• Display Name/Role Icon. Role label and customizable icon.
• Description. Optional description. Describe the purpose for the role.
• Source. Indicates if role is the same as the built-in role (Default), a variant of the built-in role (Modified), or entirely user defined (Custom).
• Weight. Consider this weight or rank of precedence when deciding the most suitable role choice between two or more role matches.
• Set as Network Device. Consider this a device that handles or directs network traffic and add the appropriate performance and interface monitors to it.

Rules tab of the Roles wizard provides building blocks used to build a table of device detection rules. For example, you can combine detection rules to build an expression that excludes and/or checks for specific management objects (SNMP, WMI), system characteristics, or host attribute values.

Tip: As a practical guide for choosing and combining device detection rules, you can browse default rule sets (rules shipped within WhatsUp Gold). You can find more detailed rule sets applied in default sub roles.

• Add Rule. Apply a rule from the drop down list (you can also choose a negative match of the rule with ).
• Edit Rule. Edit a selected detection rule.
• Copy. Copy a selected detection rule.
• Delete. Remove a selected detection rule.

  Important: Creating many role definitions with large rule set expressions can have an impact and slow discovery and refresh scan performance.

Examples

• Match UPS manufacturer strings such as "MGE UPS SYSTEMS" or "MGE Office Protection Systems."

  SNMP object '1.3.6.1.2.1.33.1.1.1' (upsIdentManufacturer) contains 'MGE'

• Match specific NETAPP device using the asset tag.

  SNMP object '1.3.6.1.4.1.789.1.25.2.1.6' (nodeAssetTag) contains '02040'

Select a generalized role class to apply (given the conditions of the Scan Rules expression is satisfied).

• Add. Add a monitor from the monitors library to this role definition.
• Delete. Remove a monitor from this list.

Your role inherits default characteristics from this class such as discovery attributes and default monitors you can modify later.

Select a generalized sub role to apply (given your Scan Rules).

• Add. Add a monitor from the monitors library to this role definition.
• Delete. Remove a monitor from this list.

When you define roles, you can configure your role definition to hold system and host attributes.

• Add. Add an attribute using discovery percent variable syntax.
• Edit. Edit an attribute.
• Delete. Remove an attribute from this role definition.
• Restore System Default. Reduce attribute list to the default based on the suggested role.

Note: Host and system attributes can be viewed from device properties and viewed, scheduled, and distributed as Attribute Reports.

Examples

• Device Location

  %Discovery.Device.Location

• Detected Operating System.

  %Discovery.Device.OS

Define a custom link and apply it to the discovered device. You can customize for each device using discovery percent variable syntax.

• Add. Add a custom link.
• Edit. Edit a selected custom link.
• Delete. Remove the link.

Note: Custom Links can be tabulated and distributed as Custom Link reports.

Examples

Add link for viewing web role or web service running on current device.

http://%Discovery.Device.Name.example.com:80

Add link to manage vCenter using vSphere web client.

https://%Discovery.Device.Name.example.com:9443/vsphere-client

• Add. Add a monitor from the monitors library to this role definition.
• Delete. Remove a monitor from this list.
• Restore System Default. Reduce monitor list to the default based on the suggested role.

Action Policies bundle Actions and Notifications. Actions and Notifications are typically triggered by a condition or threshold observed by a monitor. You can combine Action and Notification building blocks as a way to implement a policy that governs selected devices and device roles.

In WhatsUp Gold Action Policies typically trigger any of the following:

• Simple notifications (e-mail, SMS, log).
• Corrective measures (such as remote script execution payload, configuration rollback, reboot, and so on).
• Some combination of corrective measures and notifications.

Examples of site actions bundled to implement action policies might be:

• Notifying application management engineers when production devices transition state (for example from maintenance mode to up)
• Applying approved configuration to a device found out of compliance (a default password is detected, anomalous port opened or traffic detected)
• "Activating" (reconfigure and restart) a backup host device whenever a primary fails
• Restarting "non-responsive" critical services (an FTP or log server, for example)

Note: You can also create and apply powerful policies which enforce configuration record versioning and device configuration alignment using WhatsUp Gold Configuration Management policies.

Creating Action Policies

Begin by creating a list or matrix of critical state change events, appropriate actions, and the chain of responsible individuals for your site.

Example: Device Recovery Matrix

1. Create an Action type from the Actions Library.

   Example: Test Connectivity/Remote Execution

   1. Click the new button, then select PowerShell (for Linux/UNIX, select SSH).
   2. Add syntax for remote login to the device in the script text box.
2. Create the Action Policy.

   Example: Combine with Notification Schedule and Roll Test into Action Policy

   • Add a notification action you created according to your site's notification hierarchy.
   • Add the PowerShell action you created.