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Checkmk extension packages (MKPs)

With patch release 2.1.0p22 we have introduced the possibility to install Checkmk extension packages – called MKPs for short – having the same package name in multiple versions at the same time. This feature is especially important for distributed monitoring, because here – especially in larger environments – it may well happen over a longer period of time that the versions between the central and remote sites differ. Now it is possible to keep a compatible version of a specific extension package for each of the Checkmk versions in use.

With the help of MKPs, Checkmk is arbitrarily extensible. No matter if you write your own checks or agent plugins or use extensions from the Checkmk Exchange. From time to time it is necessary to make incompatible changes to the programming interfaces or the languages used. Until Checkmk 2.1.0p22 it was then necessary to install a new and then again compatible version of an extension only after Checkmk had been updated. This required considerate planning of the update.

Now you can import and enable the new version of an MKP at any time before updating Checkmk. During the update, Checkmk then automatically detects that a compatible new version already exists for a previously used MKP and continues to use it seamlessly.

This simplification of the update process was also the right opportunity for us to implement a popular feature from our Feature Portal. As of Checkmk 2.2, it is now also possible to package views, dashboards and reports as MKPs, distribute them and make them available to other users via the Checkmk Exchange.

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As a monitoring software, Checkmk offers comprehensive and specialized solutions for dealing with the very diverse environments of IT infrastructures. This inevitably requires a very comprehensive documentation which goes beyond the mere description of the obvious. Our User Guide will help you as much as possible to better understand Checkmk, use Checkmk to implement your requirements, as well as helping you to discover new ways of solving problems.

To make the handling of Checkmk as easy as possible, the articles in this User Guide follow rather unusual approaches in many places. It is almost never a matter of simply copying a prefabricated sequence of individual steps. Rather, it is intended to give you, the reader, a deeper understanding of a feature in Checkmk.

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Nevertheless, to make sure you can start your first Checkmk monitoring quickly and more easily, we have written a Beginner's Guide. This will give you a compact step-by-step introduction to Checkmk, and it is structured in such a way that you can read it quickly from beginning to end and participate right away. Therefore, it is short and concise and does not dwell on unnecessary details. By the end of the Beginner's Guide you will have a functional Checkmk system.

Featured topic: Checkmk extension package

Recently, both the management of Checkmk extension packages (MKPs) has been simplified and their capabilities have been extended. Especially with regard to the update to Checkmk 2.2 in distributed environments, it is now possible to install different versions of the same package. As of Checkmk 2.2, you can then also package dashboards, views and reports as MKPs and distribute them that way.

Find out more…