You use the Create New Discovery Task Wizard to create and schedule the tasks used by ZENworks Servers to discover devices on your network and add them to the ZENworks database.
When a discovery task runs, the ZENworks Server creates a discovery request for each IP address and discovery technology (WMI, WinAPI, MAC Address, NMAP, ZENworks, SNMP, SSH) used. For example, if you specify one IP address and use all seven discovery technologies, the ZENworks Server initiates seven discovery requests. Therefore, the more IP addresses you specify and the more discovery processes you use, the longer the discovery task takes to complete. For fastest results, you should create tasks that target smaller ranges of IP addresses and, if possible, assign different ZENworks Servers to process the tasks.
In ZENworks Control Center, click the
tab.In the Discovery Tasks panel, click
to launch the New Discovery Task Wizard.Complete the wizard by using information from the following table to fill in the fields.
Wizard Page |
Details |
---|---|
Select Discovery Type page |
Select .Specify a name for the task. The name cannot include any of the following invalid characters: / \ * ? : " ' < > | ` % ~ |
Discovery Settings page > field |
Chose whether to override the discovery settings configured at the Management Zone. If you want to configure the settings on a device folder or a device, you must select before you can modify the settings. |
Discovery Settings page > |
The discovery process can utilize a variety of different technologies. When more than one technology is used, the discovery process initiates a discovery request for each technology, with all technology requests running simultaneously. This is done for each target IP address. For example, if you use MAC Address, SNMP, and WMI, the discovery process creates three requests for each target IP address. The requests are queued and run according to the setting.If more than one technology request returns information for a discovered device, the information is merged together. In the case of conflicting information, the discovery process chooses the “best” information. Using fewer discovery technologies reduces the time required to complete the discovery task but might also reduce the amount of information received. For more information about each technology, see Section 1.3, IP Discovery Technologies. |
Enter IP Discovery Settings page > field |
To specify a range of IP addresses for the discovery task:
|
Enter IP Discovery Settings page > Excluded Addresses dialog box |
To specify the IP subnets or address ranges to be excluded from the IP discovery. These ranges are added to the ranges specified in the Management Zone, and the combined ranges are excluded while running the discovery task. To specify the IP subnets or address ranges to be excluded from the discovery, do one of the following:
|
Enter IP Discovery Settings page > field |
In order for the SSH, WMI, WinAPI, and SNMP discovery technologies to retrieve information from devices, you must provide credentials that the discovery technologies can use. The NMAP, MAC Address, and ZENworks technologies do not require credentials. Unless you save the credentials, they are stored only in memory. Saved credentials are encrypted in the database for increased security. Credentials that are not saved are cleared from memory when the ZENworks Server is restarted. If you are creating a scheduled deployment task, you might want to save the credentials to ensure that they are still available when the deployment is performed. NOTE:Credentials are not saved in the credential vault. |
Enter IP Discovery Settings page > field |
Not all technologies use the same credentials, and all devices might not have the same credentials, so you might need to specify multiple credentials to cover all targeted devices and to utilize all discovery technologies. To add a credential:
If you add multiple credentials of the same type (for example, multiple Windows credentials), the technologies that require those credentials use them in the order they are displayed in the Credentials panel, moving from top to bottom. Therefore, you should make sure that you place the most common credentials first in order to speed up the discovery process. |
Set the Discovery Schedule page |
Choose whether you want the task to run as soon as it is created (the option) or if you want to schedule the task to run at a future date and time. If you select , choose one of the following schedules:No Schedule: Indicates that no schedule has been set. The task does not run until a schedule is set or it is manually launched. This is useful if you want to create the task and come back to it later to establish the schedule or run it manually. Date Specific: Specifies one or more dates on which to run the task. Recurring: Identifies specific days each week, month, or a fixed interval on which to run the task. See Section B.0, Schedules or click the button for more information on the schedules. |
Select Primary Server page > Primary Server field |
Select the ZENworks Server that you want to perform the discovery task. If you are using any Windows-specific discovery technologies (WMI, WinAPI), you must select a ZENworks Server on Windows (not Linux) or you must have already designated a Windows ZENworks Server as a discovery proxy for your Linux servers. For information on discovery proxies, see Section 2.2, Designating a Discovery and Deployment Proxy Server. |
Select or Edit a Proxy Device page |
The Select or Edit a Proxy Device page lets you choose whether you want to use a proxy device to perform the discovery task. |
Select or Edit a Proxy Device page > |
If you want to use a Windows Proxy instead of the Primary Server to perform the discovery tasks on Windows devices, click the option and configure the settings in the Select Windows Proxy dialog box.A Windows Proxy is used to perform the following actions:
Discovery through WMI, WinAPI and SNMP requires certain ports to be reachable on the target devices, so the Primary Server can send Remote Registry, WMI, or SNMP requests to the target devices. Ports are opened by adding them as an exception in the Windows Firewall configuration settings. By default, the scope of the exception applies only to the local subnet. If the target device is in a different subnet than the Primary Server from which the discovery is run, you need to add the IP address of the Primary Server as an exception. However, if you use a Windows Proxy in the same subnet as a target device, you do not need to change the scope of the Windows Firewall exception. The connection between the ZENworks Server and the Windows Proxy is secured through SSL. Override Zone Window Proxy Settings: Select this option if you want to override the Windows Proxy settings configured at the Management Zone and configure new settings for the task. Windows Proxy: Select a Windows managed device (server or workstation) to be used as a Windows Proxy for performing the discovery tasks instead of a ZENworks Server. The Windows Proxy must reside in the same network as the target devices. Windows Proxy Timeout: Specify the number of seconds you want the ZENworks Server to wait for a response from the Windows Proxy. |
Select or Edit a Proxy Device page > |
If you want to use a Linux Proxy instead of the Primary Server to perform the discovery tasks on Linux devices, click the option and configure the settings in the Select Linux Proxy dialog box.A Linux Proxy is used to perform the following actions:
The SSH discovery requires port 22 to be reachable in order to enable the Primary Server to connect to the target device. If the SSH port is blocked in the Network Firewall, you use a Linux managed device in the same subnet as the target device. The connection between the ZENworks Server and Linux Proxy is secured through SSL. For more information on how to open port 22, see Prerequisites for Deploying to Linux Devices. Override Zone Linux Proxy Settings: Select this option if you want to override the Linux Proxy settings configured at the Management Zone and configure new settings for the task. Linux Proxy: Select a Linux managed device (server or workstation) to be used as a Linux Proxy for performing the discovery tasks instead of a ZENworks Server. The Linux Proxy must reside in the same network as the target devices. Linux Proxy Timeout: Specify the number of seconds you want the ZENworks Server to wait for a response from the Linux Proxy. |
When you finish the wizard, the discovery task is added to the list in the Discovery Tasks panel. You can use the panel to monitor the status of the task. As devices are discovered, they are listed in the Deployable Devices panel. If you have specified IP addresses to be excluded from a discovery task, then the discovery is not run for those IP addresses and the excluded IP addresses are not included in the
tab.