User's Manual

Using Resource Types
5-8 Active System Manager User Guide, Release 7.1
Using Resource Types
The Active System Manager software uses resource types to model the various types of hardware resources
in your environment. A resource type serves as a template for resource instances. A resource type does not
represent a particular piece of network hardware; it describes the basic structure of the basic model for that
equipment.
A single resource type can serve as the template for a variety of actual resource instances that exist in your
environment. For example, assume your environment includes 50 servers. These servers have varying
elements: different ports and different software versions. The purpose of a resource type is to serve as a
baseline model that you can use to describe each individual resource’s unique characteristics. This baseline
model describes the total number of interface ports that a server supports, the minimum time required to set
up the software image, and so forth. Later, this resource type is accessed and modeled to fit one particular
server as a resource instance. However, more than one resource type may be required if mutually exclusive
options are available for the resource model.
The following topics are described in this section:
• Building Resource Types
• Modifying Core Properties for Resource Types
• Adding Resource Interface Types
• Adding Provisioning Parameters
• Adding Inventory Parameters
• Creating Custom Icons for Resource Types
• Deleting Resource Types
Building Resource Types
You can build a resource type by copying an existing resource type, importing one, or creating a new one.
This section describes some of the guidelines you should follow:
• Analyze—Identify what interfaces, other components, properties, and attributes the resource has.
Compile the information into a spreadsheet for reference.
• Copy and Modify—Find the most similar resource of that type that already resides in the Active
System Manager inventory and use it as a starting point. Copy that resource and make the changes
necessary to the properties and interfaces to match your target resource type.
• Create a New Resource Type—If copying or importing an existing resource type is not practical, you
can create a new resource type within the Active System Manager software.
This section describes how to build a resource type using the following methods:
• Creating a New Resource Type
• Importing a Resource Type
• Copying Existing Resource Types
• Updating Multiple Resource Types at Once