Basic device groups limit their processing options to a minimum. Basic device groups do not contribute to NetMRI Network Scorecard calculations and significantly reduce back-end processing. You can define group membership criteria. For more information, see Understanding Device Group Membership Criteria.
Extended device groups provide a substantial collection of settings to determine how an extended device group processes its information. Along with defining group membership criteria, a number of options help determine the level and types of processing performed by an extended device group:
- Include non-network devices: Enables collecting end-host network segments into a basic device group to avoid expanding system processing cycles on network devices that do not require them.
- Rank: For more information, see Ranking Device Groups.
- Polling Frequency: Allows you to modify the default polling frequency for all devices or for specific device groups. For more information, see Creating Extended Device Groups.
- Switch Port data collection: Enable this only for device groups with L2/L3 Ethernet switching devices as members. This allows you to enforce custom periodic or scheduled polling settings for specific groups. For more information, see Device Groups and Switch Port Management.
- Collect performance and environmental data: Enable or disable device performance and environmental information. For more information, see Changing Performance Data Collection Settings.
- Probe for open ports: Allows NetMRI to probe for open TCP/UDP ports on member devices.
- Identify device using fingerprinting: For more information, see Defining Group Data Collection Settings.
- Probe for NetBIOS name: For more information, see Defining Group Data Collection Settings.
- Analyze for Issues: For more information, see Evaluating Issues in NetMRI and Viewing Device Issues, Configurations, and Changes.
- Test for default credentials: Allows NetMRI to test all devices in the group for the presence of vendor default SNMP credentials, which are a potential element for security breaches, but are also used for assistance in collecting device configurations. Credential default testing is also a compliance measure.
- Collect config files: For more information, see beginning with Configuration Management.
- Regard configurations as 'Locked': Disallows editing of any collection configuration files for members of the device group.
- Allow script execution: Allows the execution of Perl and CCS scripts on group member devices.
- Enable Discovery Blackout: Define time periods when NetMRI will not communicate with devices or networks for discovery.
- Enable Change Blackout: Define blackouts for CLI interaction, scheduled or run-now job executions, Telnet/SSH proxy, and port control UI features for all devices in the group. For more information, see Defining Blackout Periods.
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