Discovering New Nodes

Question

In order to find new nodes in my network do I have to run the discovery engine again and let it import everything it thinks is new? Will I run into a lot of duplicate nodes? Is there a better way to find new nodes coming up?

My network changes a lot, switches, servers, even routers. My old HPOV would pick up the changes then I'd move them where ever they belonged. Can Orion auto-discover new nodes in any manner?

Thanks Much

FormerMember · Answer

I've had problems with devices that have more than one interface being duplicated in the database. Mainly layer-3 switches but I've had issues with servers that have legs in multiple networks too. Many of my servers can live on their build network as well as their actually used network (the network pointed to by DNS). Both iterations collect statistics but it makes for a sloppy DB. I've been manually cleaning this up as I catch it. My reasons for the rescan have to do with our rapid deployment of ESX systems replacing my formerly real servers and for upgrades taking place on my layer-3 devices throughout the network.

ElisabethZakes · Answer

See Chapter 3 of the Administrator Guide (beginning on page 19). It says, in part:

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There are two ways to add nodes in Orion NPM, and the method recommended is largely determined by the number of devices you need to add. The Network Discovery tool is preferred If you need to add a large number of devices across your enterprise. For a smaller number of devices, the Orion Web Console provides an easy-to-use Web Node Management wizard that is well-suited to the discovery and addition of individual devices. For more information, see “Managing Devices in the Web Console” on page 57.

Before you use the Network Discovery tool consider the following points about the Network Discovery process:

* The Network Discovery process does not duplicate devices that are already in your database. It safely recognizes and adds only new network devices.

* CPU and Memory Utilization charts are automatically enabled for your Windows, Cisco Systems, VMware, and Foundry Networks devices.
* Because Orion licenses are issued by the number of monitored devices, volumes on your network nodes are not automatically discovered.

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So the quick answer is yes, you can run the discovery tool again, and no, you won't get duplicates.