Device Groups

Contents Overview Creating Device Groups Operations Supported for Groups Managing Device Groups

Overview

Sometimes, you might need to group devices based on some logical criteria. For example, you may wish to create groups such as a group containing all cisco routers, or a group containing all cisco switches etc., This would help in carrying out certain common operations with ease.

A group can be based on some criteria or could be just a random collection of devices. This section explains how to group devices and perform various operations in bulk for the group as a whole.

 

Creating Device Groups

1. Go to "Inventory" >> Select the devices >> More action >> " Group selected devices"

2. In the UI that comes, provide a name and description for the new group

3. The group should be assigned with devices. To associate devices with the group, simply select the needed devices from the list and form a group

4. Device Groups can be created as 'Public' or 'Private'.

• By default, the groups are created as private groups - that means, only authorized users will be able to view the group.
• On the other hand, if you have a requirement to make certain groups visible to all, you can create the group as a 'Public Group'.
• If you select the checkbox "Make it as Public Group", the group will be created as a public group.
• All users, irrespective of their roles, would be able to view the group. However, the device access restrictions for 'Power Users' and 'Operators' will not be affected - that means, though they can view the public group, they will be able to access only those devices that have already been assigned to them within the public group.
• Public groups, once created, cannot be reverted to private.

   6. Click "Save"

Once you create a group, the name of the group will be listed under " Groups" in the adjacent pane.

 

What are the operations one can perform on Device Groups?
 

Network Configuration Manager supports the following operations to be performed for Device Groups:

1. Setting Credentials for all the devices of the group

2. Configuration Backup for all devices of the group at one go

3. Configuration Upload for all devices of the group in bulk

4. Configuration change management for all devices of the group

5. Defining compliance rules/policies for all devices of the group

 

Performing operations on a group

1. Go to "Inventory" >> "Groups" and click the name of the group. Upon clicking this, the Associated Devices would  be listed

2. Perform any operation as desired by choosing the relevant menu item

 

Managing Device Groups

 

Editing a Group

You can change any information pertaining to a particular group. For instance, you can change the group name, edit the description or modify the criteria. To do any or all of these tasks,

1. Go to "Inventory" >> "Groups" and click on the group to be edited. The devices in the group will be listed

2. Click on 'More action' in top right. Change the desired field and click "Save"

 

Removing a Device Group

1. Go to "Inventory" >> "Groups" >>Select the desired groups and click on the "Delete" icon on the top right corner. The group will be deleted once and for all

Note: If the device group you are trying to delete is referred by some other operation such as a Schedule, you will not be able to delete the group until all the references are removed.

 

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