Users Guide

Configuring IT Assistant to Monitor Your Systems 37

Configuring CIM in the Operating System

IT Assistant uses the Windows Management Interface (WMI) core to make CIM connections. The

WMI core uses Microsoft network security to protect CIM instrumentation from unauthorized access.

For more information on operating system CIM configuration, see "Configuring Protocols to Send

Information to IT Assistant."

NOTE: IT Assistant requires the CIM user name and password with administrator rights that you established on

the managed systems. If you are using a domain user, be sure to specify the correct domain in the user name field.

A user name must always be qualified with a domain, or localhost if a domain is not present. The format is either

domain\user or localhost\user.

NOTE: CIM discovery requires proper user ID and password credentials. Failure to supply proper credentials on a

subnet configured for CIM discovery can result in account lockout.

Best Practices for Setting Up Discovery Targets

Regardless of the size of your network, the following table shows Dell’s recommendations for the best

way to set up discovery targets. IT Assistant users define discovery target systems and ranges on a

network to identify the systems that they want to locate and record in their database. When you set up a

discovery target and range in IT Assistant, you are given the option of selecting a host name, an

IP address, or a subnet range to identify the systems that you want IT Assistant to discover. This section

shows which discovery type is best for the network environment you have.

Table 4-1. Best Practice Recommendations for Setting Up Discovery

Preferred Discovery Range Type DHCP Primarily Static IP Addresses

Host name Recommended Recommended if DNS is present

and IP addresses are spread among

many different network segments

IP address Not recommended Recommended if IP addresses are

spread among many different

network segments

IP range Recommended if located on one

or a few network segments

Recommended if located on one

or a few network segments