Computer identity - Hostname-only mode

In Snow Inventory, an inventoried computer is identified by four properties: its site name, hostname, BIOS manufacturer and BIOS serial number—concatenated into one property—and an operating system identification number. If two or more of these properties change, Snow Inventory will identify the computer as new, and subsequently create another computer object.

To override the default behavior for identifying computers, configure the Hostname-only mode by using the <HostNameOnly> element in the Inventory server configuration file. The Hostname-only mode will only identify computers by their hostname and site name parameters.

EXAMPLE

Computer ID	Hostname	Site name	BIOS	OSIDNr
1	COMP1	SITE1	X	Y
2	COMP2	SITE1	X	Y
3	COMP1	SITE2	X	Y
1	COMP1	SITE1	Z	A
2	COMP2	SITE1	Y	X

The example table displays how computers are identified when Hostname-only mode is used with the element <HostName>COMP*<HostName>.

In the example above, the Computer ID column displays the computer object ID.

The Hostname-only mode can be configured to affect all computers or a subset according to the table below.

Editing the Inventory server configuration file can result in unexpected outcomes such as overwritten or duplicated data. Take care when editing.

note

The Hostname-only mode applies for all computers that report to Snow Inventory, via both Inventory agents and Inventory clients.

Available criteria group	Description
SiteNames	The site name of the computer, defined in the Inventory Agent configuration file. Example: <SiteName>MySite</SiteName>
ConfigNames	The name of the Inventory Agent configuration, defined in the agent configuration file. Example: <ConfigName>MyWindowsConfig</ConfigName>
HostNames	The hostname of the computer. Example: <HostName>MyServer1*</HostName>
BiosSerialNumbers	The BIOS serial number of the computer. Example: <BiosSerialNumber>123456*</BiosSerialNumber>
OperatingSystems	The operating system of the computer. Example: <OperatingSystem>Windows*</OperatingSystem>

Configuration

A SiteConfiguration group contains a boolean expression and groups of criteria. Each group is given a name used as identifier in the boolean expression. Each group of criteria is evaluated to true or false, depending on whether the evaluated computer fulfills the criteria or not, and then it is added in the boolean expression. Finally, if the boolean expression evaluates to true, then Hostname-only mode is used to identify the computer.

note

• All of the criteria tags are optional.

• The XML schema for criteria definition is case-sensitive.

• The criteria parameters are not case-sensitive.

• There can be multiple SiteConfiguration groups to account for different site configurations.

Default configuration

From Inventory Server version 5.1.7, the configuration file is delivered with a default configuration for HostNameOnly mode applicable to virtual servers (LPAR) on Unix AIX:

<AgentIdentity>
   <HostNameOnly>
      <SiteConfiguration expression="{B}">
         <OperatingSystems name="B">
            <OperatingSystem>AIX</OperatingSystem>
         </OperatingSystems>            
      </SiteConfiguration>
   </HostNameOnly>
</AgentIdentity>

For older installations of Inventory Server, manually add the element to the configuration file.

Configuration examples

EXAMPLE

Target: All computers in all sites.

<Configuration>
  <AgentIdentity>
    <HostNameOnly>
        <SiteConfiguration expression="{A}"> 
            <SiteNames name="A">
                <SiteName>*</SiteName>                
            </SiteNames>   
        </SiteConfiguration>      
    </HostNameOnly>
  </AgentIdentity> 
</Configuration>

EXAMPLE

Target: All computers in MySite, and with a configuration that is either MyConfig1 or MyConfig2.

<Configuration>
  <AgentIdentity>
    <HostNameOnly>
        <SiteConfiguration expression="{A} AND {B}"> 
            <SiteNames name="A">
                <SiteName>MySite</SiteName>                
            </SiteNames>   
            <ConfigNames name="B">
                <ConfigName>MyConfig1</ConfigName>
                <ConfigName>MyConfig2</ConfigName>
            </ConfigNames> 
        </SiteConfiguration>      
    </HostNameOnly>
  </AgentIdentity> 
</Configuration>

EXAMPLE

Target: All computers with a configuration that is either MyConfig1 or MyConfig2.

<Configuration>
  <AgentIdentity>
    <HostNameOnly>
        <SiteConfiguration expression="{A}">    
            <ConfigNames name="A">
                <ConfigName>MyConfig1</ConfigName>
                <ConfigName>MyConfig2</ConfigName>
            </ConfigNames>               
        </SiteConfiguration>     
    </HostNameOnly>
  </AgentIdentity> 
</Configuration>

EXAMPLE

Target: All computers that meet either Scenario 1 or Scenario 2.

• Scenario 1:

  • site is MySite

  • configuration is MyConfig1 or MyConfig2

  • computer name does not contain the string bde and is not equal to host2

• Scenario 2:

  • the BIOS serial number is To Be Filled By O.E.M., System Serial Number, or 0123456789.

<Configuration>
  <AgentIdentity>
    <HostNameOnly>
        <SiteConfiguration expression="({A} AND {B} and not{C}) or {D}"> 
            <SiteNames name="A">
                <SiteName>MySite</SiteName>                
            </SiteNames>   
            <ConfigNames name="B">
                <ConfigName>MyConfig1</ConfigName>
                <ConfigName>MyConfig2</ConfigName>
            </ConfigNames> 
            <HostNames name="C">
                <HostName>*bde*</HostName>
                <HostName>host2</HostName>
            </HostNames>    
            <BiosSerialNumbers name="D">
                <BiosSerialNumber>To Be Filled By O.E.M.</BiosSerialNumber>
                <BiosSerialNumber>System Serial Number</BiosSerialNumber>                
  <BiosSerialNumber>0123456789</BiosSerialNumber> 
            </BiosSerialNumbers>            
        </SiteConfiguration>      
    </HostNameOnly>
  </AgentIdentity> 
</Configuration>