Orientation

Use the information in this section to get a quick overview of the BMC Discovery product, understand what you can do with the product, and learn where to find more information.

Quick overview

BMC Discovery is a data center discovery solution that automatically discovers data center inventory, configuration and relationship data, and maps applications to the IT infrastructure. BMC Discovery establishes the foundation for improving IT processes and productivity by providing timely and actionable insight to make informed decisions in IT service management, asset management, and infrastructure or operations management.

BMC Discovery uses the following strategy to explore and manage your IT environment:

The benefits of BMC Discovery include:

  • Reducing the number of incidents caused by a change
  • Reducing the time taken to isolate the root cause for incidents
  • Reducing the time taken to prepare for audits and preventing audit penalties
  • Prioritizing incidents based on business impact
  • Optimizing data center hardware and software

Product features

BMC Discovery uses a web-based, thin-client interface. No software is installed on a user's workstation.

BMC Discovery is divided into two major parts, the appliance, and the BMC Discovery Outpost. The BMC Discovery Outpost is application software that runs on a dedicated Windows server in your data center or on a public cloud.

BMC Discovery provides the following key features and components.

Key FeatureDescription

BMC Discovery service

The BMC Discovery service performs a similar task to the BMC Discovery Outpost but runs on the BMC Discovery appliance. For Windows, discovery performed from the (Linux-based) appliance uses an external proxy running on a dedicated Windows server to log into and scan the Windows hosts.

BMC Discovery Outpost

BMC Discovery Outpost is application software that runs on a dedicated Windows server in your data center or on a public cloud. The BMC Discovery service sends a request to an Outpost to scan the IP address required, and the Outpost accesses the target by using the credentials that are held in a secure, encrypted vault. For more information, see BMC Discovery Outpost.

CMDB synchronization

CMDB synchronization ensures that data in BMC Helix CMDB is continuously synchronized with information discovered by BMC Discovery. For more information, see CMDB synchronization.

Start Anywhere Application ModelingStart Anywhere Application Modeling (SAAM) enables you to choose any entry point, or points into an application, and begin modeling from there. The models are not static. They update automatically to reflect the current data. For more information, see Start anywhere application modeling.
Discover cloud services

BMC Discovery provides cloud scanning capabilities and discovers multi-cloud environments, such as Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS). BMC Discovery performs this discovery leveraging APIs and agentless protocols. For more information, see Discovering cloud services.

Data provenance

BMC Discovery’s Provenance feature shows the actual command that was executed, the output of the command, and the timestamp when it happened. There’s no searching through log files – all this information is available in the UI, ensuring data accuracy that you can verify and trust. For more information, see Data provenance.

Exhaustive pattern library

The BMC Discovery library includes over 650 text-based patterns for industry-leading software, such as Oracle and SAP. New patterns are added monthly to discover custom software, uncommon SNMP devices, and more. For more information, see Pattern library.

ReasoningThe Discovery Engine is supported by Reasoning, which intelligently infers information about hosts and programs from the Directly Discovered Data (DDD). The process of adding DDD to the datastore causes Reasoning to execute patterns against the DDD. For more information, see Reasoning.
Discovery queue

Your interaction with BMC Discovery results in the Reasoning service placing work in the discovery queue. The discovery service on the appliance and the BMC Discovery Outpost poll the discovery queue for work to undertake. For more information, see Discovery queue.

DatastoreThe datastore is the database in which the DDD and inferred data are stored. The datastore also holds TKU information, patterns, operational data, and some configuration data. For more information, see Datastore.
Clustering

Clustering, also known as Big Discovery, enables you to discover and get usable results from even the largest data centers in the shortest time possible with the help of clusters. A cluster consists of two or more coordinated BMC Discovery machines, one of which is in control of the group and is referred to as the coordinator. For more information, see Clustering.

Product documentation

The BMC Discovery documentation helps new and experienced users use this product effectively. Based on your purpose, the following sections of the documentation are recommended.

GoalRelated Information

Learn the key features and the core functionality of the BMC Discovery product.

BMC Discovery features and components

Understand the UI components and dashboards, and learn how to perform basic tasks, such as using the home page or setting preferences in BMC Discovery.

Performing basic tasks

Create and edit system users and groups. Learn about group permissions for tasks, such as viewing the UI or managing clusters in BMC Discovery.

Be familiar with the various terms used in BMC Discovery, such as RemQuery, patterns, and so on.

Glossary

Start using BMC Discovery by performing an end-to-end procedure that takes you from your initial login into the appliance right up to discovering targets in your IT environment.

BMC Discovery scan use case

Describe applications, products, and other real-world entities that have been modeled in BMC Discovery using The Pattern Language (TPL).

The Pattern Language TPL

Access detailed reference information about the products, network devices, and cloud providers that BMC Discovery can scan. Be up-to-date with the monthly Technology Knowledge Update (TKU) release.

BMC Discovery content reference

Learn a quick and easy approach to modeling, which enables you to choose any entry points into an application or Business Service and begin modeling from there.

Start anywhere application modeling

Find answers to the typical questions you may have about BMC Discovery and the BMC Discovery Outpost features or configuration.

FAQs

Refer to the detailed troubleshooting tips and steps provided by the Support team to resolve issues related to BMC Discovery or the BMC Discovery Outpost.

Troubleshooting

Product training

Explore the training and certification offerings available for BMC Discovery on our BMC Education Open link portal.

Additional product assistance

  • All users should view and set up a watch on the Release notes and notices page for the latest product information and documentation updates.
  • Refer to the BMC Community Open link page for BMC Discovery. Experts from BMC can help you out with your queries.
  • Refer to the top-viewed BMC Discovery Knowledge Articles Open link posted on BMC Community to get insights into issue resolution.
  • To view product videos available on YouTube Open link , see the PDFs and videos page.


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