Installing check_mk agent on a SmartOS global zone

The check_mk agent uses inetd (or xinetd).
On Solaris, and on SmartOS, inetd is a legacy facility.
In addition, on the SmartOS GZ, the stuff configured in the /etc directory doesn't survive to reboots, as you may know.

So, since I already use a method to set the hostname at boot time, as described in this blog https://nickebo.net/creating-a-custom-motd-in-the-smartos-global-zone/, I added a pair of lines in the postboot script.


echo "check_mk        6556/tcp" >> /etc/services
echo "check_mk stream tcp nowait root /usr/sbin/tcpd /opt/custom/bin/check_mk_agent" >> /etc/inet/inetd.conf
inetconv
inetconv -e


Then download the check_mk solaris agent from github and put it in the /opt/custom/bin/ directory.


Obviously, if you don't want to reboot the GZ, but enable the service right now, issue the same commands as above.

Remember to change the MK_LIBDIR and the MK_CONFDIR variables in the /opt/custom/bin/check_mk_agent script in order to use additional plugins or configurations.