How to Discover Linux/Unix/Mac OS Machines

Linux/Unix/Mac OS discovery provides agentless inventory capabilities for supported non-Windows systems. Once discovered, you can configure applications you want to track into license units, run reports, and track purchasing information.

Configure Linux/Unix/Mac OS Discovery

  1. From the Tools menu, select Discover, then click Linux/Unix/Mac OS.
  2. In the Discover Linux/Unix/Mac OS dialog box, click Configure.
  3. In the Configure Linux/Unix/Mac OS Discovery dialog box, click Add.
  4. Enter information about where to look for Linux/Unix/Mac OS machines, then, depending on where you want to look, click the appropriate option.

    To query a range of IP addresses:

    1. Click IP Address Range. This opens the Add Linux/Unix/Mac OS Discovery IP Address Range dialog box.
    2. Enter the start and end IP addresses for the range, and the required credentials. A username is required, and you can enter either a password or a private key and passphrase.

    To query a specific subnet of your network:

    1. Click Subnet. This opens the Add Linux/Unix/Mac OS Discovery Subnet dialog box.
    2. Enter the subnet address and mask to query, and the required credentials. A username is required, and you can enter either a password or a private key and passphrase.

    If you know the name or IP address of the machine(s) you want to discover:

    1. Click Subnet. This opens the Add Linux/Unix/Mac OS Discovery Subnet dialog box.
    2. Enter the subnet address and mask to query, and the required credentials. A username is required, and you can enter either a password or a private key and passphrase.
  5. Click Machine. This opens the Add Linux/Unix/Mac OS Discovery Machine(s) dialog box.
  6. Enter the IP address or name of the machine(s) you want to discover, and the required credentials. A username is required, and you can enter either a password or a private key and passphrase. Use commas to separate multiple names or IP addresses.
  7. Recommended: Click Test to make sure a connection can be established before proceeding.
  8. Click OK to save your configuration and return to the Configure Linux/Unix/Mac OS Discovery dialog box. The checkbox for the configuration you just entered is marked, which means these machines will be discovered next time discovery or scheduled discovery runs.
    If you are configuring an IP address range or subnet, a dialog box opens to tell you how many IP addresses this configuration will attempt to query.
  9. Save your configuration by clicking Yes or, if the number of machines is not what you expect, click No to return to the dialog box and make changes. Although querying a large number of machines can take some time, it does not affect machine performance or the ability to run other tasks.
  10. Repeat steps 3 – 5 for any additional discovery configurations you want to add.
  11. Click OK to return to the Discover Linux/Unix/Mac OS dialog box. Linux/Unix/Mac OS discovery configuration is now complete and available to run, as described next.

Run Linux/Unix/Mac OS Discovery

You can run Linux/Unix/Mac OS discovery immediately after configuration by clicking Discover, or you can run it later.

To run discovery later:

  1. After completing the configuration steps above, click Close.
  2. Select the Tools menu, then click Discover.
  3. Click Linux/Unix/Mac OS Discovery, then click Discover.

The options you specified during configuration remain in effect until you change them, and all selected processes listed in the Configure Linux/Unix/Mac OS Discovery dialog box are run when you click Discover.

Once configured, the Linux/Unix/Mac OS discovery process automatically runs at 2:30 AM Pacific Time each Sunday by default (unless you manually ran Linux/Unix/Mac OS discovery during a given week, in which case the scheduled discovery is skipped for that week but will run the following week).

To turn off this scheduled task, select the Options dialog box, then the Schedule tab.

Change how frequently discovery runs through the Windows Task Scheduler by selecting Linux, Unix, Mac OS Discovery under the Cherwell Asset Management node.

To view discovery status, return to the Configure Linux/Unix/Mac OS Discovery dialog box.

Post-discovery