Discovery and Inventory Group

Device Classifications

Specifying device classifications allows you to set not only the device type, make and model, but also the resource type The Symantec Management Platform will use to classify the device within the Altiris framework. Classifications are based solely on SNMP, so a device must be capable and SNMP must be enabled to be able to classify a device. The proper community string or authentication must also be provided in order to authenticate and fetch the necessary data. Lastly, the SysObjectID of the device needs to be known in order to setup a classification.

The following points should be used when discovering what the SysObjectID of a device is:

• The SysObjectID is specific to the make and model of the device. All devices of that make and model will have the same ID.
• The manufacturer knows what the SysObjectID is for a device.
• An Internet search can provide that ID to you. Be sure to not take the first instance of the ID you find unless it is the manufacturer’s definitive website.
• Running an initial Network Discovery (covered in a previous article (4)) can provide you the SysObjectID of a device. To see what it is for a device, use the following steps:
  1. In the Symantec Management Console, browse under Manage > All Resources > Default > All Resources > Asset > Network Resource.
  2. In the right pane, use the search function in the upper right to find the device of a type you wish to classify.
  3. Right-click on the row and select Resource Manager.
  4. On the subsequent window, browse under View > Inventory.
     
  5. Browse under Data Classes > Network Device Data and select Device SNMP.
  6. Copy down the SysObjectID field. This is the device type's SysObjectID to be used later.
• MIB or .my files are not required for classification. Only knowing the SysObjectID is.
• Without a classification, many devices will be specified as a Network Resource (generic), or unknown. This limits how easily the device can be identified in the console.

The following steps you through setting up a Classification.

1. In the Symantec Management Console, browse under Settings > All Settings > Discovery and Inventory > SNMP Settings > and select SNMP Device Classification.
2. Do a search on the SNMP object ID, Manufacturer and Device Model to ensure an entry doesn’t already exist. If it does, you can edit the existing entry to make any corrections or adjustments.
3. Click the Add button.
4. Provide the following details:
   1. SNMP object ID: this will be unique to the device make and model. This is not a unique ID to the specific device, but to the make and model of the device. This means it will apply to the same make and model you have out in the environment.
   2. Device Type: This is for classification purposes for Reporting and filtering.
   3. Manufacturer: This field is a label for the manufacturer and can be used for reporting purposes.
   4. Device Model: This field is a label for the Device Model. Check your documentation for the device to ensure you input the correct model information.
   5. Resource Type: This dropdown correlates directly with the Resource Types available in the Symantec Management infrastructure. For example if you look under Manage > All Resources when you browse the views the Type selected here will determine where in this tree the device will show up. Note that Routers and Switches are considered Infrastructure Devices.
      
5. Click OK to add the classification.
6. Repeat this process for every device you need to classify. This is a manual process required for every device type that is in your environment; that is not already covered by the predefined classifications.

Classification is important to get the most out of Network Discovery. It is also essential when moving to Agentless Inventory as the Device Type and Resource Types determine what types of SNMP calls are made to those devices by default.

Troubleshooting Tips

• When Network Discovery is running the SNMP routines against a discovered device, it will fetch the SNMP Object ID from the device. It will then compare the ID against what is known in the classifications table. If the wrong Object ID has been provided in the classification, it will not use that classification.
• If a device isn’t classified, check to see if SNMP was successful. If no SNMP data class exists (such as Device SNMP data class is missing), likely SNMP was not fetched. Open Resource Manager for the device and check under View > Inventory > Network Device Data to see if SNMP data classes are listed.
• Check timeout and retry values for SNMP if you feel it should be working correctly in the Connection Profile.
• You can test SNMP using the SNMPUtilg or another 3rd party utility.

Next Article:

Network Discovery and Inventory for Network Devices Tips and Tricks Article 6