Add down nodes with bulk discovery

Question

Hi, I need add to OrionNPM about 220 nodes that actually are offline; Network Discovery only adds up nodes, then do it manually (one by one) is a really mess. Then I think in a simple an fast way to add the down nodes with Network Discovery -> Bulk Upload   :-)

The trick is add to windows the "Microsoft loopback Adapter", It´s a virtual adapter, then assign the down IP´s to the new interface in batch and run Network Discovery. Finally uninstall the Virtual adapter ;-)

Success!!!!

Add Vitual loopback Adapter

* Control Panel -> Add Hardware 
* You will next be asked if the hardware is connected. Select Yes
* Now, select *from the bottom of the list* the ‘Add a new hardware device’ option
* Click Install the hardware that I manually select from a list, and then click Next. 
* Select ‘Network adapters’ from the Common hardware types section within the dialog box. Click Next. 
* Select Microsoft and then the Microsoft Loopback Adapater, and then click Next. 
* Lastly, you will be prompted to Finish up the installation.
* In Network Connections rename the new adapter to Loopback

Adding a lot of IP to Loopback

In the CLI window paste a batch like this:

netsh in ip add address "Loopback" 10.0.0.2 255.255.255.254
netsh in ip add address "Loopback" 10.4.0.2 255.255.255.254
netsh in ip add address "Loopback" 10.0.9.2 255.255.255.254
netsh in ip add address "Loopback" 10.1.0.9 255.255.255.254
netsh in ip add address "Loopback" 10.7.0.2 255.255.255.254
netsh in ip add address "Loopback" 10.0.0.5 255.255.255.254 
...

NOTES

*  Be careful with the net mask assigned to each IP (must be very small), if overlaps with local network you can lose conectivity wit your Orion server
* Virtual Adapter only supports 254 IP´s

d09h · Answer

If you need to add hundreds of nodes at a time (or even a few dozen) adding secondary IP addresses to a layer three switch can get you there.  The original post kind of solved an issue for me except it did not scale as far as what I'm describing.  What I described allowed for adding more than 500 nodes that were not yet responding to ping.

herwig · Answer

Hi,

thanks charly_DF you made my day too!

This is getting more important for NCM 7+ installations because there you can only add nodes via NPM core module --> and these must be up for import!!
Now what will you do if you have to install Solarwinds Products in a network, where you have to change the configuration (SNMP, access-lists) on 100+ devices previously to get them managed? It's a chicken and egg problem....

I want to add a tiny change in how to find the "Add legacy hardware" wizzard in Windows 2008 R2.
Adding a Loopback interface is only possible in this dialogue:

Start -> Computer -> Right-click, Properties -> Device Manager -> Computer Name, Right-click, Add Legacy Hardware -> Next -> Install the hardware I manually select from a list -> Next -> Network Adapters -> Microsoft on the right, Loopback adapter on the left -> Next

I recognized there is also a small change on the netsh syntax, this worked for me:

netsh interface ipv4 add address "Looper" 10.0.0.1 255.255.255.255
netsh interface ipv4 add address "Looper" 10.0.0.2 255.255.255.255
netsh interface ipv4 add address "Looper" 10.0.0.3 255.255.255.255
netsh interface ipv4 add address "Looper" 10.0.0.4 255.255.255.255
netsh interface ipv4 add address "Looper" 10.0.0.5 255.255.255.255
netsh interface ipv4 add address "Looper" 10.0.0.6 255.255.255.255

And also do not forget to install VMWare Tools if you're running Orion on ESX - I hadn't and so the installation of the Loopback adapter caused a crash on my VM.

FormerMember · Answer

brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!  well done, super!  i have this scenario every couple of months, and you have solved it, well done, u rock...  i owe you a beer!  if you are ever in Newry, i'll buy you a Carlsberg!