Discovering the Environment

1. Login to N-Central.
2. Select the appropriate customer from the View Selection dropdown menu.
3. Expand the Configuration menu, expand the Asset Discovery menu, click on Discovery Jobs.
4. Click the Add button to create a new discovery job. 
   
5. Details section
   • In the Name field, the name defaults to “Discovery Job – plus a date/time stamp.” Feel free to change this name to something more descriptive. For example, “Discovery Job – 192.168.1.x” (network subnet you are scanning).
6. Devices to Discover tab
   • Verify that the appropriate Probe is selected in the Probe dropdown menu.

Note: In most environments there will only be one probe. Multiple office locations with completely separate networks will each require their own probe. 

• • Enter the IP range that you would like to scan.
  • Example: 192.168.1.1-254

Note: If you would like to scan multiple ranges, create a separate discovery job for each.

7. Auto Import tab
   • By default several device classes are already selected to be imported. Do not assign any devices to have agents installed unless the prospect has already signed an agreement and you have won the business. 
     
8. SNMP tab
   • SNMP Discovery is checked by default. The community string value defaults to “public”. Change this value if a different community string is used in their environment by clicking on “Default Profile". 
      
9. Virtualization Settings (Only used with ESXi hosts)
   • Perform Virtualization Discovery is unchecked by default. To discover ESXi hosts check this box and then select the ‘Add New Account’ button. 
     
   • Enter the User Name and Password for the ESXi host. Typically the User Name is Root. 
     
10. Schedule tab
    • Select Recurring in the Type drop down menu.
    • Adjust the Start Time value, choosing a time during the business day when most computers will be powered on and laptops will be on the network.
      • If this is the initial discovery, set the start time at least 90 minutes after making the appropriate Firewall Exceptions via Group Policy (reference the Discovery Phase 2 – Readying the Environment in a Domain document).
    • Set it to only run during the work week as most devices won’t be active on the weekends. 
      
      
    • Notifications tab (Optional)
      • Check the box next to Success and/or Failure if you would like to receive an email when the discovery job is complete.
      • Click on the user accounts that should receive the notification in the left table to highlight them.
      • Click > to move the selected user account to the right table. 
        

11. Click the Finish button to save and create your discovery job.
12. Repeat the process to create additional discovery jobs if necessary.

1. After all discovery jobs have run, verify the following:
   • All anticipated devices appear in the All Devices list.
   • Windows devices were imported with the correct device class. (Servers – Windows, Laptop – Windows, or Workstations – Windows).
   • CPU, disk, and memory are reporting data successfully.
2. If anything is not as expected, please see Discovery Phase 5 – Review Discovery Results and Resolve Issues for details on how to resolve issues with devices not appearing or not appearing properly.