Run an NCM inventory scan on a node
An inventory scan queries a node and gathers device information including the model and serial numbers, the operating system version, the number of NIC or interface cards, routing protocols, IP addresses, active ports, and much more. An inventory scan is a prerequisite for creating and running a config change template because the framework for creating config change templates depends on the SolarWinds Information Service (SWIS). SWIS is an API installed with NCM that interacts with inventory data in the SolarWinds Platform database. Any device that is not inventoried in NCM cannot be targeted with a config change template.
The information collected from an inventory scan can also be viewed in a number of inventory reports.
You can the choose the type of information collected by NCM for the inventory scan, as well as other settings that help you manage the inventory process. You can perform inventory scans on all of your nodes, node groups, or on a single node.
As a best practice, the system automatically runs a daily inventory scan at midnight. If you have other jobs that run at the same time, you can change the time the inventory scan runs to avoid conflict. To have the latest available information, run an inventory scan before you generate NCM reports.
For the purpose of this guide, and to populate data now, the following example manually runs an inventory scan on a device.
- Click My Dashboards > Network Configuration > Configuration Management.
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Select the device and click Update Inventory.
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Click Yes at the confirmation prompt.
When the inventory scan is complete, the progress bar reads Complete 100%.
- To view an inventory report, see Run an NCM inventory report.