NDM Troubleshooting

Overview

Use the information below for troubleshooting Datadog Network Device Monitoring. If you need additional help, contact Datadog support.

Terminology

SNMP - Simple network management protocol - A network protocol that is used to collect information about bare metal networking gear.

OID - Object identifier - A unique ID or address on a device that when polled returns the response code of that value. For example, OIDs are CPU or device fan speed.

sysOID - System object identifier - A specific address that defines the device type. All devices have a unique ID that defines it. For example, the Meraki base sysOID is 1.3.6.1.4.1.29671.

MIB - Managed information base - A database or list of all the possible OIDs and their definitions that are related to the MIB. For example, the IF-MIB (interface MIB) contains all the OIDs for descriptive information about a device’s interface.

FAQ

What SNMP versions does Datadog support?

Datadog supports all three versions of SNMP: SNMPv1, SNMPv2, and SNMPv3.

What protocol does Datadog use to discover devices?

Datadog uses SNMP to discover devices. During discovery, the SNMP port (default 161) is polled. If there’s a response and a profile to match, this is considered a discovered device.

Does Datadog do MIB certification? Do I need to send you all my MIBs? How do I convert my MIBs with Python?

The Datadog Agent is MIB-less, meaning you don’t need to do anything with your MIBs. All metrics collected with Datadog device profiles automatically work without the MIB.

To add metrics or a custom configuration, list the MIB name, table name, table OID, symbol, and symbol OID, for example:

- MIB: EXAMPLE-MIB
    table:
      # Identification of the table which metrics come from.
      OID: 1.3.6.1.4.1.10
      name: exampleTable
    symbols:
      # List of symbols ('columns') to retrieve.
      # Same format as for a single OID.
      # Each row in the table emits these metrics.
      - OID: 1.3.6.1.4.1.10.1.1
        name: exampleColumn1

Can I still use Network Device Monitoring if my device-model pair isn’t supported?

Datadog collects generic base-line metrics from all devices. If there are unsupported metrics from a vendor MIB, you can write a custom profile, or send a feature request to Datadog support.

If you send a feature request, Datadog support needs a snmpwalk from the requested device. Run the following and send the output:

snmpwalk -O bentU -v 2c -c <COMMUNITY_STRING> <IP_ADDRESS>:<PORT> 1.3.6

Why am I only seeing one metric collected for my networks and it’s the number of devices collected at zero?

Try loosening ACLs/firewall rules for your devices.
Run snmpwalk -O bentU -v 2c -c <COMMUNITY_STRING> <IP_ADDRESS>:<PORT> 1.3.6 from the host your Agent is running on. If you get a timeout without any response, there is likely something blocking the Datadog Agent from collecting metrics from your device.