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+# check_rabbitmq.py
+
+check_rabbitmq.py returns status messages for use in Nagios monitoring.
+
+## Requirements
+Requires a Python interpreter. Tested to work with 2.4.x and above. If using 2.4.x, you'll need the simplejson package.
+
+## Usage
+
+    usage: check_rabbitmq.py [options] -H|--hostname HOST ACTION
+
+    options:
+      --version             show program's version number and exit
+      -h, --help            show this help message and exit
+      -u USERNAME, --username=USERNAME
+                            Username with monitoring access. Default: guest
+      -p PASSWORD, --password=PASSWORD
+                            Password for user with monitoring access Default: guest
+      -P PORT, --port=PORT  Port to run the API checks against Default: 15672
+      -H HOSTNAME, --hostname=HOSTNAME
+                            Host to check. REQUIRED
+      -c CRITICAL, --critical=CRITICAL
+                            Critical level
+      -w WARNING, --warning=WARNING
+                            Warning level
+
+## Actions
+
+The script can perform the following actions
+
+### mem_alarm
+
+Checks if the high memory usage alarm has been triggered on specified node. Requires an additional argument which matches the node name in the cluster.
+
+#### Example
+
+    check_rabbitmq.py -H rmqhost mem_alarm rabbit@rmqhost
+
+### disk_free_alarm
+
+Checks if the high disk usage alarm has been triggered on specified node. Requires an additional argument which matches the node name in the cluster.
+
+#### Example
+
+    check_rabbitmq.py -H rmqhost disk_free_alarm rabbit@rmqhost
+
+### check_sockets
+
+Checks for the percentage of sockets in use. Default critical threshold is 90% and default warning threshold is 80%. Specify alternate thresholds with -c/-w.
+
+#### Examples
+
+Check socket usage with default thresholds:
+
+    check_rabbitmq.py -H rmqhost check_sockets rabbit@rmqhost
+
+Check socket usage with critical threshold of 95% and warning threshold of 90%:
+
+    check_rabbitmq.py -c 95 -w 90 -H rmqhost check_sockets rabbit@rmqhost
+
+### check_fd
+
+Checks for the percentage of file descriptors in use. Default critical threshold is 90% and default warning threshold is 80%. Specify alternate thresholds with -c/-w.
+
+#### Examples
+
+Check file descriptor usage with default thresholds:
+
+    check_rabbitmq.py -H rmqhost check_fd rabbit@rmqhost
+
+Check file descriptor usage with critical threshold of 95% and warning threshold of 90%:
+
+    check_rabbitmq.py -c 95 -w 90 -H rmqhost check_fd rabbit@rmqhost
+
+### check_nodes
+
+Checks that all nodes in the cluster are running. Default critical threshold is 2 nodes not running. Default warning threshold is 1 node not running. Specify alternate thresholds with -c/-w.
+
+#### Example
+
+    check_rabbitmq.py -H rmqhost check_nodes