One of my external nodes with a dynamic IP went down. Only it didn't - its IP address changed, and Solarwinds didn't refresh it despite it being supposedly "dynamic". Attempts to refresh that IP address manually fail so far. E.g. I unchecked "Dynamic IP Address", clear the "Polling IP Address" field, re-check "Dynamic", try to "submit", and it's asking me to type the "correct" IP address. In kindergarten, they told me that when an IP is dynamic, you're not supposed to type it, it'll magically appear based on a DNS name or URL. Questions: Is SAM (NPM) capable of monitoring an external node with a dynamic IP? Based on a discussion from 2011 such as, Why does NPM store the IP rather than use DNS , the answer is seemingly "no", the issue affects not just external nodes, been much complained about, was supposed to be reviewed (in 2011), yet apparently hasn't. Does this sound right? In the 2nd screenshot above, why isn't is there an option to resolve the IP address? (I.e. what is the logic behind asking for an IP address on a node with a dynamic one?) Assuming SAM doesn't do it on its own (continuously resolve DNS names like it is supposed to), is there a way to force it to, manually, via UI? I.e. is there a method simpler / more elegant than change the node to a static IP type, type in the new IP, change back to dynamic? Thanks!

Solarwinds support is seeing the same issue and "sensing that is the default behavior". In other words: NPM does NOT support external nodes with dynamic IPs. Shouldn't this be in big bold letters on NPM and SAM product pages like this one ? Otherwise people may be lead into purchasing decisions based on false data (of NPM/SAM supporting hostname-based external nodes). Speaking of which: external nodes should be hostname-based as a rule as they are unlikely to be controlled by the admins.

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Polling IP on external nodes with dynamic IP not updating

akhasheni over 9 years ago

One of my external nodes with a dynamic IP went down. Only it didn't - its IP address changed, and Solarwinds didn't refresh it despite it being supposedly "dynamic".

Screen Shot 2014-12-01 at 9.06.32 PM.png

Attempts to refresh that IP address manually fail so far. E.g. I unchecked "Dynamic IP Address", clear the "Polling IP Address" field, re-check "Dynamic", try to "submit", and it's asking me to type the "correct" IP address. In kindergarten, they told me that when an IP is dynamic, you're not supposed to type it, it'll magically appear based on a DNS name or URL.

Screen Shot 2014-12-01 at 9.18.41 PM.png

Questions:

Is SAM (NPM) capable of monitoring an external node with a dynamic IP? Based on a discussion from 2011 such as, Why does NPM store the IP rather than use DNS, the answer is seemingly "no", the issue affects not just external nodes, been much complained about, was supposed to be reviewed (in 2011), yet apparently hasn't. Does this sound right?
In the 2nd screenshot above, why isn't is there an option to resolve the IP address? (I.e. what is the logic behind asking for an IP address on a node with a dynamic one?)
Assuming SAM doesn't do it on its own (continuously resolve DNS names like it is supposed to), is there a way to force it to, manually, via UI?
1. I.e. is there a method simpler / more elegant than change the node to a static IP type, type in the new IP, change back to dynamic?

Thanks!

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0 rob.hock over 9 years ago

There are some environmental factors (DNS), but we should be able to handle this circumstance. Would you perhaps be able to open support ticket and let me know the # to follow-up on?
http://www.solarwinds.com/support/
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0 rob.hock over 9 years ago

There are some environmental factors (DNS), but we should be able to handle this circumstance. Would you perhaps be able to open support ticket and let me know the # to follow-up on?
http://www.solarwinds.com/support/
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0 akhasheni over 9 years ago in reply to rob.hock
Rob, I don't think it makes a lot of sense to enter a new ticket on a problem that exists since at least 2009 and that received a lot of complaints.
If you (or anyone else from Solarwinds) could tell me what is the current state of the problem, that would be awesome.
Apparently this is a well known issue: Dynamic node stops responding in NPM. Karlo.Zatylny responded it's been fixed in 9.5 - but then apparently it hasn't, but that there was a workaround:
To ensure the caption matches the DNS name,
...and/or
Disable reverse DNS lookup in NPM settings (source: Can a Dynamic DNS node be monitored?).
Elsewhere I read that neither workaround worked.
Related discussions:
Forcing FQDN for dynamic IP resolution in NPM
Can a Dynamic DNS node be monitored?
Dynamic IP Address tick-box on NPM's Edit Properties page
Dynamic IP problems with multiple domains FQDN
Dynamic IP Address Monitoring Through NPM?
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0 akhasheni over 9 years ago in reply to rob.hock

Also: how does this thing work? Why does it ask for an IP address when there is a DNS hostname in place? Aren't these two mutually exclusive?
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0 aLTeReGo over 9 years ago in reply to akhasheni
The following KB articles outline how hosts using Dynamic IP addresses are handled in Orion, as well as potential changes that can be made in the event dynamic IP addresses aren't being maintained properly in DNS.
SolarWinds Knowledge Base :: How does Orion NPM verify and maintain current IP addresses for DHCP nodes?
SolarWinds Knowledge Base :: DHCP nodes that do not resolve with reverse DNS are not polled for Up/Down status.
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0 rob.hock over 9 years ago in reply to akhasheni

Perhaps we're mixing issues, but the behavior you're describing should indeed work. Just tested and updated IP within 2 min. If you send me a support ticket number, I'd be happy to follow-up.
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0 akhasheni over 9 years ago in reply to rob.hock

Thanks Rob. It probably makes sense to submit a ticket only if I can replicate the issue, which would require an external node on which I could manipulate the IP address, or which changes frequently enough on its own to be used as a test mule. Can you think of one if I don't have such a test mule internally? All we need is an open TCP port on it, for testing.
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