Understanding globally unique identifiers

Global unique identifier (GUIDs) are 36 characters long and consist of hexadecimal digits and hyphens. They are used in BMC Network Automation to identify device types, vendors, custom actions, and trails. The following topic provides briefly describes how to use a built-in script to generate new GUIDs that you might require and lists the GUID types and values that BMC Network Automation uses to prevent potential ID collisions.

You can also find the device type, vendor, custom action, and trail GUID values by viewing them on the Network Administration > Device Adapters page or exporting the corresponding adapter definition.

Creating GUIDs

If you develop a new custom device type or custom action you must create a new, unique GUID. Insert the GUID string in the guid tags of your device adapter import file.

To generate a new GUID, use the create_guid.sh or create_guid.bat script in the BCAN_HOME/tools directory.

This script prints a GUID string to the screen. For more information, see Understanding tools and scripts.

Important: If you are performing a BMC Network Automation application server upgrade, you must follow the procedure for upgrading existing XML files that reside in the BCAN_DATA directory. Be sure to preserve the id tags in your existing custom extension files to facilitate database upgrades. See Upgrading.

Configuration trail GUIDs

Shipped trails are identified by the GUID values listed in the following table: