SNMP packets from any host or specific IP addresses (e.g., your Nagios XI instance).

7. Click Apply to save your configuration.

Step 3: Configure Windows Firewall

1. Open Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security

2. Select Inbound Rules and click New Rule

3. Choose Port and click Next.

4. Select UDP and enter 161-162 in the Specific local ports textbox.

5. Click Next through the remaining steps, give the rule a name, and click Finish.

Step 4: Set Up SNMP Monitoring in Nagios XI

1. Open Nagios XI in your browser.

2. Hover over the gear icon and select Configuration Wizards.

3. Search for SNMP.

4. Enter the following information:

5. Click Next.

6. Select the services and hardware information to monitor.

7.  Click Finish with Defaults or adjust monitoring settings as required.

8. Go back to the host and confirm that it has been added with your selected services being monitored.

Step 5: Verify Services

1. Navigate to the Host/Service Details in Nagios XI.

2. Confirm that the Windows 11 machine and its selected services are being monitored.

Conclusion

SNMP monitoring with Nagios XI provides real-time insights into Windows 10 performance, enabling proactive issue detection and resolution. With this setup, you can fine-tune alerts, expand monitoring across multiple systems, and leverage Nagios XI’s advanced features for deeper insights. By optimizing your monitoring strategy, you ensure system reliability, security, and efficiency.

For more information please visit the Nagios Support Forum or the Nagios Knowledge Base.