Infrastructure monitoring provider Icinga has pushed out the latest release of its platform for Windows, aimed at making access for developers easier via its REST API while delivering a number of bug fixes.
Icinga for Windows v1.7.0 integrates the REST API for the Icinga PowerShell Framework that was previously delivered via external packages. As of this release both packages, icinga-powershell-restapi and icinga-powershell-apichecks have been fully merged directly into the Icinga PowerShell Framework.
Announcing the new release in a blog post, Icinga developer Christian Stein said that using the Icinga for Windows REST API to execute checks has been found to improve performance in external tests.
“As we want to encourage more users to try out this feature and to decrease the required effort to install separated packages to the system, we decided that the best option will be to integrate the REST API and the API Checks feature directly into the Icinga PowerShell Framework. This means, once Icinga for Windows v1.7.0 is installed, you can remove the current installed packages for the REST API and API Checks,” he commented.
The two external packages will no longer be maintained by Icinga, so the firm recommends users upgrade to Icinga for Windows v1.7.0 if they wish to continue using the APIs. This will not require any code changes, as the code base is the same. The configuration and execution are also identical, but installation is easier.
The latest version also ships with a collection of Cmdlets, supplied by Icinga to make it easier for developers to contribute their own plugins, daemons or API endpoints. Developers can also use the update command to create a package .zip file, which can be used within the Icinga for Windows Repository Manager to ensure that custom modules can be distributed on the user’s infrastructure. Icinga said it aims to expand on this functionality in future, adding additional tools and examples to help users write their own custom Icinga for Windows components.
Icinga for Windows v1.7.0 also makes it possible to read the Windows EventLog information as a stream on a CLI console. For the Icinga Agent, users can stick to the current Cmdlet Read-IcingaAgentLogFile, which will either read the Icinga log file or the Windows EventLog, depending on the installed version and if the feature is enabled.
Meanwhile, Icinga for Windows itself gets a new command, Read-IcingaForWindowsLog, to fetch all Icinga for Windows related entries. As long as each command is running, every new event will appear directly in the console colour coded, depending whether the event is information, a warning or critical.
Icinga encourages users to read the Framework upgrading docs and the Plugin upgrading docs before updating.