How to Discover Linux/Unix/Mac OS Machines

Configure discovery for supported non-Windows systems to query by IP address range, subnet, or machine. First configure where to look for supported non-Windows systems, then run discovery.

Once systems are 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. Select Tools > Discover > Linux/Unix/Mac OS.
  2. In the Discover Linux/Unix/Mac OS dialog box, select Configure.
  3. In the Configure Linux/Unix/Mac OS Discovery dialog box, select Add.
  4. Enter information about where to look for Linux/Unix/Mac OS machines, then, depending on where you want to look, select the appropriate option.

    To query a range of IP addresses:

    1. Select 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. Select 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. Select 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. Select 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: Select Test to make sure a connection can be established before proceeding.
  8. Select 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 selecting Yes or, if the number of machines is not what you expect, select 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. Select the check boxes next to configurations on which you want to run discovery.
    • To run discovery on all of your configurations, select Check All.

      - or -

    • Clear all configurations by selecting Uncheck All, then select the check boxes next to the individual configurations on which you want to run discovery.
  12. Select 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 selecting Discover, or you can run it later.

To run discovery later:

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