How to Set Inventory Manager Options

Use the Options window (Tools > Options) to set options for the Inventory Manager application. In the Options window, the right-panel view changes depending on what you have selected in the left-panel tree. Expand the Inventory Manager folder in the tree to view all the different options you can set.

Instructions on setting the following Inventory Manager options:

Configuring Alternate Firmware Servers

Use the Alternate Firmware Servers view to configure alternate firmware download servers. Alternate servers allow you to perform remote firmware downloads without having to reconfigure the default NetSight TFTP server settings. By performing firmware downloads via a remote server, you can avoid transferring traffic over a WAN. Alternate servers can be configured to use either the TFTP, FTP, or SCP protocol. These settings apply to all users. You must be assigned the appropriate user capability to add alternate firmware servers.

  1. Select Tools > Options in the menu bar. The Options window opens.
  2. In the left-panel tree, expand the Inventory Manager folder and select Alternate Firmware Servers. The right-panel Alternate Firmware Servers view displays a list of any configured alternate servers.
  3. Click Add Server to open the Add Alternate Firmware Server window where you can configure a new alternate server:
    1. Enter the IP address of the workstation where the server is running.
    2. Enter an Identifier -- a description that helps you identify the alternate server.
    3. Enter the server root path. The root directory is the base directory to which the server is allowed access. The server will be allowed to create files to or read files from this directory and any of its subdirectories. Keep in mind the following requirements when setting the server root path:
      • If your server is configured with a root directory, it must match the root directory entered here.
      • If your server is not configured with a root directory, specify the root directory here as the root of the drive (e.g. C:\ or D:\).
    4. Specify the transfer protocol for the alternate server.
    5. The required connection information changes depending on your selected transfer protocol.
      • For TFTP, specify the port number your TFTP server is configured to run on.
      • For FTP or SCP, specify the port number your server is configured to run on. Select the Anonymous checkbox if your server is configured to accept Anonymous logins; Inventory Manager will automatically fill in the username and password fields. Otherwise, enter your username and password to access the server. If you select the Hide Password checkbox, your password will be replaced with asterisks when it is typed in.
  4. To edit an alternate server, select a server in the list and click Edit Server. The Edit Alternate Firmware Server window opens where you can edit certain server properties.
  5. To remove a server, select a server and click Remove Server.
  6. After you have configured your alternate servers, use the Create Firmware Record window to create new firmware entries and associate them with the alternate servers. Then, use the Set Firmware Server window to specify an alternate firmware download server to be used by a device group or by individual devices.

Setting the Data Storage Directory Path

Use the Data Storage Directory Path view to specify a different directory where Inventory Manager data will be stored. This data includes capacity planning reports, configuration templates, archived configurations, and property files. If you specify a new data directory, you will need to move the data files stored under the old directory to the new directory so that Inventory Manager can find them.

  1. Select Tools > Options in the menu bar. The Options window opens.
  2. In the left-panel tree, expand the Inventory Manager folder and select Data Storage Directory Path.
  3. Enter the path to the base directory where you want to store Inventory Manager data.
  4. Click OK to set options and close the window. Click Apply to set options and leave the window open.

Setting FTP Transfer Settings

Use the FTP Transfer Settings view to set FTP server properties and login information. Specify the FTP server IP address, set paths to the root and firmware directories, and set login information. The FTP server needs access to these directories in order to perform archive operations or firmware/boot PROM upgrades. These settings apply to all users.

  1. Select Tools > Options in the menu bar. The Options window opens.
  2. In the left-panel tree, expand the Inventory Manager folder and the File Transfer Settings folder, and select FTP Transfer Settings. The right-panel FTP Transfer Settings  view is displayed.
  3. Select the Use the NetSight Server's IP checkbox, or use the FTP Server IP field to enter the IP address of the device where the FTP server resides.
  4. Enter the port number your FTP server is configured to run on.
  5. Specify the Root Directory Path. The root directory is the base directory to which the FTP server is allowed access. The FTP server will be allowed to create files to or read files from this directory and any of its subdirectories. The default root directory is the tftpboot directory that Inventory Manager automatically creates when it is installed. If you would like to use an alternate root directory, enter a path to that directory in this field, or use the Browse button to navigate to the directory.
     NOTE:Keep in mind the following requirements when setting the path to your root directory:
    • If your FTP server is configured with a FTP root directory, it must match the root directory entered here.
    • If your FTP server is not configured with a FTP root directory, change the FTP root directory here to the root of the drive (e.g. C:\ or D:\).
    • If you are using an FTP server on a remote system,use the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) when specifying the root directory path. The UNC convention uses two slashes // (Linux systems) or backslashes \\ (Windows systems) to indicate the name of the system, and one slash or backslash to indicate the path within the computer. For example, on a Windows system, instead of using
           h:\ (where h:\ is mapped to the tftpboot directory on the remote drive)
      use
           \\yourservername\tftpboot\
  6. Specify the Firmware Directory Path. The default firmware directory is tftpboot\firmware\images. If you would like to use an alternate firmware directory, enter a path to that directory in this field, or use the Browse button to navigate to the directory. The firmware directory must be a subdirectory of the root directory. (The firmware images stored in the firmware directory are added to the left-panel Firmware Mgmt tree when you perform a firmware discovery.) If you are using an FTP server on a remote system, be sure to use the UNC standard described in the Note above when specifying the path.
  7. Specify your FTP Server login information. Select the Anonymous checkbox if your FTP server is configured to accept Anonymous logins. (Inventory Manager will automatically fill in the username and password fields.) Otherwise, enter your username and password to access the FTP server. For increased security, select the Hide Password checkbox and your password will be replaced with asterisks when it is typed in.
  8. Click OK to set options and close the window. Click Apply to set options and leave the window open.

Setting TFTP Transfer Settings

Use the TFTP Transfer Settings view to set TFTP server properties. This view displays the TFTP server IP address and root directory path specified in the Services for NetSight Server Options view (Suite-Wide options) and lets you set the firmware directory path. These settings apply to all users.

  1. Select Tools > Options in the menu bar. The Options window opens.
  2. In the left-panel tree, expand the Inventory Manager folder and the File Transfer Settings folder, and select TFTP Transfer Settings. The right-panel TFTP Transfer Settings view is displayed.
  3. Specify the Firmware Directory Path. The default firmware directory is tftpboot\firmware\images. If you would like to use an alternate firmware directory, enter a path to that directory in this field, or use the Browse button to navigate to the directory. The firmware directory must be a subdirectory of the root directory. (The firmware images stored in the firmware directory are added to the left-panel Firmware Mgmt tree when you perform a firmware discovery.)
     NOTE:If you are using a TFTP server on a remote system,use the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) when specifying the firmware directory path. The UNC convention uses two slashes // (Linux systems) or backslashes \\ (Windows systems) to indicate the name of the system, and one slash or backslash to indicate the path within the computer. For example, on a Windows system, instead of using
         h:\ (where h:\ is mapped to the firmware directory on the remote drive)
    use
         \\yourservername\tftpboot\firmware\images\
  4. Click OK to set options and close the window. Click Apply to set options and leave the window open.

Setting SCP Transfer Settings

Use the SCP Transfer Settings view to set SCP server properties and login information. Specify the SCP server IP address, set paths to the root and firmware directories, and set login information. The SCP server needs access to these directories in order to perform archive operations or firmware/boot PROM upgrades. These settings apply to all users.

  1. Select Tools > Options in the menu bar. The Options window opens.
  2. In the left-panel tree, expand the Inventory Manager folder and the File Transfer Settings folder, and select SCP Transfer Settings. The right-panel SCP Transfer Settings  view is displayed.
  3. Select the Use the NetSight Server's IP checkbox, or use the SCP Server IP field to enter the IP address of the device where the SCP server resides.
  4. Enter the port number your SCP server is configured to run on.
  5. Specify the Root Directory Path. The root directory is the base directory to which the SCP server is allowed access. The SCP server will be allowed to create files to or read files from this directory and any of its subdirectories. The default root directory on Windows is the C:\ directory and on Linux it is the /root/ directory. If you would like to use an alternate root directory, enter a path to that directory in this field, or use the Browse button to navigate to the directory.
     NOTE:Keep in mind the following requirements when setting the path to your root directory:
    • If your SCP server is configured with an SCP root directory, it must match the root directory entered here.
    • If your SCP server is not configured with an SCP root directory, change the SCP root directory here to the root of the drive (e.g. C:\  for Windows and /root/ for Linux).
    • If you are using an SCP server on a remote system,use the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) when specifying the root directory path. The UNC convention uses two slashes // (Linux systems) or backslashes \\ (Windows systems) to indicate the name of the system, and one slash or backslash to indicate the path within the computer. For example, on a Windows system, instead of using
           h:\ (where h:\ is mapped to the firmware\images directory on the remote drive)
      use
           \\yoursystemname\firmware\images
  6. Specify the Firmware Directory Path. The default firmware directory is C:\firmware\images on Windows and /root/firmware/images on Linux. If you would like to use an alternate firmware directory, enter a path to that directory in this field, or use the Browse button to navigate to the directory. The firmware directory must be a subdirectory of the root directory. (The firmware images stored in the firmware directory are added to the left-panel Firmware Mgmt tree when you perform a firmware discovery.) If you are using an SCP server on a remote system, be sure to use the UNC standard described in the Note above when specifying the path.
  7. Specify your SCP Server login information. Select the Anonymous checkbox if your SCP server is configured to accept Anonymous logins. (Inventory Manager will automatically fill in the username and password fields.) Otherwise, enter your username and password to access the SCP server. For increased security, select the Hide Password checkbox and your password will be replaced with asterisks when it is typed in.
  8. Click OK to set options and close the window. Click Apply to set options and leave the window open.

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