Host Management
Comprehensive guide to organizing and managing hosts, agents, and infrastructure inventory across your environment.
Overview
Host management in SysManage involves organizing, monitoring, and maintaining all registered hosts in your infrastructure. This includes agent deployment, host grouping, approval processes, and lifecycle management across diverse environments.
Key Concepts
- Host Registration: Process by which new hosts join the SysManage system
- Agent Lifecycle: Management of agent installation, updates, and decommissioning
- Host Groups: Logical organization of hosts for management and monitoring
- Tags and Metadata: Labeling system for categorizing and filtering hosts
- Inventory Management: Tracking hardware, software, and configuration details
Host Registration and Approval
Registration Process
When a new agent is installed and configured, it follows this registration process:
- Initial Connection: Agent establishes secure connection to server
- Identity Verification: Server validates agent certificate and credentials
- System Discovery: Agent reports hardware and software inventory
- Approval Queue: Host appears in admin interface for approval
- Administrator Review: Admin reviews host details and approves/rejects
- Active Monitoring: Approved hosts begin regular data collection
Approval Workflow
Reviewing Pending Hosts
Access the host approval interface through:
Administration → Hosts → Pending Approval
For each pending host, review:
- Hostname and FQDN: Verify the host identity
- IP Address: Confirm network location
- Operating System: Check OS type and version
- Hardware Specifications: Review CPU, memory, and disk
- Agent Version: Ensure compatible agent version
- Certificate Details: Verify certificate validity
Approval Criteria
Consider these factors when approving hosts:
- Host is owned by your organization
- Network location is appropriate
- Operating system is supported
- Agent certificate is valid and trusted
- Host meets security requirements
⚠️ Security Warning
Only approve hosts that you recognize and trust. Malicious hosts could compromise your monitoring infrastructure. When in doubt, investigate further before approving.
Host Organization
Host Groups
Organize hosts into logical groups for easier management:
Group Types
- Environment Groups: Production, Staging, Development, Testing
- Function Groups: Web Servers, Database Servers, Application Servers
- Location Groups: Data Center, Region, Building, Office
- Department Groups: Engineering, Operations, Marketing, Finance
- Project Groups: Specific applications or projects
Creating Host Groups
- Navigate to
Administration → Hosts → Groups - Click "Create New Group"
- Provide group name and description
- Set group permissions and access controls
- Define group-specific monitoring settings
- Add hosts to the group manually or via rules
Dynamic Group Assignment
Automatically assign hosts to groups based on criteria:
- Hostname patterns:
web-*.example.com → Web Servers - IP address ranges:
192.168.1.0/24 → Office Network - Operating system:
Ubuntu → Linux Servers - Hardware specs:
Memory > 32GB → High Memory - Installed software:
Docker installed → Container Hosts
Tagging and Metadata
Use tags to add flexible metadata to hosts:
Common Tag Categories
- Environment:
env:production,env:staging - Application:
app:wordpress,app:database - Owner:
owner:engineering,owner:devops - Criticality:
critical:high,critical:low - Maintenance:
backup:daily,patch:weekend - Compliance:
pci-dss,hipaa,sox
Tag Management
Manage tags through multiple interfaces:
- Individual Host: Edit tags on host detail page
- Bulk Operations: Apply tags to multiple hosts at once
- API Integration: Automate tagging via REST API
- Agent Configuration: Auto-apply tags based on agent config
Agent Lifecycle Management
Agent Deployment
Deployment Methods
- Manual Installation: Individual host installation using scripts
- Configuration Management: Ansible, Puppet, Chef automation
- Container Deployment: Docker containers and Kubernetes
- Cloud Integration: AWS Systems Manager, Azure Extensions
- Mass Deployment: Network-based deployment tools
Deployment Best Practices
- Test deployment in staging environment first
- Use configuration management for consistency
- Implement gradual rollout for large environments
- Monitor deployment progress and success rates
- Have rollback procedures ready
- Document deployment procedures
Agent Updates
Update Strategy
Plan agent updates carefully to maintain stability:
- Staged Rollout: Update small groups progressively
- Testing Phase: Test updates on non-production hosts first
- Monitoring: Watch for issues during and after updates
- Rollback Plan: Be prepared to revert if problems occur
- Communication: Notify stakeholders of planned updates
Update Process
- Review agent update release notes
- Test update in staging environment
- Schedule maintenance window
- Update agents in defined order
- Verify agent connectivity and functionality
- Monitor for any issues or anomalies
- Document update completion
Agent Troubleshooting
Common Issues
- Connectivity Problems: Network, firewall, certificate issues
- Performance Issues: High CPU/memory usage, slow responses
- Data Collection Failures: Missing or incorrect data
- Authentication Errors: Certificate or credential problems
- Configuration Issues: Incorrect agent settings
Diagnostic Tools
- Agent Logs: Review detailed agent activity logs
- Connectivity Tests: Test network connectivity to server
- Certificate Validation: Verify certificate validity and trust
- Configuration Validation: Check agent configuration syntax
- Performance Monitoring: Monitor agent resource usage
Infrastructure Inventory Management
Hardware Inventory
SysManage automatically collects and maintains hardware inventory:
Collected Information
- System Information: Manufacturer, model, serial number
- CPU Details: Type, cores, threads, frequency
- Memory: Total, used, available, modules
- Storage: Disks, partitions, file systems, capacity
- Network: Interfaces, MAC addresses, IP addresses
- BIOS/UEFI: Version, settings, boot configuration
Inventory Reports
Generate reports for asset management:
- Hardware Summary: Overview of all hardware assets
- Asset Tracking: Track hardware changes over time
- Capacity Planning: Analyze resource utilization trends
- Compliance Reports: Hardware compliance with standards
- Lifecycle Management: Track hardware age and EOL dates
Software Inventory
Track installed software across all managed hosts:
Software Tracking
- Operating System: Version, patch level, configuration
- Installed Packages: All installed software packages
- Running Services: Active services and processes
- Security Updates: Available and missing security patches
- License Compliance: Software licensing and usage
Software Reports
- Software Catalog: Complete software inventory
- Vulnerability Assessment: Security patch status
- License Management: Software license usage and compliance
- Standardization: Software standardization across environment
Bulk Operations
Mass Management Actions
Perform actions on multiple hosts simultaneously:
Available Bulk Operations
- Group Assignment: Add/remove hosts from groups
- Tag Management: Apply or remove tags in bulk
- Configuration Updates: Update agent configurations
- Software Installation: Install packages on multiple hosts
- Security Updates: Apply security patches across hosts
- Monitoring Changes: Update monitoring settings
Bulk Operation Process
- Select hosts using filters or groups
- Choose the operation to perform
- Configure operation parameters
- Preview affected hosts
- Schedule execution time
- Monitor operation progress
- Review operation results
⚠️ Caution
Bulk operations can affect many hosts simultaneously. Always test operations on a small subset first and have rollback procedures ready.
Automation Integration
Integrate with external automation tools:
Configuration Management
- Ansible: Use SysManage inventory for Ansible playbooks
- Puppet: Sync host data with Puppet node classifier
- Chef: Integrate with Chef node management
- SaltStack: Use SysManage data for Salt targeting
Cloud Integration
- AWS Systems Manager: Sync with SSM inventory
- Azure Resource Manager: Integrate with Azure VM management
- Google Cloud Operations: Connect with GCP monitoring
- Kubernetes: Monitor containerized workloads
Host Management Best Practices
Organizational Best Practices
- Consistent Naming: Use standardized hostname conventions
- Logical Grouping: Organize hosts by function, environment, and ownership
- Comprehensive Tagging: Tag all hosts with relevant metadata
- Documentation: Document host purposes and configurations
- Access Controls: Limit host access based on roles and responsibilities
Operational Best Practices
- Regular Audits: Periodically review host inventory and status
- Lifecycle Management: Plan for host provisioning and decommissioning
- Change Management: Document and track all host changes
- Performance Monitoring: Monitor host performance and capacity
- Security Compliance: Ensure hosts meet security requirements
Security Best Practices
- Certificate Management: Maintain valid certificates for all agents
- Network Security: Use secure communication channels
- Access Logging: Log all host access and administrative actions
- Vulnerability Management: Track and remediate security vulnerabilities
- Incident Response: Have procedures for handling compromised hosts