Designing and Managing Behavior Models - Discovering and Defining Nodes - Discovering Nodes - Using NerveCenter's IPSweep Behavior Model -
Using a Network Management Platform's Discovery Mechanism      Defining Nodes Manually

Using NerveCenter's IPSweep Behavior Model

For times when you want NerveCenter to discover the devices on a network, NerveCenter includes the IPSweep behavior model. To use this behavior model, you -- or for the first step, an administrator -- must perform the following tasks:

1. Someone must specify the following information:
   • What subnets the IPSweep behavior model should explore and any nodes on those subnets that the model should ignore
   • Whether node information should be sent to NerveCenter or to a network management platform
   • Whether the IPSweep alarm should be started automatically when the NerveCenter Client is started.

     This information can be specified either when NerveCenter is installed or later via the NerveCenter Administrator. For details on installing NerveCenter, see Installing NerveCenter, and for information about using the NerveCenter Administrator, see Integrating NerveCenter with a Network Management Platform.

2. You must make minor changes to the predefined NerveCenter alarm: IPSweep.
3. You must enable the IPSweep alarm.

Once the IPSweep behavior model becomes operational, it will find the devices on the subnets you've specified and, for each node, send a trap to either the NerveCenter server or the network management platform. If the trap is sent to NerveCenter, the server creates a node definition and places it in the NerveCenter database. If the trap is sent to the platform, the platform writes information about the node to its database, and then that information becomes available to NerveCenter.

Both the customization and enabling of the IPSweep alarm is handled from the NerveCenter Client. For instructions on how to modify and enable these alarms, refer to the following sections:

• Modifying the IPSweep Alarm
• Enabling the IPSweep Alarm

Modifying the IPSweep Alarm

The IPSweep alarm actually executes the program, ipsweep, that discovers devices on your network. If NerveCenter was installed in the default directory, this alarm will work correctly without modification. However, if the product was installed in a non-default directory, you must change the Command action associated with one of the alarm's transitions so that the path to ipsweep is correct. You may also want to change the delay between executions of the ipsweep program. The instructions below explain how to change both the delay and the path to the ipsweep program.

 
  To modify the IPSweep alarm:

1. From the client's Admin menu, choose Alarm Definition List.

   The Alarm Definition List window is displayed.

   

2. Select the IPSweep alarm from the list.

   The Open button is enabled.

3. Select the Open button.

   The definition of the IPSweep alarm is displayed in the Alarm Definition window.

   

4. If the alarm is enabled, set its Enabled status to Off.

   The alarm may be turned on even if you've never explicitly enabled it. This is possible because the person who configured NerveCenter may have requested that the server enable this alarm on startup.

5. Double-click the transition from the PingSweep state to the Wait state.

   The Transition Definition dialog is displayed.

   

6. Double-click the Fire Trigger action.

   The Fire Trigger Action dialog is displayed.

   

7. Change the delay for the Fire Trigger action from 5 minutes to the length of time you want to wait between invocations of the ipsweep program.

   A short delay will generate more network traffic, while a long delay will mean a longer wait for new devices to be discovered.

8. Select the OK button in the Fire Trigger Action window.
9. Select the OK button in the Transition Definition window.
10. Double-click the IPSweep transition.

    The Transition Definition window is displayed.

11. Double-click the Process Command action in the Transition Definition window.

    The Command Action dialog is displayed.

    

12. Edit the Command text field so that it contains the correct path to the ipsweep program.
13. Select the OK button in the Command Action window.
14. Select the OK button in the Transition Definition window.
15. Select the Save button in the Alarm Definition window.

Enabling the IPSweep Alarm

Once you've modified the IPSweep alarm, you must enable the alarm for the IPSweep behavior model to become functional.

 
  To enable the IPSweep alarm:

1. For each alarm, perform this step and the following steps. From the client's Admin menu, select Alarm Definition List.

   The Alarm Definition List window is displayed.

   

2. Highlight the name of the alarm you want to enable.

   The Open button is enabled.

3. Select the Open button.

   The alarm's definition is displayed in the Alarm Definition window.

   

4. Select the On radio button in the Enabled frame.
5. Select the Save button at the bottom of the window.

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      You can also enable an alarm by selecting it in the Alarm Definition list, pressing the right mouse button while your cursor is positioned over the highlighted alarm, and selecting On from the pop-up menu.

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