Monitor OSPF network topology with Prometheus and Grafana dashboards

Update system packages

Start by updating your package manager to ensure you get the latest versions of all components.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install -y curl wget gnupg2 software-properties-common

sudo dnf update -y
sudo dnf install -y curl wget gnupg2

Install FRRouting for OSPF

FRRouting provides enterprise-grade OSPF routing capabilities with extensive SNMP monitoring support.

curl -s https://deb.frrouting.org/frr/keys.asc | sudo apt-key add -
echo "deb https://deb.frrouting.org/frr $(lsb_release -s -c) frr-stable" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/frr.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y frr frr-pythontools frr-snmp

sudo dnf install -y https://rpm.frrouting.org/repo/frr-stable-repo-1-0.el$(rpm -E %{rhel}).noarch.rpm
sudo dnf install -y frr frr-pythontools frr-snmp

Configure FRRouting OSPF

Enable OSPF and SNMP support in FRRouting configuration. This enables routing daemon monitoring via SNMP.

zebra=yes
ospfd=yes
ospf6d=no
ripd=no
ripngd=no
isisد=no
babeld=no
pimd=no
ldpd=no
nhrpd=no
eigr=no
sharpd=no
pbrd=no
staticد=no
bfd=no

SNMP support
snmp=yes

Configure OSPF routing

Set up OSPF areas and networks. This creates the routing topology that we'll monitor.

!
frr version 8.4.2
frr defaults traditional
hostname frr-router
log syslog informational
no ipv6 forwarding
service integrated-vtysh-config
!
OSPF Configuration
router ospf
 router-id 203.0.113.1
 network 203.0.113.0/24 area 0.0.0.0
 network 198.51.100.0/24 area 0.0.0.1
 area 0.0.0.0 authentication message-digest
 area 0.0.0.1 stub
 passive-interface default
 no passive-interface eth0
 no passive-interface eth1
 redistribute connected
 redistribute static
!
SNMP Configuration  
snmp-server community public ro
snmp-server community private rw
snmp-server location "Network Operations Center"
snmp-server contact "network-admin@example.com"
!
line vty
!
end

Start FRRouting services

Enable and start FRRouting to begin OSPF routing and SNMP data collection.

sudo systemctl enable frr
sudo systemctl start frr
sudo systemctl status frr

Install Prometheus

Prometheus will collect OSPF metrics via SNMP and store them for Grafana visualization.

wget https://github.com/prometheus/prometheus/releases/download/v2.45.0/prometheus-2.45.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz
tar -xzf prometheus-2.45.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo mv prometheus-2.45.0.linux-amd64 /opt/prometheus
sudo useradd -M -r -s /bin/false prometheus
sudo chown -R prometheus:prometheus /opt/prometheus

Install SNMP exporter

The SNMP exporter translates SNMP OIDs into Prometheus metrics, specifically for OSPF monitoring.

wget https://github.com/prometheus/snmp_exporter/releases/download/v0.24.1/snmp_exporter-0.24.1.linux-amd64.tar.gz
tar -xzf snmp_exporter-0.24.1.linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo mv snmp_exporter-0.24.1.linux-amd64 /opt/snmp_exporter
sudo chown -R prometheus:prometheus /opt/snmp_exporter

Configure SNMP exporter for OSPF

Create SNMP exporter configuration with OSPF-specific OIDs for neighbor states, LSA counts, and topology changes.

auths:
  public_v2:
    community: public
    security_level: noAuthNoPriv
    auth_protocol: MD5
    priv_protocol: DES
    version: 2

modules:
  frrouting_ospf:
    walk:
      # OSPF General Group
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.1.1    # ospfRouterId
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.1.2    # ospfAdminStat
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.1.3    # ospfVersionNumber
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.1.4    # ospfAreaBdrRtrStatus
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.1.5    # ospfASBdrRtrStatus
      
      # OSPF Area Table
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.2.1.1  # ospfAreaId
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.2.1.2  # ospfAuthType
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.2.1.3  # ospfImportAsExtern
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.2.1.4  # ospfSpfRuns
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.2.1.5  # ospfAreaBdrRtrCount
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.2.1.6  # ospfAsBdrRtrCount
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.2.1.7  # ospfAreaLsaCount
      
      # OSPF Interface Table
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.7.1.1  # ospfIfIpAddress
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.7.1.3  # ospfIfAreaId
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.7.1.5  # ospfIfState
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.7.1.6  # ospfIfDesignatedRouter
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.7.1.7  # ospfIfBackupDesignatedRouter
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.7.1.8  # ospfIfEvents
      
      # OSPF Neighbor Table  
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.10.1.1 # ospfNbrIpAddr
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.10.1.3 # ospfNbrRtrId
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.10.1.4 # ospfNbrOptions
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.10.1.5 # ospfNbrPriority
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.10.1.6 # ospfNbrState
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.10.1.7 # ospfNbrEvents
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.10.1.8 # ospfNbrLsRetransQLen
      
      # OSPF LSA Database
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.4.1.1  # ospfLsdbAreaId
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.4.1.2  # ospfLsdbType
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.4.1.3  # ospfLsdbLsid
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.4.1.4  # ospfLsdbRouterId
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.4.1.5  # ospfLsdbSequence
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.4.1.6  # ospfLsdbAge
      - 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.4.1.7  # ospfLsdbChecksum
    
    lookups:
      - source_indexes: [ospfNbrIpAddr]
        lookup: 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.10.1.6 # ospfNbrState
      - source_indexes: [ospfIfIpAddress] 
        lookup: 1.3.6.1.2.1.14.7.1.5  # ospfIfState
        
    overrides:
      ospfNbrState:
        type: gauge
      ospfIfState:
        type: gauge
      ospfAreaLsaCount:
        type: gauge
      ospfSpfRuns:
        type: counter

Create Prometheus configuration

Configure Prometheus to scrape OSPF metrics from the SNMP exporter targeting your FRRouting instances.

global:
  scrape_interval: 15s
  evaluation_interval: 15s

rule_files:
  - "/opt/prometheus/rules/*.yml"

alerting:
  alertmanagers:
    - static_configs:
        - targets:
          - alertmanager:9093

scrape_configs:
  - job_name: 'prometheus'
    static_configs:
      - targets: ['localhost:9090']

  - job_name: 'snmp-ospf'
    static_configs:
      - targets:
        - 203.0.113.1  # FRRouting router 1
        - 203.0.113.2  # FRRouting router 2 
        - 203.0.113.3  # FRRouting router 3
    metrics_path: /snmp
    params:
      module: [frrouting_ospf]
    relabel_configs:
      - source_labels: [__address__]
        target_label: __param_target
      - source_labels: [__param_target]
        target_label: instance
      - target_label: __address__
        replacement: 127.0.0.1:9116  # SNMP exporter address
        
  - job_name: 'node-exporter'
    static_configs:
      - targets: 
        - 203.0.113.1:9100
        - 203.0.113.2:9100
        - 203.0.113.3:9100

Create OSPF alerting rules

Define Prometheus alerting rules for OSPF neighbor state changes and topology issues.

groups:
name: ospf.rules
  rules:
  - alert: OSPFNeighborDown
    expr: ospfNbrState != 8  # 8 = Full state
    for: 30s
    labels:
      severity: critical
      service: ospf
    annotations:
      summary: "OSPF neighbor {{ $labels.ospfNbrIpAddr }} is not in Full state"
      description: "OSPF neighbor {{ $labels.ospfNbrIpAddr }} on router {{ $labels.instance }} is in state {{ $value }}, expected 8 (Full)"
      
  - alert: OSPFInterfaceDown
    expr: ospfIfState != 5  # 5 = DR/BDR state for broadcast networks
    for: 1m
    labels:
      severity: warning
      service: ospf
    annotations:
      summary: "OSPF interface {{ $labels.ospfIfIpAddress }} state changed"
      description: "OSPF interface {{ $labels.ospfIfIpAddress }} on router {{ $labels.instance }} is in state {{ $value }}"
      
  - alert: OSPFHighLSACount
    expr: ospfAreaLsaCount > 1000
    for: 5m
    labels:
      severity: warning
      service: ospf
    annotations:
      summary: "High LSA count in OSPF area {{ $labels.ospfAreaId }}"
      description: "OSPF area {{ $labels.ospfAreaId }} has {{ $value }} LSAs, investigate network stability"
      
  - alert: OSPFHighSPFRuns
    expr: increase(ospfSpfRuns[5m]) > 10
    for: 1m
    labels:
      severity: warning
      service: ospf
    annotations:
      summary: "High SPF calculation frequency in area {{ $labels.ospfAreaId }}"
      description: "OSPF area {{ $labels.ospfAreaId }} had {{ $value }} SPF runs in 5 minutes, indicating network instability"

Create systemd services

Create systemd service files for Prometheus and SNMP exporter to ensure they start automatically.

[Unit]
Description=Prometheus
Wants=network-online.target
After=network-online.target

[Service]
User=prometheus
Group=prometheus
Type=simple
ExecStart=/opt/prometheus/prometheus \
    --config.file=/opt/prometheus/prometheus.yml \
    --storage.tsdb.path=/opt/prometheus/data \
    --web.console.templates=/opt/prometheus/consoles \
    --web.console.libraries=/opt/prometheus/console_libraries \
    --web.listen-address=0.0.0.0:9090 \
    --web.enable-lifecycle
    
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Create SNMP exporter service

Configure the SNMP exporter as a systemd service for automatic startup and monitoring.

[Unit]
Description=SNMP Exporter
Wants=network-online.target
After=network-online.target

[Service]
User=prometheus
Group=prometheus
Type=simple
ExecStart=/opt/snmp_exporter/snmp_exporter --config.file=/opt/snmp_exporter/snmp.yml
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Start monitoring services

Enable and start both Prometheus and SNMP exporter services.

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable prometheus snmp-exporter
sudo systemctl start prometheus snmp-exporter
sudo systemctl status prometheus snmp-exporter

Install Grafana

Install Grafana for visualizing OSPF network topology and metrics collected by Prometheus.

wget -q -O - https://packages.grafana.com/gpg.key | sudo apt-key add -
echo "deb https://packages.grafana.com/oss/deb stable main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/grafana.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y grafana

sudo dnf install -y https://dl.grafana.com/oss/release/grafana-10.2.0-1.x86_64.rpm

Configure Grafana data source

Add Prometheus as a data source in Grafana to access OSPF metrics.

sudo systemctl enable grafana-server
sudo systemctl start grafana-server

Wait for Grafana to start, then configure data source
sleep 10
curl -X POST \
  http://admin:admin@localhost:3000/api/datasources \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "name": "Prometheus",
    "type": "prometheus",
    "url": "http://localhost:9090",
    "access": "proxy",
    "isDefault": true
  }'

Import OSPF dashboard

Create a comprehensive OSPF monitoring dashboard in Grafana with network topology visualization.

{
  "dashboard": {
    "id": null,
    "title": "OSPF Network Monitoring",
    "tags": ["ospf", "networking", "frrouting"],
    "timezone": "browser",
    "panels": [
      {
        "id": 1,
        "title": "OSPF Neighbor States",
        "type": "stat",
        "targets": [{
          "expr": "count by (instance) (ospfNbrState == 8)",
          "refId": "A",
          "legendFormat": "{{instance}} - Full Neighbors"
        }],
        "gridPos": {"h": 8, "w": 12, "x": 0, "y": 0}
      },
      {
        "id": 2,
        "title": "LSA Database Size",
        "type": "graph",
        "targets": [{
          "expr": "ospfAreaLsaCount",
          "refId": "A",
          "legendFormat": "Area {{ospfAreaId}} - LSA Count"
        }],
        "gridPos": {"h": 8, "w": 12, "x": 12, "y": 0}
      },
      {
        "id": 3,
        "title": "SPF Calculation Frequency",
        "type": "graph",
        "targets": [{
          "expr": "rate(ospfSpfRuns[5m]) * 300",
          "refId": "A",
          "legendFormat": "{{instance}} - Area {{ospfAreaId}}"
        }],
        "gridPos": {"h": 8, "w": 24, "x": 0, "y": 8}
      },
      {
        "id": 4,
        "title": "OSPF Interface States",
        "type": "table",
        "targets": [{
          "expr": "ospfIfState",
          "refId": "A",
          "format": "table",
          "instant": true
        }],
        "gridPos": {"h": 8, "w": 24, "x": 0, "y": 16}
      }
    ],
    "time": {"from": "now-1h", "to": "now"},
    "refresh": "30s"
  }
}

Import the dashboard

Load the OSPF dashboard configuration into Grafana via the API.

curl -X POST \
  http://admin:admin@localhost:3000/api/dashboards/db \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d @/tmp/ospf-dashboard.json

Enable detailed OSPF logging

Configure FRRouting to log detailed OSPF events for troubleshooting and analysis.

sudo vtysh -c 'configure terminal' \
  -c 'log file /var/log/frr/ospfd.log' \
  -c 'debug ospf event' \
  -c 'debug ospf lsa' \
  -c 'debug ospf neighbor' \
  -c 'write memory'

Configure log rotation

Set up log rotation for OSPF logs to prevent disk space issues.

/var/log/frr/*.log {
    daily
    missingok
    rotate 14
    compress
    delaycompress
    notifempty
    create 640 frr frr
    postrotate
        /bin/kill -USR1 cat /var/run/frr/*.pid 2> /dev/null 2> /dev/null || true
    endscript
}

Set up network topology discovery

As mentioned in automated network topology discovery, you can enhance monitoring by adding LLDP data collection for complete network mapping.

# Install LLDP daemon
sudo apt install -y lldpd

Enable SNMP in LLDP configuration
echo 'configure system interface pattern *' | sudo lldpcli
echo 'configure system description "OSPF Router"' | sudo lldpcli

Start LLDP service
sudo systemctl enable lldpd
sudo systemctl start lldpd