Index

Overview

Discovery refers to the process Statseeker uses to locate devices on your network, and depending on the type of Discovery being run:

  • Test communications between Statseeker and the device for future data collection
  • Collect configuration information from those devices, building an inventory of monitored hardware

The Ping-Only Discovery option uses select IP Address Range configurations (IPv4) or the Hosts file (IPv4/6) to locate devices for monitoring via ping (ICMP). Devices discovered via Ping-Only Discovery won't be monitored via SNMP, so SNMP Credentials are not required for this type of Discovery. For more information see:

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Running Ping-Only Discovery

A Ping-Only Discovery can be run by:

  • Selecting Admin Tool > Network Discovery > Discover My Network
  • Choosing Ping-Only Discovery > Customize And Run

The default configuration for a Ping-Only Discovery:

  • References all enabled IP Address Range configurations
  • Ignores secondary IP's assigned to known devices
  • Runs all custom Auto-Grouping rules
Note:

Earlier versions of Statseeker used a simple text file containing Ip Address:Device Name pairs (same syntax as the Hosts File) for determining the targets of a ping-only discovery. Statseeker 5.6.2 defaults to referencing defined IP Address Ranges but can be switched to use the content of the Hosts File instead.

Select IP Address Ranges or Hosts File

Device Naming

  • Discover via IP Ranges - the device's IP will be used to name the device, if the IP matches an entry in the Hosts file it will be renamed according to the Hosts File
  • Discover via Hosts File - the device is named according to the content of the Hosts File

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Customization Options

The available customization options are:

  • IP Address Ranges or Hosts File:
    • Select which IP Address Ranges to use or specify a new (un-configured) IP Address Range
    • Switch from IP Address Ranges (IPv4 only) to the Hosts file (IPv4/6) as the source for IPs to target

Selecting Discover via Hosts File does not modify the polling configuration for known devices. If a device is currently SNMP polled and has an entry in the Hosts File for device naming purposes, running a Ping-Only Discovery via Hosts File will not modify the SNMP polling state of the device.

IP Address Ranges

The IP Address Ranges section allows for:

  • The selection of specific IP Address Range configurations for use with the Discovery
  • The specification of a new IP Address Range configuration, this will be saved for future use
  • Switching from using IP Address Range configurations to the Hosts file as the IP addresses source for the Discovery
Note: The Hosts file supports both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, see The Hosts File for details on configuring the content.


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Existing Device Behavior

The options in this section determine how Discovery deals with secondary IPs residing on known (previously discovered) devices.

Note: earlier versions provided the option to convert a device from being SNMP polled to be being a ping-only device via options set in the Ping-Only Discovery configuration - this ability has been removed.

Devices can be switched from SNMP polled to Ping-Only polled via:

Option Description
Allow Adding Secondary IPs (default = Off)

When enabled, discovering a secondary IP assigned to a known device will result a new 'ping-only device' being created.

  • Polling (ICMP\SNMP) of the existing device via the primary IP will not be altered in any way
  • The new ping-only device will be monitored via ICMP via the secondary IP


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Post-Discovery Actions

Post-Discovery Actions offers options to email the discovery output to a nominated recipient and to customize what Auto-Grouping actions are taken after Discovery completes.

Option Description
Email Result To Optionally specify an email address to receive the Discovery output
Run Auto Grouping Rules (default = enabled) Determines if the custom Auto-Grouping rules are processed once Discovery is complete, see Automated Grouping for details

Note: the default values for this setting can be configured:

  • Select Admin Tool > Network Discovery - Advanced Options > Advanced Options
  • In the Grouping section, set:
    • Auto Grouping Rules

When the Discovery has been configured to suit the requirements:

  • Click Start Discovery to initiate the process

Once Discovery has begun the output summary will be displayed, updating as Discovery progresses. Details on each item can be viewed by click the associated help icon ().

The Discovery output summary and log are available for download once the process is complete and historical Discovery output is available from Admin Tool > Network Discovery > View Recent Discoveries.

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