Pandora FMS (Flexible Monitoring System) is a free and open-source monitoring software that you can use to monitor your IT infrastructure. It supports Windows, Linux, and other systems applications. Pandora FMS comes with a huge number of features that make it a next-gen enterprise-grade and the most complete open-source systems monitoring platform available today. For more about Pandora FMS, please visit its homepage. To get started with installing Pandora FMS on Ubuntu, follow the steps below:

Install Apache2 HTTP Server

Apache2 HTTP Server is the most popular web server in use. so install it since Pandora FMS needs it. To install Apache2 HTTP on the Ubuntu server, run the commands below. After installing Apache2, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the Apache2 service to always start up with the server boots. To find out if the Apache2 HTTP server is installed, simply open your web browser and type in the server’s IP or hostname. When you see a page similar to the one below, then Apache2 is installed and working.

Install MariaDB Database Server

Pandora FMS also needs a database server to store its content. and MariaDB database server is a great place to start when looking at open-source database servers to use with Pandora FMS. To install MariaDB run the commands below. After installing MariaDB, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the MariaDB service always to start up when the server boots. Run these on Ubuntu After that, run the commands below to secure the MariaDB server by creating a root password and disallowing remote root access. When prompted, answer the questions below by following the guide.

Enter current password for root (enter for none): Just press the Enter Set root password? [Y/n]: Y New password: Enter password Re-enter new password: Repeat password Remove anonymous users? [Y/n]: Y Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n]: Y Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n]:  Y Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n]:  Y

Restart MariaDB server To test if MariaDB is installed, type the commands below to logon into the MariaDB server You should see similar messages below: That’s how to install MariaDB on Ubuntu. By default on Ubuntu, MariaDB is configured to use the UNIX auth_socket plugin. You’ll want to run the SQL commands below for the root user to use mysql_native_password. You’ll need a MariaDB root account to set up Pandora FMS. Finally, save your changes and exit. That’s should do it

PHP 7.2-FPM may not be available in Ubuntu default repositories. to install it, you will have to get it from third-party repositories. Run the commands below to add the below third party repository to upgrade to PHP 7.2-FPM Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.2-FPM Next, run the commands below to install PHP 7.2-FPM and related modules. After installing PHP 7.2, run the commands below to open the PHP default config file for Apache2. Then make the changes on the following lines below in the file and save. The value below is a great setting to apply in your environment. After making the change above, save the file and close it.

Install Perl and Supported Packages

Pandora FMS uses Perl and will need Perl packages installed. Run the commands below to install SNMP and Perl packages to support Pandora FMS.

Install FMS with Console

Now that all required packages are installed, run the commands below to download Pandora FMS packages and install them from the link below: https://sourceforge.net/projects/pandora/files/ Or use the commands below to download via the command line terminal and install. After downloading the above, run the commands below to install and force install additional packages. After installing, you should see a message with configuration settings for FMS services. After installing, open your web browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address followed by /pandora_console as shown below: After the page loads, read and follow the wizard Next, verify that all requirements and dependencies are installed and continue. After that, type in the root password you created above. The Wizard should create a database called pandora. Click Next to continue. After that, the installation should be complete. Run the commands below to remove the installer script. Or you can select the option to rename the file and continue. Then login with the username and password below: username: admin password: pandora Before you, Pandora FMS can start monitoring, make sure to edit the server’s configuration file at /etc/pandora/pandora_server.conf. Run the commands below to open the configuration file. Then edit the highlighted line to match the Pandora FMS portal database credential. The same root login is used during the installation wizard. Save the file and exit After running the commands below restart the Pandora FMS service. Next, check Pandora FMS status by running the commands below: You should see similar lines as shown below: That should do it! You can begin using Pandora FMS to monitor your network. Conclusion: This post showed you how to install and configure to monitor your network and systems. If you find any error above, please use the comment form below to report it. Thanks,