About seed files
Preparing a seed file is
one of two ways
to manually add systems to the
IP Manager
topology.
The other way is by using the Add Agent
command,
which is described in “Using the Add
Agent command to initiate discovery” on page 176. When autodiscovery
is enabled, importing a seed file or adding a candidate system by
using the Add Agent
command initiates the autodiscovery
process.In a seed file, you specify
top-level network systems such as switches, routers, hubs, bridges,
and hosts that are to be discovered and monitored by the
IP Manager
. Then, when
you import the seed file, the IP Manager
discovers
the internal structure of these systems.For example, in the
case of a router, you provide the hostname or
IP address of one interface, and the
IP Manager
discovers
the rest of the interfaces. In the case of a switch, you provide the
hostname or IP address of the switch’s SNMP agent, and the IP Manager
determines
the switch’s configuration and how the switch connects to other systems
that are listed in the topology.Seed
files can be used to discover SNMPv1, v2c, or v3 systems in IPv4 or
IPv6 networks.
“Seed file related tasks”
section in Chapter 3, Discovery, in the , provides more information about tasks related to seed files.