This page last changed on Apr 18, 2010 by mmcgarry.

Available only in HQ Enterprise

Define Network Host Relationships*

The Network and Host Dependency Manager, available starting in HQ Enterprise 4.2, from the "Plugins" section of the Administration tab, allows you to define relationships between a top level platform (a network device or virtual host) and lower level (operating system) platforms that depend on it.

Defining dependency relationships extends the benefits of HQ hierarchical alerting to top level platforms. For more information see Hierarchical Alerting Prevent a Cascade of Alerts in Resource Hierarchies.

See About Platform Types for a summary of the operating system platform types and top level platform types in HQ.

Step 1: Select a Top Level Platform to Update

To define or change the dependent platforms for a top level platform, you first select the top level platform. For ease of navigation, the Network and Host Dependency Manager provides two ways to find a top level platform. Depending on how many top level platforms you have in inventory, and what you know about your target, one of the following options may be preferable.

Option A: Browse a Filtered List of Top Level Platforms

You can peruse a complete or filtered list of top level platforms in inventory to find the one you want to update.

  1. Select the By Top Level Platform tab to list all top level platforms in inventory.
  2. Filter the list, as desired:
    • Enter the leading characters of the top level platform name in the "Name" field.
    • Select a type of device or host from the Type pull-down.
    • Use the Show pull-down to limit the display to: all top level platforms,  those with existing dependent platforms, or those with none.
  3. Select a top level platform from the filtered list.
    • Any dependent platforms already assigned to the top level platform are listed.
  4. To add or remove dependent platforms, follow the instructions in Step 2.

Option B: Navigate from a Dependent Platform

If the top level platform you want to update already has a dependent platform, you can start from there.

  1. Select the By Dependent Platform tab to list all operating system platforms that have a top level platform defined.
  2. Filter the list, as desired:
    • Enter the leading characters of the platform name in the "Name" field.
    • Select an operating system platform type from the "Type" pull-down.
  3. The dependent platforms that match the filter settings are listed in this format:
    • dependent platform name >top level platform name
  4. Click top level platform name to select it.
    • The dependent platforms already assigned to the top level platform are listed.
  5. To add or remove dependent platforms, follow the instructions in Step 2.

Step 2: Manage a Top Level Platform's Dependents

  1. Navigate to the desired top level platform and select it, using one of the methods described in Step 1.
  2. To remove dependencies:
    • Use the Select and Remove controls on the page.
  3. To add dependencies:
    • Click Add.
    • The Available Platforms popup lists operating system platforms in inventory that are not currently assigned to a top level platform.
    • Filter the list, as desired:
      • Enter the leading characters of the operating system platform name in the "Name" field.
      • Select a operating system platform type from the "Type" pull-down.
    • Select one or more operating system platforms from the list.
    • Click Add Dependency to save the association immediately.
    • Click Done to close the window when you are done updating dependencies for the top level platform. 

About Platform Types

This section lists operating system platform types and "top level" platform types in HQ.

There are two major kinds of platforms in HQ.

Operating System Platforms

An operating system platform is a computer and the operating system that runs on it. The HQ Agent auto-discovers operating system platform using HQ's system plugin. You cannot manually add an operating system platform to inventory. They must be auto-discovered.

HQ supports these operating system platform types:

  • AIX
  • FreeBSD
  • HPUX
  • Linux
  • MacOSX
  • Solaris
  • Unix
  • Win32

Network Device and Network Host Platforms

A network host platform is a virtual or network resource. Network host platforms are monitored over the network, and do not generally have an HQ Agent running on them. Network host platforms are not auto-discovered - an authorized user configures them.

HQ supports these network host platform types:

  • Cisco IOS
  • Cisco Pixos
  • Network Device
  • Network Host
  • VMware VI3 Host
  • Xen Host
Document generated by Confluence on Apr 20, 2010 15:01