Managing servers

Server definitions connect the deployment server to the target computers that provide the components for package instances and to the computers that deploy the package instances. A server definition identifies the target and the agent, such as Network Shell (NSH). The dispatcher communicates with that target computer to run the automation tasks there. Computers that are linked this way are referred to as managed computers.

This topic provides the following information: 

• To add servers to bring computers under system management
• To add managed servers by importing a list
• To view server information and verify installation
• Related topics

To add servers to bring computers under system management

This procedure adds a server definition for a managed computer.

1. Click the System tab.
2. From the Configure menu on the left, select Servers.
3. On the right after the list of existing servers, click New Server.
4. For Hostname, enter the host name of the target computer that you want to add to the system.
    The entry can be anything from localhost to an IP address.
5. (Optional) From the menu, select a channel template to create a channel immediately instead of requiring a separate step on the Topology tab, or leave None selected.
6. Select a role for the server.
7. Select the agent to be used for communicating with the dispatcher.
    The Dispatcher Server field appears.
8. Enter the server ID of the dispatcher.
9. From the Remote Platform menu, select the platform for the target computer (the one you defined in Hostname).
10. Click Create.

The server appears in the Servers list. Now, you can create channels to deploy applications and perform other tasks on the target computer.

To add managed servers by importing a list

You can add server definitions for multiple computers at the same time.

1. Create a file with the .txt extension, in which you list all the hosts that you want to add. Specify only one host computer on each line. For example:
   host1
   host2
   host3 

   Note

   If you use a dispatcher, the list of the hosts that you want to add must contain the targets with the same platforms.

2. Save the file on your computer.
3. Click the System tab. 
4. In the Configure menu on the left, click Servers.
5. On the right after the list of existing servers, click Import List.
6. Browse and select or enter the path and the file name for the previously created file, which contains the list of servers to be added.
7. From the menus, choose the channel template, role, and agent to use for the managed computers.
8. Click Create.

The new set of managed servers appears in the list of servers.

To view server information and verify installation

1. Click the System tab.
2. In the Configure menu on the left, click Servers.
3. Find the server in the list and click its name to view details.
4. To verify that a server is correctly installed, check the Summary and Server Data sections on the server details page.

On the Capabilities tab, the system also lists the installed server modules and their versions on the managed computer. For more information about modules, see Managing-activity-libraries-and-action-packs.

Related topics

Installing-and-starting-dispatchers

Enabling-role-based-access-permissions-for-a-server