A node is a network system or device you are monitoring with FreeNATS for which you can perform a variety of tests. Each node can be a member of one or more groups and alert actions (see the relevant sections for more information).
Nodes are created and managed through the main screen. Selecting a node's name from the list will take you to that node's status monitor display. You can also edit options, delete and change the ranking (order in which it appears in this list and other displays) of the node. To create a node enter a node id and click create node.
The node id is the unique identifier of the node and should be meaningful (device or service name). The node id has a maximum length of 60 and must be alphanumeric characters.
Available options for nodes are as follows:
|Node Name||Displayed in some circumstances instead of the node id|
|Hostname||Hostname or IP address of the node - used in ping and tcp port tests. Use an IP address here to avoid DNS failures causing tests to fail.|
|Description||The description of the node used in some displays|
|Node Icon||Icon to represent node in monitor and status displays|
|Test Schedule||When to test the node (see the section on Test Schedules)|
|Test Interval||How often to test the node - see Test Intervals|
|Enabled||Test the node|
|Alerts Active||Alerts are raised (and alert actions performed) for the node|
|Ping Test||Perform an ICMP (ping) test on the hostname of the node|
|Require Ping||Only try other tests if the ping passed (if unchecked will try tests anyway - useful if ICMP traffic is being lost). Please note if this is checked and ping test is not the tests will not be run as ping cannot pass.|
|Master Node||Sets the Master Node for this node and the conditions under which it will/will not be tested (skip if master)|
|Utility Links||Links to help administer the node, see the Utility Links documentation for more information|