eG Configuration Management 
 

Inventory By Network Devices, Virtual Platforms and Servers

This page appears when either of the following menu sequences is followed:

  • Inventory -> View -> By Network Devices
  • Inventory -> View -> By Virtual Platforms
  • Inventory -> View -> By Servers

Depending upon the option chosen from the Inventory -> View menu, the contents, usage, and title of this page will differ. For instance, if the By Network Devices option is chosen from the View menu, the page title will be INVENTORY BY NETWORK DEVICES. On the other hand, if the By Virtual Platforms option is chosen, the page title will be INVENTORY BY VIRTUAL PLATFORMS. If you chosse the By Servers option, the page title will change to INVENTORY BY SERVERS.

The sections that follow will discuss each of the menu options in detail.

INVENTORY BY NETWORK DEVICES

Network devices such as routers, switches, network nodes, etc., are common-place in IT infrastructures. As the infrastructure grows in size and complexity, more number of such devices are bound to be introduced. It is therefore a challenge for administrators to keep track of how many devices of what types are currently available in the environment. Moreover, if a device fails or is experiencing performance issues, administrators may want to quickly check the configuration of the problem device to determine whether improper configuration of the device is the source of the problem.

To enable administrators to determine this with minimal effort, the CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT console offers the Inventory by Network Devices page.

This page can be accessed by the following menu sequence, Inventory -> View -> By Network Devices.

To use this page, do the following:

  • By default, the INVENTORY BY NETWORK DEVICES page reveals the details of all managed network devices in the target environment. Accordingly, All is the default selection in the Component Type list.

  • If the Component Type chosen is All, then, this page will provide a pie chart depicting the distribution of network devices on the basis of the device type. Using this pie chart, you can understand, at a glance, the number and nature of network assets that are being maintained by the environment.

  • The pie chart will be followed by multiple sections - one each for every device type - displaying the list of managed devices of that type. Clicking on a device name here will lead you to the CONFIGURATION page, where the basic configuration of that device will be revealed. If a device suddenly behaves abnormally, then, this configuration information may aid further prognosis.

  • You can return to the INVENTORY BY NETWORK DEVICES page by clicking on the Back button at the right, top corner of the CONFIGURATION page.

  • Once back in the INVENTORY BY NETWORK DEVICES page, you can pick a particular device type from the Component Type list and click the SUBMIT button therein to view the count of and the names of devices of that type alone. Once the details appear, you can click on a device to view its configuration.

INVENTORY BY VIRTUAL PLATFORMS

In large virtualized infrastructures, multiple virtualization platforms (eg., Citrix XenServer, VMware vSphere, etc.) often co-exist. As a routine practice, administrators of these environments may have to periodically take stock of the number and names of virtual hosts that are available in the environment and the virtualized platform on which they operate. Moreover, if a virtual host under-performs, they may need instant access to the configuration information pertaining to that host to identify inconsistencies (if any) in configuration, which could have caused the host to suffer performance anomalies.

To enable administrators to easily maintain the inventory of virtual platforms and hosts and to provide them with on-demand access to the configuration of specific hosts, the CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT console offers the Inventory by Virtual Platforms page.

This page can be accessed by the following menu sequence, Inventory -> View -> By Virtual Platforms.

To use this page, do the following:

  • By default, the INVENTORY BY VIRTUAL PLATFORMS reveals the details of all virtualization platforms that are in use in the target environment. Accordingly, All is the default selection in the Component Type list.

  • If the Component Type chosen is All, then, this page will provide a pie chart depicting how many virtual hosts of each virtual platform are being currently managed.

  • The pie chart will be followed by multiple sections - one each for every virtual platform - displaying the list of virtual hosts operating on that platform. Clicking on a virtual host here will lead you to the CONFIGURATION page, where the basic configuration information pertaining to that host will be revealed. If a virtual host suddenly behaves abnormally, then, you can view the configuration information to figure out whether the host has been sized right, whether too many VMs have been spawned on that host, and so on.

  • You can return to the INVENTORY BY VIRTUAL PLATFORMS page by clicking on the Back button at the right, top corner of the CONFIGURATION page.

  • Once back in the INVENTORY BY VIRTUAL PLATFORMS page, you can pick a particular virtual platform from the Component Type list and click the SUBMIT button therein to to view the count of and the names of virtual hosts that are operating on that virtual platform alone. Once the details appear, click on a virtual host to view its configuration

INVENTORY BY SERVERS

By default, the INVENTORY BY SERVERS page reveals the distribution of components i.e., servers across the individual component type in the target environment.

This page can be accessed by the following menu sequence, Inventory -> View -> By Servers field.

To view the distribution of components of a chosen component type, do the following:

  • Select a component type from the Component Type list box. If multiple component types are available, then ALL option will be selected by default from this list box.

  • Then click the SUBMIT button.

  • Doing so, will provide a table containing the entire list of components with respect to the chosen component type.

  • Clicking on an individual component, will take you to the CONFIGURATION page, that provides the basic configuration details of the chosen component.

To view the distribution of components across all the component types in the target environment, do the following:

  • Select ALL option from the Component Type list box.

  • Then click the SUBMIT button.

  • This will provide a graphical pie chart illustrating the distribution of the components that are available with each of the component type present in your environment and below the pie chart, tables containing the entire list of components that are available with each of the component type will be listed in individual tables.

  • Clicking on an individual component, will take you to the CONFIGURATION page, that provides the basic configuration details of the chosen component.

Note:

A graphical pie chart will be displayed, only if ALL option is selected from the Component Type list box.

The component types listed in the Component Type list box is exclusive of the component types that belong to the Network Devices and Virtual Platforms categories.