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Video: Data Center Expert | Device Discovery for Third-Party Devices using SNMP

Issue
Discovering Third-Party Devices into Data Center Expert using SNMPv1/SNMPv3 and troubleshooting discovery issues.

Product Line
StruxureWare Data Center Expert (DCE)
- Basic Appliance (AP9465)
- Standard Appliance (AP9470)
- Enterprise Appliance (AP9475)
- Virtual Appliance (AP94VMACT)
StruxureWare Central (SWC)
InfraStruXure Central (ISXC)

Environment
StruxureWare Data Center Expert (all versions)
StruxureWare Central (all versions)
InfraStruXure Central (all versions)
Third-Party Devices supporting SNMP

Resolution

See additional knowledge bases for discovering different other types of devices:
- Video: Data Center Expert | Device Discovery for APC Devices using SNMPv1
- Data Center Expert | Device Discovery for APC Devices using SNMPv3
- Data Center Expert | Discovering a NetBotz 300-500 Series Appliance
- Data Center Expert | Discovering a NetBotz 700 Series Appliance
- Data Center Expert | Discovering a ModbusTCP device
- BACnet is currently not supported

STOP! All Third-Party Devices must have an associated Device Definition File (DDF) added into Data Center Expert to accurately view device sensors and alarms. Data Center Expert by default has some Third-Party DDF files preinstalled. For more information, please see Knowledge Base Data Center Expert | Obtaining an SNMP or Modbus DDF for discovery of third-party devices .

NOTE: If at any point you are using copy and paste, ensure to paste into Notepad first to remove any formatting.  Copying from other programs may alter the true values or add spaces to the strings.

1) You will need to obtain the following information from the device you wish to discover:
- SNMPv1: Read community string.
- SNMPv3: Username, Authentication Protocol, Authentication Passphrase, Privacy Protocol, & Privacy Passphrase.

2) DCE Desktop Client > Device menu > Add Devices.

3) Device Discovery Type > SNMPv1 or SNMPv3 > Next.

4) Enter the IP or the IP Range. IP Range can be expressed using wildcards (10.10.10.*) or dashes (10.10.10.1-99).
NOTE: It is recommended to limit the number of IPs that are scanned.  The larger the number of IPs that need to be scanned will lead to longer device discovery times.

5) Enter the required information for device discovery.

6) Alter the Port number if the device is configured to use a different port.

7) Click Next to navigate to the Choose Device Group screen.

8) Choose the device group that you wish the device to be part of and click Next.
NOTE: Only one group may be chosen. If the discovery will be for multiple devices that need to be within different groups, it is recommended to discover them into the Unassigned group.  You can then drag and drop them into the desired device group (Monitoring perspective > Device View pane / Device Groups pane).

STOP! It is important to not click Finish if you wish to run the discovery at this point in time.  If you have already clicked finish, navigate to: Monitoring Perspective > Saved Discoveries Pane. Locate the created discovery, right-click on it, and select Run.

9) Enable the discovery scheduling, if desired.  Check the Box for Run Discovery Now and click Finish.

10) Discovered devices should start to show within the device group that they were selected to be discovered into. If the device(s) did not discover, please proceed to the troubleshooting section below.
NOTE: Activity Progress can be seen within the Saved Discoveries pan within the Monitoring perspective.

Third-Party SNMP Device Discovery Troubleshooting

1) Navigate to the Monitoring Perspective

2) Within the Device Groups pane, select All Devices.

3) Within the Device View pane, search for the IP Address of a device in question.  If the device shows, the device was either successfully discovered in the previous steps, or was discovered at some point in the past.  You can drag and drop the device into the desired device group to keep your devices organized.  If there are no results, proceed to the next step.

4) Within the Saved Discovery pane, right-click on the discovery and select edit to view the settings.  If the settings are not correct, make the necessary changes and run the discovery again.  If the settings all match, proceed to step 6.
NOTE: Input the passphrases again, as you will be unable to verify text due to security measures.

5) Edit the Saved Discovery and increase timeouts to 10 seconds and retries to 5.  This allows the device more time to communicate with Data Center Expert.  Run the discovery again and wait until the activity status goes to idle.

8) Delete the device from the DCE Desktop Client > Monitoring perspective > select Device Group > Device View pane > Right-click on device and select delete.

If the device discovery issue is still present after verifying the information above, including verification through your network team that traffic is not blocked, reach out to your local technical support .

APC Denmark

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