Owner's Manual

Configuring Dell OpenManage IT Assistant to Monitor Your Systems 111
Configuring the Discovery Settings
Since Tom is monitoring a network of servers and no clients, his primary
choice for a systems management protocol is SNMP. However, since he also
manages systems running Windows, he will also enable CIM (like Jane).
To configure the discovery settings for his servers, he will need to perform the
following tasks:
• Determine subnet ranges, IP addresses, and/or host names for the servers
that he wants to monitor.
• Determine the subnet ranges, host names, or IP addresses that he does not
want to monitor.
• Determine SNMP read-only (Get) and read-write (Set) community names
that he will use for his network.
• Install and configure the SNMP agents and the operating system SNMP
service on each system he wants to monitor.
• Determine appropriate discovery time-out values for the network.
IP Subnet Ranges for Servers
Tom’s first decision is to determine which of the 1,000 servers he wants to
monitor with IT Assistant. Tom may want to record the IP subnet range of
each subnet he wants to include in his discovery, any systems or ranges he
wants to exclude from discovery, corresponding community names used on
each subnet, and any other data he determines is relevant to his network.
An example of a form that captures this data appears in Table 6-2. Note that
Tom may monitor systems based on subnet range, host name, or IP address.
Although it is advisable to limit the number of community names used in
a network, Tom may also define multiple read-only and read-write
community names in his network environment. For example, Tom may
decide that he wants a common Get community name for all systems on
this network but unique Set community names for certain data centers.
NOTE: IT Assistant offers a troubleshooting tool that can be useful in analyzing
problems with discovery and inventory. Access the tool by selecting Tools 
Troubleshooting Tool from the menu bar, or by right-clicking a device in the Device
view and selecting Troubleshoot. For more information, open the Troubleshooting
Tool dialog box and click Help.