User guide

Key Concepts 89
Importing from CSV Files
CSV files are simple text files used to specify a set of data. The data is
made up of a number of records, with each record corresponding to a
line in the file. Each record is made up of a number of fields, where each
field is separated by a comma.
You can create a CSV file to specify the list of devices that you wish to
import into the 3Com Network Administrator inventory. Each record (or
line) corresponds to the device that you wish to import. The fields within
a record correspond to parameters associated with the device, such as a
name or IP address. The format of a device record expected by 3Com
Network Administrator is:
IP address,[subnet mask],[name],[read community],[write
community]
The purpose of each field is as follows:
■ IP Address — the address used by the refresh operation to
communicate with the device. Only the IP address is mandatory.
■ Subnet Mask — used for grouping devices during the refresh
operation. The subnets created in the inventory file may be different
to those provided by the CSV file if a different subnet mask is read
from the device.
■ Name — defines the name of the device that will ultimately appear in
the device list. If you do not provide a name here then 3Com Network
Administrator will choose a name based on the information read from
the device during the refresh operation.
■ Read Community — the SNMP read community string that the
refresh operation uses when reading detailed configuration
information from the device, such as unit and port configuration. If
you do not supply a read community, 3Com Network Administrator
will default to using ‘public’.
■ Write Community — required by 3Com Network Administrator for
certain administration functions, such as traffic prioritization. The
refresh operation attempts to verify that the write community you
have provided is correct. If you do not supply write community then
3Com Network Administrator will attempt to use the factory default
for that device.
3Com Network Administrator for HP OpenView.book Page 89 Wednesday, November 12, 2003 2:33 PM