Configuring Network Discovery Settings

Effective discovery of IP networks requires the following elements:

• Valid CIDR or IP address ranges. For more information, see Configuring Discovery Ranges.
• Blackout settings for a defined range to ensure that discovery traffic takes place during policy-mandated time periods. For more information, see Defining Blackout Periods.
• Static IP addresses that define devices with high priority of discovery. For more information, see Specifying Static IPs.
• At least one seed router that can be the router to which NetMRI first connects. For more details, see Adding Seed Routers.
• SDN and SD-WAN discovery settings. For more information, see Configuring Discovery for SDN and SD-WAN.
• Credentials to access network devices for data collection. For more information, see Adding and Editing Device Credentials.

The Discovery Settings page (Settings icon > Setup section > Discovery Settings) defines the scope of the networks that NetMRI explores using CIDR (Classless Inter-Domain Routing) address blocks, IP address ranges, IP address wildcards, static IP addresses, and seed router definitions.

NetMRI applies discovery settings equally to IPv4 and IPv6 networks, with the polling protocols specified in the Settings icon > Setup > Collection and Groups > Network Polling.

To perform your first network discovery, go to the Settings icon > Setup > Setup Wizard. When you use the Setup Wizard, the Wizard guides you through the process of performing discovery on the network. When specifying your first discovery ranges, you also select the network view to use for the discovered network. This step is required and is further explained in the topic Configuring Network Views.