Hostname resolution and
IP address checking
The discovery process uses the
name resolution service that is provided by the local operating system to
translate hostnames to IP addresses, and to translate IP addresses to
hostnames. On a UNIX system, a name resolution service might be Domain Name
System (DNS), NIS or NIS+, or a hosts file.
The discovery of a candidate
system starts with a hostname, which is provided by the user, or an IP address,
which is provided by the user or is automatically discovered. If the system is
identified by a hostname, the discovery process calls the local name resolution
service to resolve the hostname to one or more IP addresses. If the hostname
does not resolve, the discovery process places the system, which is identified
by its hostname, on the Pending Devices list of the
IP Manager
.
The Pending Devices list is
described in
“Pending Devices list” on
page 193.
If the candidate system is
identified by a user-provided IP address, the discovery process checks whether
the IP address conforms with the IP address format. If the IP address does not
conform, the discovery process places the system, which is identified by its
invalid IP address, on the Pending Devices list.
If the candidate system is
identified by an automatically discovered IP address, the discovery process
checks whether the IP address matches an IP address of any discovery filter. If
the IP address does not match the IP address of any discovery filter, the
discovery process discards the IP address.