Managing Gateway Settings
Gateways allow you to scan your network and create records about the devices and machines. You can install more than one gateway; however, you can only set one gateway as the central gateway. A central gateway allows you to have a single machine that communicates with the main server. All other gateways send information to the central gateway.
Once the gateway is successfully installed it sends its own data to the main server and a CI record is created for the gateway machine. Open the Gateway workspace to find a list of all the gateways.
The data center edition gateway is bundled with Netscan which allows you to scan within a subnet (IP range), and with VMHA which discovers virtual machines using a host/guest model.
Discovery Managers can manage settings from the Gateway workspace.
- View and Set a Central Gateway
- View the List of Agent Tasks
- Update Administrative Credentials
- Manage the Client Task Subnets
- Using Netscan
- Auditing Virtual Machines
View and Set a Central Gateway
From the Gateway workspace, you can specify a central (or default) gateway computer. If the agent task of a client cannot be assigned to any gateway, then the system uses the gateway identified as the central gateway as the fallback.
The system selects the closest matching gateway to a client computer based on the IP address of the client computer. If the client’s subnet falls within the IP range of a gateway, it is associated with that gateway. If a client does not match the subnet range of any other gateway, then the client defaults to the central gateway.
- Log in as the Discovery Manager and open the Gateway workspace. A list of gateway computers is shown, or a default gateway computer record appears.
- If Central Gateway is checked, the computer is the central gateway.
- To make another computer the central gateway, select the record, then click Select/Deselect as Central Gateway to make it the default or central gateway.
- Double-click a computer on the list to view details.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Edition | The computer name registered as the gateway. |
| Settings Version | The number of times that the gateway record has been updated. |
| Settings Last Deployed On | The date and time when the gateway record was updated. |
| Central Gateway | If checked, this gateway is a fallback to handle tasks if no other gateway is found. |
- Click the Computer tab to view data about the gateway computer.
- The computer on which the gateway is installed gets automatically audited after the gateway is installed. The Computer tab is populated only when auditing is completed.
- To open the computer record, select the record and click Go to.
View the List of Agent Tasks
Many of the tasks that you perform within the Inventory workspace are scheduled as agent tasks, for example updating gateway settings. You can cancel an agent task if it has not yet started or is in pending status.
Tasks that are in the pending or in progress status are set to expire if they are not processed within the default expiration time, which is seven days.
Follow these steps to view the list of agent tasks:
| 1. | Log in as the Discovery Manager and open the Gateway workspace. A list of gateway computers is shown, or a default gateway computer record appears. |
| 2. | Double-click to open the gateway that you want to manage. The Gateway page appears. |
| 3. | Select the Agent Tasks tab to see the list of tasks. |
Update Administrative Credentials
To scan or deploy agents from the gateway computer to other machines, you must provide credentials that have administrator privileges on the client machines.
| 1. | Log in as the Discovery Manager and open the Gateway workspace. A list of gateway computers is shown, or a default gateway computer record appears. |
| 2. | Double-click to open the gateway that you want to manage. The Gateway page appears. |
| 3. | From the Administrative Credentials tab, change the user name and password as needed, then click Update. |
| 4. | From the toolbar, click Deploy Settings. The credentials are updated and the settings are deployed. |
Manage the Client Task Subnets
The Client Task Subnets tab controls which computers the gateway manages. It only handles tasks such as deploy agent for computers that reside in the specified subnets (unless it is the central gateway).
The specified gateway should have access to the subnets that you specify here. If there are multiple gateways, the client subnet decides which gateway handles the task.
| 1. | Log in as the Discovery Manager and open the Gateway workspace. A list of gateway computers is shown, or a default gateway computer record appears. |
| 2. | Double-click to open the gateway that you want to manage. The Gateway page appears. |
| 3. | Select the Client Task Subnets tab to see the subnet in which the gateway resides. It specifies the range of IP addresses within the subnet. For example, 192.172.0 covers the entire subnet 192.172. |
| 4. | Click New Record. The New Gateway Subnet window appears. |
| 5. | Enter information into the fields. |
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The name of the subnet. |
| IP Address | The IP address in the subnet range. For example, 192.172.0. |
| Subnet Mask | The subnet mask that defines the subnet range. For example, 255.255.255.0. |
| 6. | Click Save. The window closes. |
| 7. | From the toolbar, click Deploy Settings. The settings are deployed. |
Data center edition gateways have access to Netscan and are able to scan virtual machines. See Using Netscan.
Notes for Upgrading the Discovery Gateway to HEAT Release 2014.1 from Earlier Versions
- Does the Discovery gateway need to be reinstalled/upgraded?
Yes. The Discovery gateway needs to be reinstalled manually. The newer gateway (version 2.0) is backward compatible and does support the client version 1.9.
- How does the new agent get deployed via the gateway?
The current gateway cannot support the newer version of the client agent and must first be upgraded.
- Is uninstall of the old agent required? Initial testing shows the old Discovery agent does not get cleanly removed when manually uninstalled, leaving behind folders and files.
No, you do not need to uninstall the existing client prior to installing version 2.0. The residual folders and files have no side effect when the newer client agent is installed.
- Do we need to remove the agent via the configuration item object or can this be rolled out via a SCCM package?
No, you can simply run the new installer and it will upgrade the agent.