Administer > Discover your network > Configure Discovery > Configure Auto-Discovery Rules

Configure auto-discovery rules

[This is the Context-Sensitive Help topic for the Discovery Config: Auto-Discovery Rules form.]

Auto-Discovery extends discovery by gathering Hints about additional devices:

  • Auto-Discovery gathers information about neighboring devices using ARP cache, DNS, and the following protocols:

    • BGP — Border Gateway Protocol
    • EIGRP — Cisco Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol
    • OSPF — Open Shortest Path First
    • And data gathered from a variety of Layer 2 discovery protocols. See the list of Topology Source protocols in Layer 2 Connection Form.

  • Auto-Discovery monitors SNMP traps from previously discovered IP addresses for additional information.

    Auto-Discovery also uses the source IP address from SNMP traps as Discovery Hints for new addresses. If your Auto-Discovery Rules' IP Ranges include that new IP address, NNMi uses the Trap Hint for initial discovery of that address. NNMi then requests the Node's current Management Address (the address from which the node's SNMP Agent responds) and uses that IP address for all further communication. NNMi calculates whether the new address belongs to a previously discovered Node or a new Node.

  • Auto-Discovery gathers information about neighbors adjacent to each discovered device. Auto-Discovery then discovers those neighbors and repeats the process. This sequence continues until the Default Tenant's boundaries are reached (identified by Auto-Discovery Rules' IP Address Ranges or Ordering numbers).

NNMi never gathers Auto-Discovery Hints from IP addresses assigned to a Tenant other than the Default Tenant.

If you do not configure any Auto-Discovery Rules, Spiral Discovery only finds the configured Discovery Seeds.

When any Node is discovered because of an Auto-Discovery Rule, NNMi assigns that Node to the Default Tenant (and whichever Security Group attribute value is currently configured as Default Tenant's Initial Discovery Security Group).

Auto-Discovery Rule Configuration Tasks
Task How
Configure Basic Settings for the Auto-Discovery Rule

Provide the basic requirements for an Auto-Discovery Rule configuration:

  • The name of the rule.
  • Specify the order in which Auto-Discovery applies this rule within the Default Tenant.
  • Specify how ICMP and SNMP protocols are used for this segment of discovery.
  • Designate whether devices identified by this rule are Discovered or Rejected during the Auto-Discovery process.
Rule Criterion

Use IP addresses with wildcards to specify the area within Default Tenant that this Auto-Discovery Rule controls. You decide whether Ping Sweep is used for this segment of discovery.

Use industry standard System Object IDs to control Auto-Discovery within the Default Tenant.

Use the Configuration > Device Profiles view to see the list of all known system object IDs (MIBII sysObjectID) at the time NNMi released. This list of system object IDs is useful to expand or limit the range of devices that Auto-Discovery finds.

Auto-Discovery rule behavior choices

Auto-Discovery Rules control the extent of automatic discovery within the Default Tenant. Specify what Auto-Discovery should reject or find within your network environment by defining at least two Auto-Discovery Rules. You assign an Ordering number to each rule. For each discovered Node, Interface, or IP address, NNMi applies the first matching rule from lowest to highest Ordering number.

Tip Give your Reject rule a lower Ordering number than the Include rule or rules to which it applies.

Purpose = Reject Matching Nodes
Selections Behavior

 Discover Matching Nodes

 Discover Any SNMP Device

 Discover Non‑SNMP Devices

Auto-Discovery rejects the following within Default Tenant (does not add any information to the NNMi database, does not query for information or Hints about neighboring devices):

  • All addresses specified in the rule's IP Ranges table (if any)
  • All devices that meet the criteria specified in the rule's System Object ID Ranges table (if any) - based on RFC 1213, MIB-II sysObjectID values

Caution If both ranges are empty, this rule would cause Auto-Discovery to never discover anything specified in all rules with higher Ordering numbers.

The following table shows the choices for instructing Auto-Discovery to discover Nodes.

Configure at least one Auto-Discovery Rule from the following table. And at least one Auto-Discovery Rule from the following table must specify the IP Address Range within which you want to use Auto-Discovery in Default Tenant.

Purpose = Discover Matching Nodes
Selections Behavior

 Discover Matching Nodes

 Discover Any SNMP Device

 Discover Non‑SNMP Devices

Auto-Discovery finds the following Routers and Switches within Default Tenant:

  • All must have IP addresses within the ranges specified in the rule's IP Ranges table (if any)
  • All must meet the criteria specified in the rule's System Object ID Ranges table (if any) - based on RFC 1213, MIB-II sysObjectID values

 Discover Matching Nodes

 Discover Any SNMP Device

 Discover Non‑SNMP Devices

Auto-Discovery finds the following devices within Default Tenant:

  • All must have IP addresses within the ranges specified in the rule's IP Ranges table (if any)
  • Any that answer SNMP queries and meet the criteria specified in the rule's System Object ID Ranges table (if any) - based on RFC 1213, MIB-II sysObjectID values

 Discover Matching Nodes

 Discover Any SNMP Device

 Discover Non‑SNMP Devices

Auto-Discovery finds the following devices within Default Tenant:

  • All must have IP addresses within the ranges specified in the rule's IP Ranges table (if any)

    Caution NNMi ignores  Discover Non-SNMP Devices within a particular rule if any System Object ID Ranges are defined (because System Object IDs limit the rule to SNMP only).

  • Any that answer ICMP queries but not SNMP queries

 Discover Matching Nodes

 Discover Any SNMP Device

 Discover Non‑SNMP Devices

Auto-Discovery finds the following devices within Default Tenant:

  • All must have IP addresses within the ranges specified in the rule's IP Ranges table (if any)

    Caution NNMi ignores  Discover Non-SNMP Devices within a particular rule if any System Object ID Ranges are defined (because System Object IDs limit the rule to SNMP only).

  • Any devices that answer ICMP queries but not SNMP queries

Configure basic settings for the auto-discovery rule

Default Tenant only: These Auto-Discovery Rule settings determine which methods Auto-Discovery applies when discovering nodes within your Default Tenant.

To configure this Auto-Discovery Rule for the Default Tenant:

  1. Navigate to the Auto-Discovery Rule form.

    1. From the workspace navigation panel, select the  Configuration workspace.
    2. Expand Discovery.
    3. Select Discovery Configuration.
    4. Locate the Auto-Discovery Rules tab.

    5. Do one of the following:

      • To establish a rule, click the  New icon, and continue.
      • To edit a rule, double-click the row representing the configuration you want to edit, and continue.
      • To delete a rule, select a row, and click the  Delete icon.
  2. Provide the required basic settings for this Auto-Discovery Rule (see the Basics for this Auto-Discovery Rule table).

  3. Determine the Auto-Discovery Rule's behavior.

    • See the Purpose of this Auto-Discovery Rule table
    • See the Extend Default Behavior (beyond Routers and Switches) table

  4. There are many ways to implement discovery.

    Configure one or more ranges, to identify the devices you want to discover or reject.

  5. Click  Save and Close to return to the Discovery Configuration form.
  6. Click  Save and Close. Spiral Discovery implements your changes during the next regularly scheduled discovery interval.

  7. Optional: Open the Discovery Configuration workspace again and provide a discovery seed for each address range of this Auto-Discovery Rule. Core routers make the best Auto-Discovery seeds.

Basics for this Auto-Discovery Rule
Task How
Name Give this Auto-Discovery Rule a meaningful name.
Ordering

Determine the order in which the Auto-Discovery Rules are applied. No duplicate Ordering numbers are permitted. Each Auto-Discovery Rule ordering number must be unique.

Tip Consider incrementing Ordering numbers by 10s or 100s to provide flexibility when adding new rules over time.

IP address ranges: If a device falls within two Auto-Discovery Rules, the Auto-Discovery Rule with the lowest ordering number applies. For example, if an Auto-Discovery Rule includes certain IP addresses, then no other Auto-Discovery Rules with higher ordering numbers apply to those addresses.

System Object ID ranges:

  • If no IP address range is included in this Auto-Discovery Rule, then the system object ID settings take precedence over all Auto-Discovery Rules that have higher Ordering numbers than this Auto-Discovery Rule.
  • If an IP address range is included in this Auto-Discovery Rule, your system object ID range applies only within this Auto-Discovery Rule.
Notes

Provide any additional useful information about this Auto-Discovery Rule.

Type a maximum of 1024 characters. Alpha-numeric, spaces, and special characters (~ ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) _+ -) are permitted.
Purpose of this Auto-Discovery Rule
Task How
Discover Matching Nodes

If  enabled, Auto-Discovery gathers information about neighboring devices and adds devices to the NNMi database if those device meet the rule's criteria.

By default NNMi discovers routers and switches. You can expand the number of device types that NNMi discovers by enabling  Discover Any SNMP Device and including one or more System Object ID Ranges (based on MIB-II sysObjectID values). Your address ranges and  system object ID ranges determine which discovered addresses are added to the NNMi database.

If  disabled, Auto-Discovery rejects devices that match this rule unless:

  • The device's address is a discovery seed.

  • The device's address is reported as a neighbor to another discovered address.
Extend Default Behavior (beyond Routers and Switches) for this Auto-Discovery Rule
Task How
Discover Any SNMP Device

This attribute is ignored if Discover Matching Nodes is unchecked. However, if you configure any device as a discovery seed, discovery always adds that device to the database.

If  enabled, Auto-Discovery gathers information about any device that responds to SNMP queries (in addition to routers or switches that are discovered by default). These nodes appear on maps and are monitored.

If  disabled, Auto-Discovery rejects all device types except routers, switches, discovery seeds, and device types specified in your system object ID ranges. (Routers and switches are identified by the settings in the device profile.)
Discover Non-SNMP Devices

This attribute is ignored if Discover Matching Nodes is unchecked. However, if you configure any device as a discovery seed, discovery always adds that device to the database.

Non-SNMP devices are those that do not respond to SNMP queries.

If you enable Discover Non-SNMP Devices, note the following:

  • If you do not want NNMi to discover every node in your network, make sure your Auto-Discovery Rules correctly limit the scope of the discovery.
  • Selecting this option might cause you to reach your licensed capacity very quickly.

  • If NNMi determines that a non-SNMP node has a hostname matching another non-SNMP node, NNMi merges the information to create only one node and includes any additional IP address information under the same node.

    Non-SNMP nodes might be inaccurately represented under the following circumstances:

    • One or more non-SNMP nodes in your network use the same hostname.
    • The same non-SNMP node has multiple hostnames.
    • A non-SNMP node name changes.

If  enabled, Auto-Discovery adds to the database any addresses that do not respond to SNMP queries.

Caution NNMi ignores  Discover Non-SNMP Devices within a particular rule if any System Object ID Ranges are defined (because System Object IDs limit the rule to SNMP only).

If  disabled, Auto-Discovery rejects any address that does not respond to SNMP queries.

IP address ranges for the auto-discovery rule

[This is the Context-Sensitive Help topic for the Discovery Config: Auto-Discovery Rules: Address Range form.]

Default Tenant only: Auto-Discovery IP address ranges determine the outer limits for the area controlled by the current Auto-Discovery Rule. You can create multiple IP ranges within one Auto-Discovery Rule (order within the rule does not matter).

If the Auto-Discovery Rule's Discover Matching Nodes  is disabled, click here for additional information.

  • Auto-Discovery does not gather neighbor information from the addresses identified in any IP address range included in this rule. The addresses, themselves, might still show up in the topology database.

    Neighbor information is still gathered from IP addresses specifically identified in the discovery seeds configuration settings.

    NNMi also uses the source IP address from SNMP traps as hints to discovery. NNMi uses those hint IP address only for initial discovery. NNMi then requests the current Management Address (the address from which the node's SNMP Agent responds) and uses that IP address for all communication.

If the Auto-Discovery Rule's Discover Matching Nodes  is enabled, click here for additional information.

  • At least one of your Auto-Discovery Rules must have an IP address range designated as an Include in rule range type. Auto-Discovery gathers neighbor information from those addresses to extend discovery.
  • Optional. You can configure NNMi to ignore subsets of those IP addresses (an Ignored by rule range, which means that those addresses are available for other Auto-Discovery Rules with higher Ordering numbers).
  • Optional. Specify system object ID (MIB-II sysObjectID) ranges to be included or ignored. This technique constricts or extends the types of devices affected by this rule.

NNMi discovers any devices that comply with your rule configurations, and creates a record of each device in the NNMi database. If the device supports SNMP, all addresses for that device are combined into one Node object. If the device does not support SNMP, NNMi queries DNS to determine the hostname. If this hostname matches another non-SNMP node, NNMi merges the information to create only one node with multiple associated addresses.

 

To specify an Auto-Discovery Rule IP address range for Default Tenant:

  1. Navigate to the Auto-Discovery form.

    1. In the Workspace navigation panel, open the  Configuration workspace.
    2. Select Discovery Configuration.
    3. Select the Auto-Discovery Rule tab, and do one of the following:
      • To establish an Auto-Discovery Rule, click the  New icon.
      • To edit an Auto-Discovery Rule, click the  Open icon in the row representing the configuration you want to edit.
  2. Provide the Basic Settings.
  3. Navigate to the IP Ranges tab.

  4. Optional. Decide if you want to use Ping Sweep in this segment of network discovery.

    IPv4 addresses only: In Wide Area Networks (WANs) such as ATM, Frame Relay, and Point-to-Point (where ARP cache is not available), the Ping Sweep locates nodes for Auto-Discovery to use when gathering neighbor information and evaluating connections between Nodes.

    Note Ping Sweep works only with IPv4 addresses and only in 16-bit subnets. All nodes discovered using Auto-Discovery are assigned to the Default Tenant.

    • Enable Ping Sweep 
      Auto-Discovery can issue a wide range of ICMP ping commands. NNMi only uses Ping Sweep across a maximum of the last two octets (/16) of the network specified by each IPv4 IP address range.

      If things do not work as expected, check whether Ping Sweep is disabled. Also, verify that ICMP communication is enabled.

    • Enable Ping Sweep  
      Auto-Discovery depends on Discovery Seeds as starting points.

  5. Optional. To provide an IP address range for this Auto-Discovery Rule, do one of the following:

    • To create an IP range, click the  New icon, and continue.
    • To edit an IP range, click the  Open icon in the row representing the configuration you want to edit, and continue.
    • To delete an IP range, select a row, and click the  Delete icon.
  6. Define one or more IP address ranges for this Auto-Discovery Rule, the order of ranges defined within this rule does not matter (see table).
  7. Click  Save and Close to return to the Auto-Discovery Rule form.
  8. Click  Save and Close to return to the Discovery Configuration form.

  9. Click  Save and Close. If you enabled Ping Sweep for this Auto-Discovery Rule, NNMi issues the Ping Sweep when you click Save and Close. Otherwise, Spiral Discovery implements your changes during the next regularly scheduled discovery interval.

Discovery IP Range Form
Name Description
IP Range

If you enter an IP address value that represents only one IP address, Auto-Discovery gathers neighbor information only from the address you enter. (Discovery extends only one hop out from this address.)

To specify a range of IP addresses for this Auto-Discovery Rule, use one of the following. Pick one address notation style. Combinations of wildcards and CIDR notation are not permitted within one address range. You can provide multiple address range settings:

  • IPv4 address wildcard notation.

    An IPv4 Address range is a modified dotted-notation where each octet is one of the following:

    • A specific octet value between 0 and 255
    • A low-high range specification for the octet value (for example, "112-119")
    • An asterisk (*) wildcard character, which is equivalent to the range expression "0-255"

    The following two IPv4 addresses are considered invalid: 0.0.0.0 and 127.0.0.0

    Examples of valid IPv4 address wildcards include:

    10.1.1.*
    10.*.*.*
    10.1.1.1-99
    10.10.50-55.*
    10.22.*.4 10.1-9.1-9.1-9

  • IPv4 Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) notation.

    The CIDR notation specifies the number of consecutive bits in the IPv4 address that must match.

    For example, 10.2.120.0/21

    NNMi does not support CIDR subnet mask notation such as, 10.2.120.0/255.255.248.0

    Example IPv4 Prefix Length Values:

    • 28

      Number of Usable IPv4 Addresses: 14 (16-2=14)*

    • 29

      Number of Usable IPv4 Addresses: 6 (8-2=6)*

    • 30

      Number of Usable IPv4 Addresses: 2 (4-2=2)*

    • 31

      Number of Usable IPv4 Addresses: 2

    * Two IPv4 addresses are reserved in each subnet. The first IPv4 address is used for the network itself and the last IPv4 address is reserved for broadcast.

  • IPv6 address wildcard notation

    (NNMi Advanced) Separate each 16-bit value of the IPv6 address with a colon. The 16-bit value can be any of the following:

    • A specific hexadecimal value between 0 and FFFF (case insensitive).
    • A low-high range specification of the hexadecimal value (for example, 1-1fe).
    • An asterisk (*) wildcard character (equivalent to the range expression 0-ffff).

    The standard IPv6 short-hand notation (::) is allowed to express one or more 16-bit elements of zero (0) values. However, the mixed IPv6/IPv4 dot-notation (for example, 2001:d88::1.2.3.4) is not permitted as an IPv6 address range.

    Valid examples of ranges in modified IPv6 address notation include the following:

    2001:D88:0:A00-AFF:*:*:*:*
    2001:D88:1:*:*:*:*:*
    2001:D88:2:0:a07:ffff:0a01:3200-37ff

  • IPv6 Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) notation

    (NNMi Advanced) The CIDR notation specifies the number of consecutive bits in the IPv6 address that must match.

    2001:d88:a00::/44 (equivalent to modified IPv6 address notation 2001:d88:a00-a0f:*:*:*:*:*)

    For example, valid IPv6 address ranges in CIDR notation include the following:

    2001:d88:0:a00::/56 (equivalent to modified IPv6 address notation 2001:D88:0:A00-AFF:*:*:*:*)

    2001:d88:1::/48 (equivalent to modified IPv6 address notation 2001:D88:1:*:*:*:*:*)
Range Type

Include in rule - The current Auto-Discovery Rule's settings apply to the addresses in this range.

Ignored by rule - The current Auto-Discovery Rule's settings do not apply to the addresses in this range. Use the Ignored by rule setting to identify a subset of addresses within a larger range. The addresses in the ignored range are available to conform to an Auto-Discovery Rule with a higher ordering number.

SNMP System Object ID ranges for the auto-discovery rule

[This is the Context-Sensitive Help topic for the Discovery Config: Auto-Discovery Rules: Discovery System Object ID Range form.]

Vendors are assigned a system object ID number (RFC 1213 MIB-II sysObjectID) for each network device they manufacture. This system object ID number is unique for each combination of vendor, device type, and model number (vendor/make/model). For example, all Cisco 6509 routers have the same system object ID.

Tip In the Configuration > Device Profiles view , you can quickly and easily locate the system object IDs of devices in your network environment.

Default Tenant only: System object ID ranges are powerful tools for limiting this Auto-Discovery Rule's behavior. For example, limit this rule by excluding specific models of routers and switches.

When using system object ID ranges for this Auto-Discovery Rule, note the following:

  • The rule applies only to the Default Tenant.
  • If no IP Address Ranges are defined within this Auto-Discovery Rule, your System Object ID Ranges affect all Auto-Discovery Rules that have higher Ordering numbers than this Auto-Discovery Rule.

  • If one or more IP Address Ranges are defined within this Auto-Discovery Rule, your System Object ID Ranges affect only the current Auto-Discovery Rule.

To specify a system object ID range:

  1. Complete all prerequisites.

  2. Navigate to the Discovery System Object ID Range form.

    1. From the workspace navigation panel, select the  Configuration workspace.
    2. Expand Discovery.
    3. Select Discovery Configuration.
    4. Select the Auto-Discovery Rule tab.

    5. Do one of the following:

      • To create an Auto-Discovery Rule, click the  New icon.
      • To edit an Auto-Discovery Rule, double-click the row representing the configuration you want to edit.

    6. In the Auto-Discovery Rule form, verify the following:

      • Required settings are provided (red *).

      • Other desired choices are made.

        Caution NNMi ignores  Discover Non-SNMP Devices within a particular rule if any System Object ID Ranges are defined (because System Object IDs limit the rule to SNMP only).

    7. Select the System Object ID Ranges tab.

    8. Do one of the following:

      • To create a system object ID range, click the  New icon, and continue.
      • To edit a system object ID range, click the  Open icon in the row representing the configuration you want to edit, and continue.
      • To delete a system object ID range, click the  Delete icon.
  3. Provide one or more System Object ID ranges for this Auto-Discovery Rule, the order of ranges defined within this rule does not matter (see the table).
  4. Click  Save and Close to return to the Auto-Discovery Rule form.
  5. Optional. Provide IP Address Ranges to limit the scope of this Auto-Discovery Rule.
  6. Click  Save and Close to return to the Discovery Configuration form.
  7. Click  Save and Close. Spiral Discovery implements your changes during the next regularly scheduled discovery interval.
Discovery System Object ID Range Definition
Attribute Description
System Object ID
Prefix

Enter a prefix of an SNMP system object ID, or enter the entire SNMP system object ID. A partial entry becomes a wildcard.

For example, if you enter 1.3.6.1.4.1.11, discovery finds all devices. If you enter 1.3.6.1.4.1.9, discovery finds all Cisco devices.

Do not use dashes or asterisks (*) in your system object ID value. Do not use a period (.) as the first character. A partial entry becomes a wildcard.
Range Type

Include in rule - Instructs Auto-Discovery to discover devices matching this system object ID range.

Ignored by rule - Instructs Auto-Discovery to ignore devices matching this system object ID range. The sysObjectIDs in the ignored range are available to conform to an Auto-Discovery Rule with a higher ordering number.
Notes

Add any information about this rule that would be useful to you and your team.

Type a maximum of 1024 characters. Alpha-numeric, spaces, and special characters (~ ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) _+ -) are permitted.

Example uses of auto-discovery

This section provides a set of example uses of auto-discovery rules.

Set outside limits for auto-discovery

Default Tenant only: Best practice is to create a pair of Auto-Discovery Rules with carefully chosen Ordering numbers to clearly identify the entire group of IP addresses within your network management domain and the devices you care about. You can add, remove, or change the settings in this pair of Auto-Discovery Rules at any time.

Define a pair of Auto-Discovery rules as described in the following table. For ideas about how to use this pair of rules:

Configure Outside Limits for Auto-Discovery
Task How

Auto-Discovery Rule = Included: 
Create an Auto-Discovery Rule that specifies one or more IP address ranges to identify the outer limits of your management domain. It is recommended that you use your second-lowest Ordering number. This ensures that Auto-Discovery never uses addresses outside the specified range or ranges as discovery Hints.

Use the following settings

  1. NameIncluded-IP-Ranges (for example)
  2. Ordering 

  3. Specify the techniques Auto-Discovery uses for finding devices:

    • Discover Matching Nodes 

      Tip With this setting, Auto-Discovery finds only routers and switches.

    • Discover Any SNMP Device  or 

      This setting expands Auto-Discovery to include any device that answers an SNMP query.

    • Discover Non-SNMP Devices  or

      Optional: If enabled, Auto-Discovery uses other protocols to detect devices.

      Caution NNMi ignores  Discover Non-SNMP Devices within a particular rule if any System Object ID Ranges are defined (because System Object IDs limit the rule to SNMP only).

  4. Create any number of ranges to specify the area within Default Tenant that this Auto-Discovery Rule controls:
    IP Range  (Minimum: One is required in one of your Auto-Discovery Rules.)
    Range Type 

  5. Optional: If you want to limit Auto-Discovery to only certain vendor/make/models, create one or more System Object ID Ranges.

    Caution If you use this setting, NNMi ignores all other devices. If it would be easier to reject a small list of System Object IDs (rather than list all the ones you want NNMi to discover), skip this step and see the Auto-Discovery Rule = Rejects configuration.

    Do not use dashes or asterisks (*) in your system object ID value. Do not use a period (.) as the first character. A partial entry becomes a wildcard.

    SyObjID Range 
    Range Type 

Auto-Discovery Rule = Rejects: Create a second Auto-Discovery Rule that uses IP Address Ranges, System Object ID Ranges, or both to instruct NNMi to reject a subset of the criterion defined in the Auto-Discovery Rule = Included configuration.

Use the following settings (* = required setting):

  1. NameRejected-IPs-sysObjectIDs (for example)
  2. Ordering 

  3. Disable all the following settings to instruct Auto-Discovery to gather data about the Ranges identified in the following steps, but then reject that data (do not add it to the NNMi database nor gather Discovery Hints from within the range).

    • * Discover Matching Nodes  
    • * Discover Any SNMP Device 
    • * Discover Non-SNMP Devices 

  4. Optional: Create any number of:
    IP Range 
    * Range Type 

    Caution These settings instruct Auto-Discovery to not add the specified IP addresses to the NNMi database, not acknowledge any Hints received about them, nor gather Discovery Hints from them unless the address is a discovery seed.

  5. Optional: If you want to limit Auto-Discovery to only certain vendor/make/models, create System Object ID Ranges. Once you create a System Object ID Range here, Auto-Discovery rejects any devices that meet this criteria.

    Caution If it would be easier to specify a small list of System Object IDs that should be included (rather than list all the ones you do not want Auto-Discovery to find), skip this step and see the Auto-Discovery Rule = Included configuration instructions.

    Do not use dashes or asterisks (*) in your system object ID value. Do not use a period (.) as the first character. A partial entry becomes a wildcard.

    System Object ID Prefix 
    Range Type 
You can create additional rules for fine tuning Auto-Discovery behavior.

The pair of rules (Auto-Discovery Rule = Included and Auto-Discovery Rule = Rejects) can potentially cover all requirements.

Carefully choose the Ordering Number for any additional Auto-Discovery Rule.

Auto-Discovery Rules affect all rules with a higher ordering number.

Only routers and switches discovered

Default Tenant only: If you want Auto-Discovery to automatically find only routers and switches within Default Tenant, use these guidelines.

After you set your configuration according to these guidelines, when a new router or switch is added to your network, you do not need to do anything. NNMi discovers it during the next discovery cycle.

Only Routers and Switches Discovered
Task How

Auto-Discovery Rule = Included

  • Discover Matching Nodes 
  • Discover Any SNMP Device 
  • Discover Non-SNMP Devices 

If you want Auto-Discovery to find all routers and switches. Do not create any System Object ID Ranges.

Optional: If you want to limit Auto-Discovery to only the vendor/make/models of routers and switches that you specify, do the easiest one of the following :

Do not use dashes or asterisks (*) in your system object ID value. Do not use a period (.) as the first character. A partial entry becomes a wildcard.

  • Create one or more System Object ID Ranges. Your list must include everything you want Auto-Discovery to find.
  • Do nothing here but make changes to the System Object ID Ranges in the Auto-Discovery Rule = Rejects configuration.
  • Use a combination such as:

    Auto-Discovery Rule = Included configuration:
    Included = 1.3.6.1.4.1.11 (HP)

    Auto-Discovery Rule = Rejects configuration:
    1.3.6.1.4.1.11.2.3.7.1.10 (hpnetSwitch200)
    1.3.6.1.4.1.11.2.3.7.2.2 (hpicfRouterTR)
Auto-Discovery Rule = Rejects

Optional: Create one or more System Object ID Ranges that identify the vendor/make/models of routers and switches you do not want Auto-Discovery to find.

Do not use dashes or asterisks (*) in your system object ID value. Do not use a period (.) as the first character. A partial entry becomes a wildcard.

For example, hpnetSwitch200 and hpicfRouterTR:

  • System Object ID Prefix 1.3.6.1.4.1.11.2.3.7.1.10
    Range Type 
  • System Object ID Prefix 1.3.6.1.4.1.11.2.3.7.2.2
    Range Type 

Only routers' physical interfaces discovered

Default Tenant only: If you have routers in your network domain that contain a large number of physical and virtual interfaces, you may want Auto-Discovery to only find and monitor the important interfaces.

Only Routers' Physical Interfaces Discovered
Task How

Auto-Discovery Rule = Included

Discover Matching Nodes 

Create one or more IP Ranges settings that identify the location of routers in your network domain (specify the area within Default Tenant that this Auto-Discovery Rule controls):

Enter IP Range  (Minimum: One is required in one of your Auto-Discovery Rules.)

Set Range Type 

 
Auto-Discovery Rule = Rejects

Spiral Discovery: For Routers that are in any Tenant:

If routers in your network have more than 2048 physical interfaces plus virtual interfaces, and you want Spiral Discovery to gather data about only a subset of those interfaces, create a pair of filters as follows:

  • Configure an Included Interface Ranges Filter (each entry based on one MIB-II sysObjectID and a range of ifIndex values)
  • Configure an Excluded Interfaces Filter (each entry based on a defined Interface Group)

For example, the following pair of filters could instruct Spiral Discovery to gather information about an ifIndex range representing the physical Nortel interfaces within that network environment, then reject any virtual interfaces that are an exception to that assumption:

  • Included Interface Range defined as sysObjectID = Nortel and ifIndex = 1-256

  • Excluded Interfaces filter instructing Spiral Discovery to ignore any virtual interfaces within the Included Interface Range defined above.

    Define an Interface Group that identifies Nortel devices' Virtual Interfaces:

    Tip The selected Interface Group will be empty after the next Spiral Discovery cycle. Consider disabling the Interface Group definition's Add to View Filter List  attribute to prevent this empty Interface Group from appearing on selection lists within NNMi views.


Only specific vendor/make/models discovered

Default Tenant only: If you want Auto-Discovery to find only devices within Default Tenant that were manufactured by a specific vendor, you must use SNMP sysObjectID values. Navigate to the Configuration workspace, and select the Device Profiles view to see all known system object IDs at the time NNMi released. You can add a Device Profile if the one you need is not yet configured.

For example: Do not use dashes or asterisks (*) in your system object ID value. Do not use a period (.) as the first character. A partial entry becomes a wildcard:

  • To include all devices, use the following prefix in configuration settings for the pair of Auto-Discovery Rules:
    1.3.6.1.4.1.11 (prefix for all devices)
  • To specify certain  devices, use the appropriate numbers, such as:
    1.3.6.1.4.1.11.2.3.7.1.10 = hpnetSwitch200
    1.3.6.1.4.1.11.2.3.7.2.2 = hpicfRouterTR

After you set your configuration according to these guidelines, when a new device is added to your network, you do not need to do anything. NNMi discovers it during the next discovery cycle if it matches the criteria you define.

Only Specific Vendor/Make/Models Discovered
Task How

Auto-Discovery Rule = Included

  • Discover Matching Nodes 
  • Discover Any SNMP Device 
  • Discover Non-SNMP Devices 

Optional: If you want to limit Auto-Discovery to only the vendor/make/models that you specify, do the easiest one of the following:

(Do not use dashes or asterisks (*) in your system object ID value. Do not use a period (.) as the first character. A partial entry becomes a wildcard.)

  • Create one or more System Object ID Ranges. Your list must include everything you want Auto-Discovery to find.
  • Do nothing here but make changes to the System Object ID Ranges in the Auto-Discovery Rule = Rejects configuration.
  • Use a combination such as:

    Auto-Discovery Rule = Included configuration:
    Included = 1.3.6.1.4.1.11 (HP)

    Auto-Discovery Rule = Rejects configuration:
    1.3.6.1.4.1.11.2.3.7.1.10 (hpnetSwitch200)
    1.3.6.1.4.1.11.2.3.7.2.2 (hpicfRouterTR)
Auto-Discovery Rule = Rejects

Optional: Create one or more System Object ID Ranges that identify the vendor/make/models that you do not want Auto-Discovery to find.

Do not use dashes or asterisks (*) in your system object ID value. Do not use a period (.) as the first character. A partial entry becomes a wildcard.

For example, hpnetSwitch200 and hpicfRouterTR:

System Object ID Prefix 1.3.6.1.4.1.11.2.3.7.1.10
Range Type 

System Object ID Prefix 1.3.6.1.4.1.11.2.3.7.2.2
Range Type 

All SNMP devices discovered

Default Tenant only: If you want Auto-Discovery to automatically find all devices that respond to SNMP within Default Tenant, use these guidelines.

This strategy might cause you to reach your licensed capacity very quickly.

After you set your configuration according to these guidelines, when a new device is added to your network, you do not need to do anything. NNMi discovers it during the next discovery cycle if the device responds to SNMP queries.

All SNMP Devices Discovered
Task How

Auto-Discovery Rule = Included

  • Discover Matching Nodes 
  • Discover Any SNMP Device 
  • Discover Non-SNMP Devices 

Create one or more:
IP Range  (Minimum: One is required in one of your Auto-Discovery Rules.)
Range Type 

If you want Auto-Discovery to find all SNMP devices, do not create any System Object ID Ranges.

Auto-Discovery Rule = Rejects

 

Everything discovered

Default Tenant only: If you want Auto-Discovery to automatically find all devices within Default Tenant, use these guidelines.

If the device does not support SNMP, NNMi queries DNS to determine the hostname. If this hostname matches another non-SNMP node, NNMi merges the information to create only one node with multiple associated addresses to preserve licensed capacity limits for discovered nodes.

This strategy might cause you to reach your licensed capacity very quickly.

After you set your configuration according to these guidelines, when a new device is added to your network, you do not need to do anything. NNMi discovers it during the next discovery cycle.

All SNMP Devices Discovered
Task How

Auto-Discovery Rule = Included

  • Discover Matching Nodes 
  • Discover Any SNMP Device 
  • Discover Non-SNMP Devices 

Create one or more:
IP Range  (Minimum: One is required in one of your Auto-Discovery Rules.)
Range Type 

Caution NNMi ignores  Discover Non-SNMP Devices within a particular rule if any System Object ID Ranges are defined (because System Object IDs limit the rule to SNMP only).

Auto-Discovery Rule = Rejects

 

Strategies to exclude certain nodes from auto-discovery

Default Tenant only: Sometimes it is useful to exclude certain nodes from Auto-Discovery and Monitoring. For example:

  • All of your printers
  • Certain problem devices

Techniques to exclude nodes include the following:

    1. Set up your Auto-Discovery Rule = Included IP Ranges without specifying any addresses from the problem nodes.

    2. Set up your Auto-Discovery Rule = Rejects settings to ignore information received about the problem nodes using either or both of the following:

      Caution These settings instruct Auto-Discovery to not add the specified IP addresses or devices with a specified MIB-II sysObjectID to the NNMi database, not acknowledge any Hints received about them, nor gather Discovery Hints from them unless the address is a discovery seed.

      • Create any number of:
        IP Range 
        Range Type 

      • Create any number of:

        System Object ID Range 
        Range Type 

        System Object ID Ranges enable you to identify the vendor/make/model of the devices that you do not want Auto-Discovery to find.

    For additional Auto-Discovery ideas:

  2. Configure NNMi to never attempt any SNMP or ICMP communication with those Nodes.

Limit sources of neighbor information

Default Tenant only: If you want Auto-Discovery to never use a particular IP address as a source for gathering additional information (using SNMP, ICMP, ARP cache, DNS, and a variety of other protocols), use the following choices in the appropriate steps:

Limit Auto-Discovery Hints
Task How

Auto-Discovery Rule = Included

 
Auto-Discovery Rule = Rejects

Create one or more IP Ranges settings that clearly identify the addresses. Auto-Discovery does not gather any Hints for further discovery from these addresses:

Enter IP Range 

Set Range Type 

Because the Auto-Discovery Rule = Reject's setting is Discover Matching Nodes   disabled, Auto-Discovery does not gather neighbor information from the addresses identified in any IP address range included in this rule. The addresses, themselves, might still show up in the topology database because of the following:

  • Neighbor information is still gathered from IP addresses specifically identified in the discovery seeds configuration settings.
  • NNMi also uses the source IP address from SNMP traps as hints to discovery. NNMi uses those hint IP address only for initial discovery. NNMi then requests the current Management Address (the address from which the node's SNMP Agent responds) and uses that IP address for all communication.

NNMi never gathers Auto-Discovery Hints from IP addresses assigned to a Tenant other than the Default Tenant.

Spiral Discovery: For devices in Tenants other than Default Tenant:
  • Configure an Excluded IP Addresses Filter (based on IP address ranges)
  • Configure an Excluded Interfaces Filter (based on defined Interface Groups)
  • Configure an Included Interface Ranges Filter (based on one or more SNMP sysObjectID and ifIndex range values)

The IP addresses in the following table cannot be used as Discovery Seeds or Auto-Discovery Hints. NNMi still Discovers and Monitors these addresses within the context of a Node, but NNMi does not gather information about neighbors from these addresses.

Invalid IP Addresses for Discovery Seeds or Auto-Discovery Hints
IPv4 Address Range IPv6 Address Range Explanation
0.*.*.* not applicable Reserved IP addresses
0.0.0.0 ::0 Any Local (listen) address
127.*.*.* ::1 Loopback addresses
not applicable fe80::*:*:*:* IPv6 link-local addressA non-routable IPv6 unicast address only used for communication with other nodes on the same link (LAN or VLAN). Link local addresses cannot be used for communication that must be forwarded through a router. IPv6 auto-configuration automatically assigns a unique link local address in the fe80::/10 address space to each IPv6-enabled interface on a system.
224-239.*.*.*

not allowed (ff00:: to ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff)

 multicast addressUsed to identify a group of hosts joined into a group. IPv4 multicast addresses are in the range 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255 and IPv6 multicast addresses have the prefix ff00::/8.
255.255.255.255 not applicable Broadcast address

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