test

N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 System Administration Guide

Chapter 2 Managing Hosts, Host Types, Host Sets, and Host Searches

You can manage servers through the provisioning system by modeling and storing them as hosts.

By managing and organizing hosts efficiently, the provisioning system enables you to reduce the complexity of deploying, configuring, and analyzing applications in data centers.

This chapter discusses the following topics.

Setting Up Hosts in the N1 Grid Service Provisioning System – Process Overview

The following outline shows the tasks that you need to perform when setting up the provisioning system.

  1. Determine how many hosts you need and the roles that the different hosts will have.

  2. If necessary, define the host types that will map to the hosts that you need to create.

    See Creating Host Types.

  3. If necessary, install the Remote Agent or Local Distributor software on your physical servers.

    See the N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Installation Guide.

  4. Working from the Master Server down the communication chain, create host records for the Local Distributors and Remote Agents in the provisioning system.

    See Physical Hosts.

    Note –

    For each host, you need to define the connection between the physical host and the next host closer to the Master Server in the communication chain. Therefore, the host's parent must be added to the provisioning system before you can add the host itself.

  5. Prepare the hosts.

    See Preparing a Physical Host.

  6. Optional. Create virtual hosts.

    See Virtual Hosts.

About Hosts

The provisioning system has two types of hosts.

The provisioning system uses hosts in the following ways.

Physical Hosts

A physical host represents a server in your network that has been registered with the provisioning system.

Physical Host Characteristics

    Before the provisioning system can work with a server, you must perform the following steps.

  1. Install Remote Agent or Local Distributor software on the server.

  2. Register the server as a physical host by creating a host record for the server.

  3. Prepare the physical host.

The provisioning system prepares a host by installing plug-in specific software on the host's Remote Agent in the form of system service components. A host is considered prepared if all system service components that are applicable to the host have been installed on it. After a host has been prepared, you can perform operations on it, such as running comparisons and deploying applications.

Because each physical host represents a specific server, do not attempt to migrate a physical host record to another server. For example, if you need to replace a server that was registered as a Local Distributor, replace the server and create a new Local Distributor. If you attempt to migrate the old Local Distributor record to the new server, the Master Server might contain records indicating that the new server contains files that haven't been installed.

ProcedureHow to Create a Physical Host Record

You need to create a physical host record any time you need to replace a server or add a server to the provisioning system.

This procedure describes how to create new hosts by using the browser interface. You can also create hosts by using the following command.

For a detailed description of this command, see Chapter 7, hdb: CLI Commands for Managing Hosts, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Before You Begin
Steps

  1. Go to the Hosts page.

    See How to View Hosts.

  2. In the Host text box, type a name for the new host.

  3. From the menu, select a host type for the host.

  4. In the Description text box, type a brief description of the new host.

  5. Click Create.

    The Edit page for the new host is displayed.

  6. Ensure that the host name, description, and host type display properly.

  7. (Optional) Update the host-type attribute values.

    If the host type that you selected has attributes associated with it, the host's Edit page lists the attributes and default values in the attribute table. To assign a non-default value to an attribute, select the checkbox next to the default value. In the text box that appears, type the new attribute value.

  8. Indicate that you are creating a physical host by selecting Physical Host.

  9. Indicate the type of provisioning system application that is installed on this host.

  10. Configure the connection type, network address, and parent information for this host.

    Note –

    For information on configuring SSL and SSH network connections, see Chapter 6, Configuring the N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 to Use Secure Shell, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Installation Guide, or Chapter 7, Configuring the N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 for SSL, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Installation Guide.

  11. (Optional) To add this host to a host set, click Add to Host Sets in the Host Relationships area of the page.

    In the window that appears, select the host set to which you want to add the host.

    For more information on host sets, see About Host Sets.

  12. (Optional) To hide the host, select Hidden at the bottom of the page.

  13. Click Save.

Preparing a Physical Host

The provisioning system prepares a host by installing plug-in specific software on the host's Remote Agent in the form of system service components. A host is considered prepared if all system service components that are applicable to the host have been installed on it. After a host has been prepared, you can perform operations on it, such as running comparisons and deploying applications.

You might need to re-prepare a physical host in the following scenarios.

The browser interface provides several options for when and how to prepare a host. You can prepare a host at the following times.

The browser interface will also prompt you to prepare a host if you attempt to perform an operation on an unprepared host.

ProcedureHow to Prepare a Physical Host

This procedure provides instructions for preparing a host through the Hosts table. This option allows you to prepare several hosts at the same time, which can be useful when you update the entire network after a provisioning system upgrade.

You can also prepare hosts by using the following command.

For a detailed description of this command, see Chapter 7, hdb: CLI Commands for Managing Hosts, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Before You Begin

Before you can prepare a physical host, you must create the host in the provisioning system. For more information on creating a physical host, see How to Create a Physical Host Record.

To prepare a physical host, you must belong to a user group that has Create, Edit, Delete permission on hosts.

Steps

  1. Go to the Hosts page.

    See How to View Hosts.

  2. From the Hosts page, select Indicate Un-prepared Hosts above the Hosts table.

    The Hosts table reloads. Hosts that need to be prepared are highlighted in yellow.

  3. Select each host that you need to prepare.

    You can prepare more than one host at a time.

  4. In the last row of the Hosts Table, click Prepare Host.

    A window appears and provides the status for the host preparation. When the host preparation completes successfully, the window automatically closes. If host preparation fails, error messages appear in the content frame.

Virtual Hosts

A virtual host represents a service that acts as a host for other services.

Virtual Host Characteristics

Virtual hosts represent logical deployment targets. For example, a WebLogic virtual host can represent a WebLogic application server as a deployment target.

The virtual host provides an interface between the component being deployed (in this example, the web application) and the component being targeted (in this example, the application server).

Rather than deploy web applications directly to WebLogic, which would entail working with the application server's custom administrative console on each host, by using the virtual hosts within the provisioning system, you can deploy a web application to the virtual host and the virtual host will provide WebLogic with specific configuration information. This functionality is particularly useful if you need to deploy a web application to several hosts at once.

The following list includes examples of information supplied to a virtual host and used in the interaction between a virtual host and the service running on a remote machine.

By using the provisioning system rather than performing deployments manually, you can receive the following benefits.

Virtual hosts are also useful for maintaining multiple instances of an application on a single physical host. These hosts establish a clear distinction between physical servers and the applications running on them. This distinction is especially useful when managing multiple applications that must interact with one another to function.

Because each virtual host represents a specific service, do not attempt to migrate a virtual host definition to another server. For example, if you need to migrate your WebLogic application server to a new physical host, migrate the application and create a new virtual host. If you attempt to migrate the virtual host to a different physical host, the Master Server will contain records with inaccurate information about the migrated application server.

Targetable Components

Hosts can be created manually or they can be created by a special type of component, the targetable component. Targetable components are available with many of the third-party plug-ins.

The targetable component represents a service that components and plans need to use as an installation or call target. When a targetable component is installed, the component creates the virtual or physical host, which acts as the interface between the targetable component and the other components and plans.

When the targetable component is installed, the host is created with a predefined set of information. This information set includes the following values.

After the targetable component creates the host, you can modify the host's description and host-type attributes.

If a new version of the targetable component is installed, the targetable component's host is updated with the new targetable component information.

When the targetable component is uninstalled, the host that it created is also deleted.

ProcedureHow to Create a Virtual Host Manually

For information about virtual hosts and their uses, see Virtual Hosts.

This procedure describes how to create virtual hosts by using the browser interface. You can also create virtual hosts by using the following command.

For a detailed description of this command, see Chapter 7, hdb: CLI Commands for Managing Hosts, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Before You Begin

Before you add a virtual host, you need to have a physical host setup that will contain the virtual host. You also need to have the deployment target set up.

To create a virtual host, you must belong to a user group that has Create, Edit, Delete permission on hosts.

Steps

  1. Go to the Hosts page.

    See How to View Hosts.

  2. In the top row of the Hosts table, perform the following steps.

    1. Type a name for the new host in the Host text box.

    2. From the menu, select a host type for the host.

    3. Type a brief description of the new host in the Description text box.

    4. Click Create.

    The Edit page for the new host is displayed.

  3. Ensure that the host name, description, and host type display properly.

  4. If necessary, update the host-type attribute values.

    If the host type that you selected has attributes associated with it, the Edit page lists the attributes and default values in the attribute table. To assign a custom value to an attribute, click the checkbox next to the default value. In the text box that appears, type the new attribute value.

  5. Indicate that you are creating a virtual host by selecting Virtual Host.

  6. Type the name of the parent host or click Select from List to select the host name from the window that appears.

    Every virtual host has a parent host that is either a physical host or a virtual host. Virtual hosts can be nested arbitrarily, although the outermost parent host must be a physical host.

  7. (Optional) To add this host to a host set, click Add to Host Sets in the Host Relationships area of the page.

    Select the host set to which you want to add the host.

  8. Click Save.

ProcedureHow to Create a Host With a Targetable Component

This procedure describes how to use a targetable component to create hosts by using the browser interface. You can also create hosts from targetable components by using the following commands.

Before You Begin

To create a virtual host with a targetable component, you must have Run Component Procedures and Allow of Host Sets permissions.

Steps

  1. Install the targetable component.

  2. Go to the Hosts page to see the new host and click Details.

  3. (Optional) Update the host's description.

  4. If necessary, update the host-type attribute values.

    If the host type that you selected has attributes associated with it, the Edit page lists the attributes and default values in the attribute table. To assign a custom value to an attribute, click the checkbox next to the default value. In the text box that appears, type the new attribute value.

  5. Click Save.

  6. If the new host is a physical host, prepare the host.

    See How to Prepare a Physical Host.

Viewing Hosts

When you view hosts, you see the list of virtual and physical hosts along with text describing the host. If the host is physical, information about the server's operating system is also displayed.

You might need to view hosts in the following situations.

ProcedureHow to View Hosts

This procedure describes how to view hosts by using the browser interface. You can also view hosts by using the following commands.

For a detailed description of these commands, see Chapter 7, hdb: CLI Commands for Managing Hosts, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Steps

  1. From the navigation menu, choose Host Setup.

    The Hosts Setup page is displayed.

  2. In the Hosts Setup page, click Hosts.

    The Hosts page lists all the unhidden hosts.

  3. (Optional) To include the hidden hosts, select Show Hidden Hosts in the upper right corner of the page.

  4. (Optional) View more information about a host or host search.

    • To view the details of a specific host, click Details in the row listing the host that you want to view.

      The Details page presents the configuration details of the host.

    • If you would like to view the list of hosts in a particular host search, you can select the host search from the menu above the hosts table.

      The browser interface displays the list of hosts that belong to the selected host search.

    Note –

    If a host was created by a targetable component, the component name displays next to the Created by Component label.

Editing Hosts

You can modify host information after the host has been added to the provisioning system. Hosts are locked when a user saves a modification to prevent different users from simultaneously updating the same host.

You might want to edit a host in the following situations.

ProcedureHow to Modify Host-Type Attributes of a Host

This procedure describes how to modify host-type attributes by using the browser interface. You can also edit hosts by using the following command.

For a detailed description of this command, see Chapter 7, hdb: CLI Commands for Managing Hosts, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

For information about host-type attributes, see About Host Types.

Before You Begin

To modify host-type attributes, you must belong to a user group that has Create, Edit, Delete permission on hosts.

Steps

  1. Go to the Details page of the host you plan to edit.

    See How to View Hosts.

  2. On the Details page, click the Edit button near the bottom of the page.

  3. To update the host's host-type attributes, select the attribute value you want to modify.

    An Attribute Value field appears and is highlighted.

  4. Type the new value in the Attribute Value field.

  5. When you have finished your modifications, click Save.

ProcedureHow to Add a Host to or Remove a Host From a Host Set

This procedure describes how to modify a host's host set membership by using the browser interface. You can also edit hosts by using the following command.

For a detailed description of this command, see Chapter 7, hdb: CLI Commands for Managing Hosts, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Note –

You cannot perform this task on a host created by a targetable component.

Before You Begin

To modify a host's host set membership, you must belong to a user group that has Create, Edit, Delete permission on hosts.

Steps

  1. Go to the Details page of the host you plan to edit.

    See How to View Hosts.

  2. On the Details page, click the Edit button near the bottom of the page.

  3. Update the host's host set membership.

    • To add the host to a host set, click Add to Host Sets.

      The Add to Host Sets window appears.

      1. Select the host set to which you want to add the host.

        You can select multiple host sets at once.

      2. Click Add Host to Selected Host Sets.

    • To remove a host from a host set, select the host set in the Member of Host Sets Field and click Remove from Selected Host Sets.

  4. When you have finished your modifications, click Save.

ProcedureHow to Modify a Host Description

This procedure describes how to modify a host description by using the browser interface. You can also edit hosts by using the following command.

For a detailed description of this command, see Chapter 7, hdb: CLI Commands for Managing Hosts, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Before You Begin

To edit a host, you must belong to a user group that has Create, Edit, Delete permission on hosts.

Steps

  1. Go to the Details page of the host you plan to edit.

    See How to View Hosts.

  2. On the Details page, click the Edit button near the bottom of the page.

  3. To change the host description, edit the text located in the Description text field.

  4. When you have finished your modifications, click Save.

Hiding Hosts

Because the objects you store in the provisioning system are deeply interconnected, you cannot always delete a host. You can choose to hide objects that you are not currently using to keep your work space uncluttered.

Hiding an object does not make it inactive or unusable. For example, if a host is contained in a host set, hiding the host does not remove the host from the host set. Therefore, if you run a plan on the host set, the host will still be included in the plan run.

Note –

When you hide a host, the host is hidden for all users and user groups.

For information on deleting a host, see How to Delete a Host.

ProcedureHow to Hide a Host

This procedure describes how to hide hosts by using the browser interface. You can also hide hosts by using the following command.

For a detailed description of this command, see Chapter 7, hdb: CLI Commands for Managing Hosts, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Before You Begin

To hide a host, you must belong to a user group that has Create, Edit, Delete permission on hosts.

Steps

  1. Go to the Details page of the host you plan to hide.

    See How to View Hosts.

  2. Click Edit.

  3. Select Hidden at the bottom of the page.

  4. Click Save.

    The host no longer appears in the Hosts page.

  5. (Optional) If you hide the host because you will no longer use it, verify that the host is not used in any host sets or found by a host search.

    In the Host Relationships section of the host's Details page, verify that no host sets are listed in the Member of Host Sets box.

    Note –

    If a host search includes a hidden host and the host search is included in a host set, plans that are run on the host set will be run against the hidden host.

ProcedureHow to Display a Hidden Host

You might need to display a hidden host in the following situations.

This procedure describes how to view hidden hosts by using the browser interface. You can also view hidden hosts by using the following command.

For a detailed description of this command, see Chapter 7, hdb: CLI Commands for Managing Hosts, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Steps

  1. Go to the Hosts page.

    See How to View Hosts.

  2. In the upper right corner of the Hosts page, select Show Hidden Hosts.

    The Hosts page now lists hidden hosts as well as displayed hosts. Hidden hosts appear in a row colored dark gray.

  3. (Optional) To remove the hide feature from this host, perform the following steps.

    1. Find the row listing the host you want to view and click Details.

      A Details page for the host appears. The Details page presents the configuration details of the host.

    2. Deselect Hidden at the bottom of the page.

    3. Click Save.

Deleting a Host

By deleting a host, you remove the host from the provisioning system. If you want to keep the host but not view it, see How to Hide a Host.

When you delete a host, the provisioning system will also delete the following objects.

You might want to delete a host in the following situations.

ProcedureHow to Delete a Host

Caution – Caution –

Deleting a host is permanent and cannot be undone. Deleting a host might also be time consuming.

This procedure describes how to delete hosts by using the browser interface. You can also delete hosts by using the following command.

For a detailed description of this command, see Chapter 7, hdb: CLI Commands for Managing Hosts, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Note –

If the host that you want to delete was created by a targetable component, see How to Delete a Host Created by a Targetable Component.

Before You Begin

You cannot delete a host that is referenced by one of the following objects.

To delete a host, you must belong to a user group that has Create, Edit, Delete permission on hosts.

Steps

  1. Go to the Details page of the host that you plan to delete.

    See How to View Hosts.

  2. Click the Delete button to delete the selected host.

    You are asked to verify that you want to delete the host.

  3. Click the Continue to Delete button.

    After the host has been deleted, the Hosts table no longer displays the host.

ProcedureHow to Delete a Host Created by a Targetable Component

This procedure describes how to delete a host that was created by a targetable component by using the browser interface. You can also delete hosts by using the following command.

Before You Begin

To create a virtual host with a targetable component, you must have Run Component Procedures and Allow of Host Sets permissions.

Step

    Uninstall the targetable component.

    After the targetable component is uninstalled, the Hosts table no longer displays the host.

CLI Commands for Networking Hosts

The following net commands perform networking tasks related to hosts.

net.gencfg

Generates the Transport Configuration file for a provisioning system application. You will need to run this command manually if you updated the network configuration information of a host after the host was created.

net.ping

Checks connectivity to a Remote Agent or Local Distributor by executing the TCP/IP ping command.

net.traceroute

Determines the route to a Remote Agent or Distributor.

About Host Types

A host type is a container for variables that are assigned to a particular host. These variables are called host-type attributes and are based on some combination of host characteristics, such as function, location, or configuration. A host type determines the set of host-type attributes that are assigned to a host.

Creating a host type or using an existing host type provides two benefits.

By assigning each host a host type, grouping hosts by their most important characteristics is easier. For example, you can define a host type for the hosts that are used as web servers, another host type for hosts that are used for database servers, and so on.

Host types also enable you to set configuration values dynamically when a data center operation is performed. A web server host type might include attributes such as Location, WebServer_User, WebServer_Group, HTTP_Port, and HTTPS_Port. A database server host type might include a different set of attributes such as Location, DB_Directory, DB_InstanceName, DB_Port, and DB_SecurePort. If, in this example, you define a host type for web servers and the host type includes an HTTP port variable, when you perform an installation on hosts of this host type, your installation plan could automatically set the HTTP port variable of each web server based on the HTTP port attribute value set for each host.

Every host that you manage with the provisioning system will be assigned a host type, either the default host type, crhost, or a host type that you have defined. Each host can only have one host type.

When hosts are created by targetable components, the host type is automatically assigned. For more information about targetable components, see Targetable Components.

Default Host Type

The N1 Grid Service Provisioning System software includes the default host type, system#crhost. By default, all hosts are assigned this host type. The system#crhost host type cannot be modified or deleted. The system#crhost type includes two attributes:

There are no default values for these attributes. The name value must be specified for each host when you define the host. The description value is optional.

Host-Type Attributes

A host type is distinguished by its name and its attributes. An attribute is a name-value pair.

Host-Type Attribute Characteristics

When you define a host, you can selectively override the host type's default attribute values. Default values that are not overwritten will be applied to the host. If a host-type attribute's default value is changed after hosts are created, all hosts that did not override the default value are updated to reflect the new attribute value.

Creating Host Types

Host types enable you to group hosts by particular characteristics. Host types also enable you to set up dynamic configuration values.

For more information on substitution variables and configuration generation, see Chapter 6, Configuration Generation, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Plan and Component Developer’s Guide.

ProcedureHow to Create Host Types

This procedure describes how to create host types by using the browser interface. You can also create host types by using the following command.

For a detailed description of this command, see Chapter 7, hdb: CLI Commands for Managing Hosts, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Note –

If you would like to create a new host type from an existing host type, see How to Edit Host Types.

Before You Begin

To create a host type, you must belong to a user group that has Create, Edit, Delete permission on hosts.

Steps

  1. Go to the Host Types page.

    See How to View Host Types.

  2. In the top row of the table on the Host Types page, type a name and brief description for the new host type and click Create.

    The Host Types Details page for the new host type is displayed.

  3. Perform the following steps for each attribute that you plan to assign to the new host type.

    1. Type a name for the attribute in the Attribute column.

    2. (Optional) To assign a default value to the attribute , type a value in the Default Value column.

      If you do not assign a value to the attribute, the default value is an empty string.

    3. In the action column, click Add.

  4. (Optional) To hide the host type, select Hidden.

  5. To save the host type, click Save.

ProcedureHow to Create a Host Type Based on an Existing Host Type

Before You Begin

To edit a host type, you must belong to a user group that has Create, Edit, Delete permission on hosts.

Steps

  1. Go to the Host Types page.

    See How to View Host Types.

  2. On the Host Types page, find the row listing the host type that you plan to edit and click Details.

    A Details page appears for the selected host type.

  3. Use the controls on the Edit page to modify the host type.

  4. To save the modified host type as a new host type, click Save As.

    Another Details page appears.

  5. Type the name of the new host type.

    The new host type name must be unique to existing host types.

  6. Click Continue to Save As.

ProcedureHow to View Host Types

This procedure describes how to view host types by using the browser interface. You can also view host types by using the following commands.

For a detailed description of these commands, see Chapter 7, hdb: CLI Commands for Managing Hosts, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Steps

  1. From the navigation menu, choose Administrative.

    The browser interface displays the Administrative page.

  2. In the Administrative page, click Host Types.

    The browser interface displays the Host types page.

  3. (Optional) To include hidden host types, select Show Hidden Host Types in the upper right corner of the page.

  4. (Optional) To view the details of a specific host type, click Details in the row that lists the host type that you want to view.

    A Details page for the Host Type is displayed.

Editing Host Types

You can make the following modifications to the host type.

For more information about the impact of updating host-type attributes, see Host-Type Attributes.

ProcedureHow to Edit Host Types

If you need to edit the host-type attributes of a particular host, see How to Modify Host-Type Attributes of a Host.

This procedure describes how to edit host types by using the browser interface. You can also edit host types by using the following command.

For a detailed description of this command, see Chapter 7, hdb: CLI Commands for Managing Hosts, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Before You Begin

To edit a host type, you must belong to a user group that has Create, Edit, Delete permission on hosts.

Steps

  1. Go to the Details page of the host type that you want to edit.

    See How to View Host Types.

  2. Use the controls on the Details page to modify the host type.

    • Add an attribute.

      1. Type the name of the new attribute in the Attribute field.

      2. (Optional) Type the default value in the Default Value field.

        If you do not assign a value to the attribute, the default value is an empty string.

    • Remove an attribute by clicking Remove in the Actions column.

  3. (Optional) To hide the host type, click Hidden.

  4. To save the host type, click Save.

ProcedureHow to Delete Host Types

Caution – Caution –

Deleting a host type is permanent and cannot be undone. Deleting a host type might also be time consuming.

This procedure describes how to delete host types by using the browser interface. You can also delete host types by using the following command.

For a detailed description of this command, see Chapter 7, hdb: CLI Commands for Managing Hosts, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Before You Begin

You cannot delete a host type if any hosts of that type exist. You also cannot delete a host type that is owned by a plug-in.

To delete a host type, you must belong to a user group that has Create, Edit, Delete permission on hosts.

Steps

  1. Go to the Details page of the host type that you plan to delete.

    See How to View Host Types.

  2. Click the Delete button at the bottom of the page.

    Another page appears that provides the option to cancel the deletion.

    Note –

    You cannot delete host types that are in use. If a host type that you try to delete is being used, a message will list the host type and the reason that it was not deleted.

  3. Verify that you are deleting the correct host type and click the Continue to Delete button.

    The host type that you deleted is no longer listed in table on the Host Types page.

About Host Sets

The provisioning system enables you to group hosts into logical groups called host sets. After hosts are grouped into host sets, you can perform operations on them in the same manner as a single host. Host sets enable you to perform operations on a large number of hosts simultaneously.

A host set can include any of the following objects.

When you define a host set to include a host search, the host search executes and the initial list of hosts is determined. Any time an operation is performed on the host set, the host search is performed again and an updated list of hosts is generated. For example, when the provisioning system uses the host set as a target for an installation or a comparison, the list of hosts that meet the host search criteria is regenerated.

Host sets based on host searches enable the provisioning system to group hosts based on their actual configurations at runtime. Host searches ensure that your host set contains all the hosts that match the search criteria, rather than requiring you to remember which hosts are configured a certain way.

Host sets enable you to perform operations on groups of hosts. A host can appear in a host set only once. If two host searches happened both to retrieve the same hosts, each of these hosts would appear in the host set just once. Duplicate entries are removed from the host set list.

Platform Host Sets

The provisioning system includes a hierarchy of nested host sets that are based on the OS platforms of hosts. The top host set is any, which includes hosts running any of the supported OS platforms.

Platform host sets are used to limit the hosts that a particular component or resource may be installed on. Platform host sets typically contain a host search that matches one or more platform-specific properties. The provisioning system includes several predefined platform host sets (and associated host searches).

Each platform host set that is included with the provisioning system will be prefixed with system# (for example system#Windows 2000 Server). The prefix indicates that they are defined by the system plug-in.

Managing Host Sets

Host sets enable you to perform operations on a large number of remote targets simultaneously.

ProcedureHow to Create Host Sets

This procedure describes how to create host sets by using the browser interface. You can also create host sets by using the following command.

For a detailed description of this command, see Chapter 7, hdb: CLI Commands for Managing Hosts, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Before You Begin

To create a host set, you must belong to a user group that has Create, Edit, Delete permission on hosts.

Steps

  1. Go to the Host Sets page.

    See How to View Host Sets.

  2. In the top row of the Host Sets table, type a name and a brief description for the host set you plan to create and click Create.

    A Details page for the new host set is displayed. This page includes the list of current member hosts and controls to add or remove hosts from the host set.

  3. Use the controls on this page to define the host set.

    Each time you add a host, host set, or host search to the host set, the Host Sets page updates the list of hosts in the host set.

  4. Click Save.

ProcedureHow to View Host Sets

You can survey how hosts are currently grouped within the provisioning system.

This procedure describes how to view host sets by using the browser interface. You can also view host sets by using the following commands.

For a detailed description of these commands, see Chapter 7, hdb: CLI Commands for Managing Hosts, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Steps

  1. From the navigation menu, choose Host Setup.

    The Host Setup page is displayed.

  2. In the Host Setup page, click Host Sets.

    The Host Sets page is displayed. By default, this page lists all the unhidden host sets.

  3. (Optional) To include hidden host sets, select Show Hidden Host Sets in the upper right corner of the page.

  4. (Optional) To view the details of a specific host set, click Details in the row listing the host set that you want to view.

    The Details page for the host set lists the host set's member criteria along with the hosts that are included in the host set.

ProcedureHow to Edit or Hide Host Sets

This procedure describes how to edit host sets by using the browser interface. You can also edit host sets by using the following command.

For a detailed description of this command, see Chapter 7, hdb: CLI Commands for Managing Hosts, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Before You Begin

To edit a host set, you must belong to a user group that has Create, Edit, Delete permission on hosts.

Steps

  1. Go to the Details page for the host set that you need to edit.

    See How to View Host Sets.

    The Details page for the host set is displayed. This page will list the host set's member criteria and the hosts that currently match this criteria and are included in the host set.

  2. Use the controls on this page to define the host set.

    Each time you add a host, host set, or host search to the host set, the Details page updates the list of hosts in the host set.

  3. (Optional) To hide the host set, select Hidden.

  4. Click Save.

ProcedureHow to Delete Host Sets

Caution – Caution –

Deleting a host set is permanent and cannot be undone. Deleting a host set might also be time consuming.

You can remove unused host sets from the provisioning system. If you want to keep the host set but not view it, see How to Edit or Hide Host Sets.

You can also delete host sets by using the following command.

For a detailed description of this command, see Chapter 7, hdb: CLI Commands for Managing Hosts, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Before You Begin

You cannot delete the host set if a user group has execute permission on the host set

You also cannot delete a host set that is referenced by one of the following objects.

To delete a host set, you must belong to a user group that has Create, Edit, Delete permission on hosts.

Steps

  1. Go to the Details page of the host set you plan to delete.

    See How to View Host Sets.

  2. At the bottom of the Details page, click Delete.

    You are asked to verify that you want to delete the host search.

  3. Confirm that you want to delete the host set by clicking Continue to Delete.

    After the host set is deleted, the Host Sets page is updated.

About Host Searches

A host search is a query that is run on hosts in the provisioning system. Host searches yield a list of hosts that match criteria that you specify in your host-search query. You can use host searches to create lists of hosts that have the same host type or are configured with the same subnet masks.

Host Searches are objects with names and attributes. Therefore, when you create a host search, you assign it a name, a description, search parameters, and then save it. Because host searches are objects and saved, you can invoke them whenever you need to determine which hosts match the criteria described in the host search.

Invoking host searches provides you with current information about host configurations.

Hosts searches can be defined to search for any attribute on a host including host name, description, host type, and any user defined attribute associated with the host type. Additionally, hosts can be searched for by their operating systems and version.

By defining a host set (a group of hosts) to include the list of hosts that are returned by a specific host search, you can dynamically generate a list of hosts for use as targets based on the host configurations at runtime.

Note –

For more information on host sets, see About Host Sets.

Creating and Editing Host Searches

You might want to create or edit a host search in the following situations.

ProcedureHow to Create or Edit Host Searches

You can generate a dynamic list of hosts according to specified criteria. You might want to edit a host search when your criteria changes.

This procedure describes how to create or edit host searches by using the browser interface. You can also create or edit host searches by using the following commands.

For a detailed description of these commands, see Chapter 7, hdb: CLI Commands for Managing Hosts, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Before You Begin

To create or edit a host search, you must belong to a user group that has Create, Edit, Delete permission on hosts.

Steps

  1. Go to the Host Searches page.

    For more information about navigating to the Host Searches page, see How to View Host Searches.

  2. Create a host search or display the Details page for an existing host search.

    • If you are creating a host search, in the top row of the Host Searches table, type a name and a brief description for the new host search and click Create.

    • If you are editing an existing host search, find the row listing the desired host search and click Details.

      A Details page for the host search is displayed. This page displays the search criteria for the host search.

  3. Add an attribute value as a search criterion.

    1. Use the menu in the attribute column to select an attribute to be added to the search.

      This menu will list any attributes you have defined as part of host types, as well as standard attributes.

    2. Use the menu in the Comparison column to select either Equals or Contains.

    3. In the Value column of the table, type the value of the attribute that you plan to search against.

      The search value can include the wildcard patterns . and *.

    4. In the Action column of the table, click Add to add this attribute-comparison-value criterion to the search.

      You can add as many of these criteria as you like.

  4. Indicate whether the search should look only for physical hosts, only for virtual hosts, or for both.

  5. Indicate whether the search should be limited to hosts running a specific provisioning system application: the Master Server, a Local Distributor, or a Remote Agent.

  6. (Optional) To view the list of hosts that match the criteria you have defined so far, click Refresh Listing.

  7. When you have defined your host search, click Save.

    The Host Searches page lists the new or modified host search.

ProcedureHow to View Host Searches

This procedure describes how to view host searches by using the browser interface. You can also view host searches by using the following commands.

For a detailed description of these commands, see Chapter 7, hdb: CLI Commands for Managing Hosts, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Steps

  1. From the navigation menu, choose Host Setup.

    The Host Setup page is displayed.

  2. In the Host Setup page, click Host Searches.

    The browser interface displays the Host Searches page. By default, this page lists all the unhidden host searches.

  3. (Optional) To include the hidden host searches, select Show Hidden Host Searches in the upper right corner of the page.

  4. (Optional) To view the details of a specific host search, click Details in the row listing the host set that you want to view.

    The Details page is displayed for the host search that you selected.

ProcedureHow to Delete Host Searches

Caution – Caution –

Deleting a host search is permanent and cannot be undone. Deleting a host search might also be time consuming.

This procedure describes how to delete host searches by using the browser interface. You can also delete host searches by using the following command.

For a detailed description of this command, see Chapter 7, hdb: CLI Commands for Managing Hosts, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Before You Begin

If a host search was created by a plug-in, you must delete the plug-in to delete the host search.

To delete a host search, you must belong to a user group that has Create, Edit, Delete permission on hosts.

Steps

  1. Go to the Details page of the host search that you plan to delete.

    For more information about navigating to the Host Searches page, see How to View Host Searches.

  2. At the bottom of the Details page, click Delete.

    You are asked to confirm the deletion of the host search.

  3. Confirm that you want to delete the host search by clicking Continue to Delete.

    After the host search is deleted, the browser interface displays an updated Host Searches page.