check-netscaler 2.5.0

Nagios/Icinga monitoring plugin for Citrix NetScaler ADC using NITRO REST API

check_netscaler

Nagios/Icinga monitoring plugin for Citrix NetScaler (ADC) using the NITRO REST API.

Version 2.0 - Python Rewrite

This is a complete Python rewrite of check_netscaler. All 16 check commands are implemented with comprehensive test coverage and full CI/CD integration.

Looking for the stable Perl version (v1.x)? See tags < 2.0.0 for the legacy Perl implementation.

Breaking Changes from v1.x

• HTTPS is now default - Use --no-ssl for HTTP instead of -s for HTTPS
• Environment variable support added: NETSCALER_HOST, NETSCALER_USER, NETSCALER_PASS

Features

Monitor your NetScaler without SNMP:

• Virtual Servers - Load balancer, VPN, GSLB, Content Switching, AAA
• Services & Service Groups - State and member quorum monitoring
• SSL Certificates - Expiration warnings
• High Availability - HA status and sync monitoring
• System Resources - CPU, memory, disk usage thresholds
• Network Interfaces - Interface status and statistics
• License Management - License expiration tracking
• NTP Synchronization - Time sync validation
• Configuration - Unsaved config detection
• Performance Data - Generic metric collection for any NITRO object

Advanced Features

• Regex-based filtering (--filter / --limit)
• Custom performance data labels
• Flexible threshold formats
• Multiple Python versions supported (3.8-3.12)

Requirements

Python >= 3.8
requests >= 2.31.0

Installation

From PyPI (Recommended)

pip install check_netscaler

From Source

git clone https://github.com/slauger/check_netscaler.git
cd check_netscaler

# Install
pip install .

# For development
pip install -e ".[dev]"

Pre-built Binaries (Standalone)

For systems without Python or pip, download standalone executables from the Releases page:

• Linux: check_netscaler-linux
• macOS: check_netscaler-macos
• Windows: check_netscaler-windows.exe

These binaries are built with PyInstaller and include all dependencies. No Python installation required.

# Linux/macOS example
chmod +x check_netscaler-linux
./check_netscaler-linux --help

# Windows example
check_netscaler-windows.exe --help

Quick Start

# Check all load balancer vServers
check_netscaler -H 192.168.1.10 -u nsroot -p nsroot -C state -o lbvserver

# Check SSL certificate expiration
check_netscaler -H 192.168.1.10 -C sslcert -w 60 -c 30

# Check CPU usage
check_netscaler -H 192.168.1.10 -C above -o system -n cpuusagepcnt -w 75 -c 90

# Check HA status
check_netscaler -H 192.168.1.10 -C hastatus

# Check NTP sync
check_netscaler -H 192.168.1.10 -C ntp -w "o=0.03" -c "o=0.05"

Using Environment Variables (Recommended)

For improved security and convenience, use environment variables instead of command-line arguments:

# Export credentials once
export NETSCALER_HOST=192.168.1.10
export NETSCALER_USER=monitoring
export NETSCALER_PASS=SecurePassword123

# Now run checks without passing credentials
check_netscaler -C state -o lbvserver
check_netscaler -C sslcert -w 60 -c 30
check_netscaler -C hastatus

Why use environment variables?

• Security: Credentials are not visible in process listings (ps, top, /proc)
• Convenience: Set once, use in multiple commands
• Best Practice: Follows patterns from other monitoring plugins (PostgreSQL, MySQL)
• Integration: Works seamlessly with Icinga 2 env attribute, Nagios/systemd environments

Command-line arguments always override environment variables if both are provided.

Available Commands

Command	Description
state	vServer/service/servicegroup/server state monitoring
above/below	Threshold-based checks (CPU, memory, disk, etc.)
sslcert	SSL certificate expiration
hastatus	High availability status
interfaces	Network interface monitoring
servicegroup	Service group member quorum
perfdata	Generic performance data collection
license	License expiration
ntp	NTP synchronization status
nsconfig	Unsaved configuration detection
matches/matches_not	String matching in API responses
staserver	STA server availability
hwinfo	Hardware information
debug	Raw API output for troubleshooting

Documentation

• CLI Reference - Complete command-line options reference
• Command Examples - Detailed usage for every command
• Icinga 2 Integration - CheckCommand definitions
• Nagios Integration - Command and service configurations

Development

Running Tests

# Run all tests
pytest tests/

# With coverage
pytest tests/ --cov=check_netscaler --cov-report=html

# Linting
ruff check check_netscaler/ tests/

# Formatting
black check_netscaler/ tests/

CI/CD

GitHub Actions pipeline runs automatically on every push:

• Matrix testing on Python 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, 3.12
• Linting with ruff
• Code formatting with black
• Type checking with mypy
• Comprehensive test suite with pytest

License

MIT License - See LICENSE

Contributors

• slauger - Original author
• macampo
• Velociraptor85
• bb-ricardo
• DerInti

Links

• Issue Tracker
• Pull Requests
• NetScaler NITRO API Documentation