computer science

Pandora FMS

Pandora FMS is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Pandora FMS rather than just read about it. In short: Pandora FMS (for Pandora Flexible Monitoring System) is software for monitoring computer networks. Pandora FMS allows monitoring in a visual way the status and performance of several parameters from different operating systems, servers, applications and hardware systems such as firewalls, proxies, databases, web servers or routers.

Key takeaways

Pandora FMS belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Pandora FMS to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Pandora FMS from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Pandora FMS (for Pandora Flexible Monitoring System) is software for monitoring computer networks. Pandora FMS allows monitoring in a visual way the status and performance of several parameters from different operating systems, servers, applications and hardware systems such as firewalls, proxies, databases, web servers or routers. Pandora FMS can be deployed in almost any operating system. It features remote monitoring (WMI, SNMP, TCP, UDP, ICMP, HTTP...) and it can also use agents. An agent is available for each platform. It can also monitor hardware systems with a TCP/IP stack, such as load balancers, routers, network switches, printers or firewalls. Pandora FMS has several servers that process and get information from different sources, using WMI for gathering remote Windows information, a predictive server, a plug-in server which makes complex user-defined network tests, an advanced export server to replicate data between different sites of Pandora FMS, a network discovery server, and an SNMP Trap console. Released under the terms of the GNU General Public License, Pandora FMS is free software. At first the project was hosted on SourceForge.net, from where it has been downloaded over one million times, and selected the “Staff Pick” Project of the Month, June 2016, and elected “Community Choice” Project of the Month, November 2017.

Components

Pandora Server In Pandora FMS architecture, servers are the core of the system because they are the recipients of bundles of information. They also generate monitoring alerts. It is possible to have different modular configurations for the servers: several servers for very big systems, or just a single server. Servers are also responsible for inserting the gathered data into Pandora's database. It is possible to have several Pandora Servers connected to a single Database. Different servers are used for different kind of monitoring: remote monitoring, WMI monitoring, SNMP and other network monitoring, inventory recollection, etc. Highly scalable (up to 2000 nodes with one single server), completely web-driven and a multitenant interface. It has a very flexible ACL system and a lot of graphical reports and user-defined control screens. Servers are developed in Perl and work on any platform that has the required modules. Pandora was originally developed for

Web console Pandora's user interface allows people to operate and manage the monitoring system. It is developed in PHP and depends on a database and a web server. It can work in a wide range of platforms: Linux, Solaris, Windows, AIX and others. Several web consoles can be deployed in the same system if required. Web Console has multiples choices, in example SNMP monitoring.

Agents Agents are daemons or services that can monitor any numeric parameter, Boolean status, string or numerical incremental data and/or condition. They can be developed in any language (as Shellscript, WSH, Perl or C). They run on any type of platform (Microsoft, AIX, Solaris, Linux, IPSO, Mac OS or FreeBSD), also SAP, because the agents can communicate with the Pandora FMS Servers to send data in XML using SSH, FTP, NFS, Tentacle (protocol) or any data transfer means.

Database The database module is the core module of Pandora. All the information of the system resides here. For example, all data gathered by agents, configuration defined by administrator, events, incidents, audit info, etc. are stored in the database. At present, MySQL database and MariaDB database is supported. Oracle support has been added in 6.0 release.

Software appliances Pandora FMS has a software appliance based on a customized CentOS Linux, installable on CD, comes ready to use (including a live CD) or ready to install to hard disk. It have also an AMI Appliance based on Amazon AWS. A Docker image is also available at Docker Hub.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pandora FMS

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pandora FMS claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Pandora FMS before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Pandora FMS ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Pandora FMS

In research: Pandora FMS appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Pandora FMS in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Pandora FMS is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Free network-related software, Free network management software, Free software programmed in Perl, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pandora FMS outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Pandora FMS in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pandora FMS means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Pandora FMS out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pandora FMS in simple terms?

Why does Pandora FMS matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Pandora FMS?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Pandora FMS.