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It can be time consuming to add large numbers of systems to Uptime Infrastructure Monitor using the web interface. As a quicker alternative, you can add multiple systems to Uptime Infrastructure Monitor UIM using the addsystem command line utility and a text file.

The text file, referred to as a hosts file, contains entries that mirror the fields in the Add System window of the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor UIM web interface. These fields contain information about the systems to be added. The addsystem utility requires the hosts file to be located in the scripts sub-folder of the directory in which the monitoring station is installed.

The following text provides an example of the entries in a hosts file:

Code Block
languagesql
Host Name: prod-mainSystem
Display Name: prod1

...


Description: Main production server
Type: Agent

...


Service Group: Production Systems
Port: 9998

...


Group: Windows 2003 Servers

...


%%

...


Host Name: novell01
Display Name: dn3
Type: Novell NRM
SSL: true

...


Port: 546

...


Group: Unix Boxes
Group: Novell Systems

In the hosts file:

  • The information for each host consists of a name-value pair. Each name-value pair is on a separate line, and is separated by a colon. For example, Group: Solaris Servers.
  • The information for each host is separated by two percentage signs (%%) on a new line. 

Creating a

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hosts file

There are several ways to create a hosts file. The simplest option is to use a text editor to create the file and type the required entries. If you have a large number of systems to add, you can copy and paste each entry, and simply modify the appropriate fields. The sample host file attached to this article contains example entries that you can use as a template for your host file.
If you have a list of all your systems in a spreadsheet, you can save the list as a text file or a comma separated values (.csv) file and then write a script to manipulate the text or .csv file into the proper format.

Fields in the

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hosts file

The following table describes the fields used in the hosts file. The fields required to add a system will vary depending on the type of system being added. For example, to add an agent system, you only need to include the Host Name, Type and Port fields (see Managing Your Infrastructure for more information). An example of a properly formatted hosts file is attached to this article (see below).

...

Type

The type of system, which can be one of the following:
Agent Novell NRM
Net-SNMP v1/2 Net-SNMP v3 Virtual Node

Service Group

The name of the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor service group (which enables you to simultaneously apply common service checks to hosts that you are monitoring) to which you want to add the system (optional field).

Port

The port number that you will use to connect to the system (leave this field blank to use the default port for the type of system that you are adding).



Community

If you are adding a Net-SNMP system to Uptime Infrastructure Monitor, specify the read community (which acts like a user ID or password) that gives you access to the system. Valid options are:
public, which enables you to retrieve read-only information. private, which enables you to access all information

Username

If you are adding a Net-SNMP or Novell NRM system to Uptime Infrastructure Monitor, specify the user name required to access the system.

Password

If you are adding a Net-SNMP or Novell NRM system to Uptime Infrastructure Monitor, specify the password required to access the
\nsystem.

Group

The name of the entity group (a set of systems that have been combined in a meaningful way) to which you want to add this system (optional field).

SSL

For agent systems, use this field to specify if Uptime Infrastructure Monitor will securely communicate with an agent installed on the system using SSL. Valid options are true and false (optional field).

Authenticatio n Method

For Net-SNMP systems, use this field to determine how encrypted information traveling between the Net-SNMP \ninstance and Uptime Infrastructure Monitor will be authenticated. Valid options are:
MD5 (a widely-used method for creating digital signatures). SHA (a secure method of creating digital signatures).

Privacy Password

For Net-SNMP systems, the password that will be used to encrypt information traveling between the Net-SNMP \ninstance and Uptime Infrastructure Monitor.

Privacy Type

For Net-SNMP systems, how information traveling between Uptime Infrastructure Monitor and the Net-SNMP instance \nis encrypted. Valid options are:
DES (an older method used to encrypt information).
AES (the successor to DES, which is used with a variety of software including SSL servers).

Pingable

For virtual nodes, use this field to specify if Uptime Infrastructure Monitor can contact the virtual node using the icmp ping utility. Valid options are true and false.




Adding

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multiple systems to UIM

To add multiple systems to Uptime Infrastructure Monitor with the addsystem utility:

...