Specifications

Ridgeline Concepts and Solutions Guide
311
Launching of third-party proprietary device-related tools
Through this framework, integration of third-party devices can be accomplished independently of
Ridgeline product releases. The integration is achieved by adding or editing XML, text and images files
to accomplish different levels of integration.
Each aspect of device integration can be performed independently—i.e. you can integrate a device into
Ridgeline but may elect not to integrate trap support in the Alarm System, for example.
CAUTION
The device integration process may require editing of certain Ridgeline files that can affect the functionality
of the Ridgeline server. In some cases, editing these files incorrectly may prevent the Ridgeline server from running.
It is strongly recommended that device integration be undertaken only under the supervision of Extreme Networks
support personnel.
Ridgeline Inventory Integration
The basic features of Ridgeline inventory integration include:
The ability to discover the device when the MIB-2 option in Discovery is selected
The device image can be viewed (front panel, and back panel if appropriate)
Device information like OID, device name, IP address, MAC address, device type, device group
should be presented
Should be able to modify the device contact username and password from Ridgeline.
To accomplish this integration, there are three basic steps:
1 Create an Abstract Library Type (ATL) file (an XML file) and save it in the
<Install_Dir>/extreme.war/ATL/Device Types directory.
2 Create a folder in the
<Install_Dir>/extreme.war/gifs directory which is named with the OID of
the new Device Type.
3 Create gif-format (Compuserve Graphics Interchange Format) images for the device, and place these
in the OID folder created under the
extreme.war/gifs directory.
4 Create a “
deviceInfo.txt” file for the device and place this in the OID folder created under the
extreme.war/gifs directory.
5 If it does not already exist, create a device icon gif file, named to match the file name provided in the
imageIconsFileName tag in the ATL XML file, and add this to the dpsimages.zip file (found in the
<Install_Dir>/extreme.war/gifs directory.
The Abstract Type Library XML file
The Abstract Type Library is a repository for information about the types of devices Ridgeline can
recognize. For each device type, an XML file is placed in the
extreme.war/ATL/Device Types directory.
(There are also ATL subdiretories for Interface Types and Slot Types).
XML files in the ATL are organized in a hierarchy, with properties of the device types and devices
specified at various levels in this hierarchy. Figure 252 shows portions of the general hierarchy. When
Ridgeline discovers a device, it navigates this hierarchy searching for a match that will provide the
properties for the device.