Device Addition

Overview

The first step after starting the server and connecting web-interface, is adding your devices to the DeviceExpert inventory. The devices whose configurations are to be managed can be added in bulk or one by one.

How do I add my devices?

Devices can be added to the inventory in three ways:

Discovering the SNMP-enabled devices using the 'Discover Devices' wizard
Adding devices one-by-one manually using the 'Add Devices' option
Importing Devices from a text file

Discover Devices

Pre-requisite

Discovery can be initiated only for the SNMP-enabled devices. So, ensure that your devices are SNMP-enabled before trying discovery.

The Discovery Process

The SNMP-enabled devices available in the network can be discovered and added to the DeviceExpert inventory. You can discover a specific device, devices present in a specific IP range and even multiple devices.

To Initiate Discovery,

Go to Inventory >> New Devices and click "Discover Devices"
The discovery wizard provides the option for discovering the devices with specific IP addresses or devices falling under a specific IP range and multiple devices whose details are present in a file. Based on your need for discovery, choose any one of the options for "Discover Devices by".
Provide SNMP Settings,

Select the SNMP version - v1 or v2c. Enter the value for SNMP community - You can enter either a read community or write community. The default community displayed is "public" which is the default "read community" in most of the devices
Fill-in other details such as SNMP port, snmp timeout value in milliseconds, retry count for discovery - that is, the number of times DeviceExpert has to repeatedly try to discover the device in case, the device is not getting discovered during the first attempt
To initiate discovery, click the button 'Discover'. The wizard will discover the desired device(s) and add them to the inventory. You will find the new device(s) in the inventory list

Format for entries to discover multiple devices from flat files

You can even discover multiple devices by simply loading a file containing the device details. Entries in the file need to be in a specific format as detailed below.

You have the option to enter hostname or IP address or both of the devices to be discovered.
Each entry has to be entered in a separate line.
When you enter both hostname and IP address of a host, you need to separate the entries with a space or a tab.

For example, typical entries in the file would be something like the ones below:

cisco805
catalyst2900 192.168.117.12
foundry2402

192.168.111.2 cisco1710

Tracking Discovery Status

After starting discovery of devices, you can track the status of discovery on real time basis. You can find the progress of discovery (that is percentage of completion) and finally the result - whether the device/devices was/were discovered successfully and added to the inventory. In case of failure of discovery process, the probable reason for the failure is also reported.

Apart from viewing the status of discovery of a particular attempt on real-time basis, you can even view historical information pertaining to all device discovery attempts made so far and their respective status / result by clicking the link "Discovery Status".

Manual Addition of Devices

You can add new devices through Manual Addition also. To add a device manually,

Go to Inventory >> New Devices and click "Add Device"
'Add Device' UI will pop-up. The device can be added by providing hostname/ip address of the device to be added, the device vendor, type, series & model from the drop-down and click "Add"
You will see the progress of device addition in the UI and once the device gets added, you will be prompted to enter credentials for the same

Importing Devices from a Text file

DeviceExpert provides the option to import devices from a text file and add them to the inventory. To import devices from a text file, DeviceExpert requires that the entries in the file conform to a specific format.

Ensure that the entries in the file are in the following format: (column names should be in the same order as shown in the format below with each name separated by a comma):

Format : <Hostname or IP Address>,<Device Template Name>,<Series>,<Model>

Example: catalyst2900,Cisco IOS Switch,2900,2924

192.168.111.11,Cisco IOS Router,800,805

192.168.111.22,Force10 E-Series Switch,E600

procurve2524,HP Procurve Switch

To import devices from a text file,

Go to "Inventory >> New Devices" and click "Import Devices", click "browse" and locate the file and "Import"
check the inventory and see if the device has been added

Editing Host Names in bulk

During the device discovery or device addition process, device names might not get recorded correctly due to DNS issues. This can be corrected later by updating hostnames in bulk by providing the list of host names in a standard flat file.

While the host name of a single device can be edited from Device Properties Page >> Actions >> Edit Properties, the host names of many devices in bulk can be edited through the procedure detailed below.

To edit the host names in bulk, you need to have the list of new host names in a flat file. The flat file should have the Ip Address of the device whose host name has to be modified and also the new host name.

Ensure that the entries in the flat file are in the following format: (Column name should be in the same order as shown below with the entries separated by a space). Ensure that host name does not contain a space. Enter each entry in a new line.

Format: <IP Adress> <New Host Name>

Example: 192.168.111.11 CiscoIOSRouter

192.168.111.22 Force10E-SeriesSwitch