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Rules for entering paths

BMC Server Automation requires you to enter paths using conventions that are atypical for Microsoft Windows or UNIX platforms. See the following sections:

Entering UNIX host names

For UNIX, precede a host name with two slashes. Use a slash to identify a directory. The following is an example of a directory on a UNIX host called unixtest1:

//unixtest1/usr/bin

Entering Windows host names

For Windows, precede the host name with two slashes. For files, COM+, and metabase, use slashes to identify the disk drive, folders, and sub-folders. Windows paths are not case sensitive. The following is an example of a folder on a Windows host called win2ktest1:

//win2ktest1/c/winnt/system32

The following is an example of a path to a COM+ property:

Applications/IIS Utilities/Activation

The following is an example of a path to a metabase value:

LM/W3SVC/Default Web Site/ServerSize

When entering a path to an item in the registry, use backslashes. The following is an example of a path to a registry value:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\BMC BladeLogic\RSCD Agent\AgentHome

When you enter a file path, if you do not specify a disk drive for a Windows machine, BMC Server Automation defaults the path to the C drive. For example, BMC Server Automation considers the following paths to be the same:

  • //win2ktest1/winnt
  • //win2ktest1/c/winnt

Entering paths to configuration file entries

When you enter paths to configuration files on Windows or UNIX, use a double slash (//) to separate the path to the configuration file from the path to a hierarchy within the file. For example, you might identify a configuration file entry as follows:

/c/winnt/odbc.ini//Excel files/Driver32

In this example, /c/winnt/odbc.ini provides the path to a configuration file, while Excel files/Driver 32 is the path to an entry in the configuration file.

Slashes appearing in values

For most hierarchical assets, the path separator is a slash. To enter a value that includes a slash, you must "escape" the slash by preceding it with a backslash.

For example, to create the value driver/32, enter:

driver\/32

Note

The Windows registry is an exception because its path separator is a backslash. If you enter a value in a Windows registry path that includes a backslash, you must escape the backslash by preceding it with a slash. For example, to create a registry value named C:\winnt, enter C:/\winnt.

Using trailing slashes

When you enter a folder or directory name, BMC Server Automation does not support trailing slashes.

If you enter a path to a registry value with a name of empty string (that is, ""), you can use a trailing slash, as follows:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\BMC BladeLogic\RSCD Agent\

 

Tip: For faster searching, add an asterisk to the end of your partial query. Example: cert*