User's Manual

Using Resource Instances
Inventory Management 5-25
Copying Resource Instances
You can copy resource instances via the Inventory perspective’s Advanced Clone tool. Using the Advanced
Clone tool to copy resource instances speeds the process for creating large numbers of resource instances.
Based on an existing resource instance, the Inventory perspective copies the existing component and
interface configuration, but does not copy any of the existing availability dates. The availability date is set
to the default from the Preferences dialog box. The Keep availability check box option retains the
availability of the source resource.
Key features of the Advanced Clone tool include:
• Supports cutting and pasting
• In addition to the standard Ctrl key combinations, there are three dialog box buttons for cutting,
copying, and pasting.
• There are also undo and redo buttons that allow you to navigate through the lists of generated names.
They function similarly to the Forward and Back buttons in your web browser.
Using the Pattern Generator Tool
The Active System Manager Pattern Generator tool can generate assets and resource names with unique
identifiers. Using a special character string called a range, you can create a long list of names and asset tags
that have either letters or numbers appended to the string.
The format for the range string is (1..9999), (A..Z), (a..z), (AA..ZZ), or (aa..zz). Because uppercase and
lowercase letters are treated as different values, there is a range of 308,915,776 unique letter combinations.
Special characters and punctuation are not supported. You can use any whole numbers in either ascending
or descending order; you can use up to four range strings for an asset tag or name. Hence, if you used the
pattern “Cisco(1..3)” for a resource name, the Inventory perspective generates three names (Cisco1,
Cisco2, and Cisco3).
Note If your range string begins with a single digit (1 to 9), use a zero to force the generator to make the
patterns identical; for instance, Cisco[01..25].
Using multiple range strings creates a geometric progression. A unique pattern is generated for every
possible combination of the ranges. Therefore, if you used the Cisco(Z..X)_Port(01..03) pattern
for an asset tag, the Inventory perspective generates nine asset tags:
• CiscoX_Port01, CiscoX_Port02, CiscoX_Port03
• CiscoY_Port01, CiscoY_Port02, CiscoY_Port03
• CiscoZ_Port01, CiscoZ_Port02, CiscoZ_Port03
There is also a supported modifier for the pattern generator. You can use the percent symbol (%) to limit
the upper limit of a range. For example, the Cisco_(AA..ZZ%C) range only produces names from
Cisco_AA to Cisco_ZC. This modifier works with numeric ranges, but it is only useful for alphabetical
ranges.
Note There must be an equal number of unique asset tags and unique names. Duplicated resource names
are not allowed. If you create duplicate names, an Add Resource Failed error message displays.