Configuring Applications for the Infoblox: Inventory SyncPack

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This section describes how to set up the PowerFlow applications for the "Infoblox: Inventory" SyncPack, and how to configure the event policy from the "Infoblox: Workflow Configuration" PowerPack.

Workflow for Configuring the SyncPack

The following workflows describe how to configure SL1 and PowerFlow to work with the "Infoblox: Inventory" SyncPack.

Configuring SL1

  1. Enable the Infoblox event policy

Configuring PowerFlow

  1. Create and align a PowerFlow configuration object
  2. Align a configuration object and configure the Infoblox PowerFlow applications
  3. Schedule the PowerFlow applications

Configuring SL1

The following topic covers how to set up your SL1 instance to work with the "Infoblox: Inventory" SyncPack.

Enabling the Infoblox Event Policy

The "Infoblox: Workflow Configuration" PowerPack includes the "Infoblox: Mismatched IP address" event policy, which check to see if the IP address is mismatched between the device in SL1 and the Infoblox host record. If a mismatch exists, the policy triggers an event in SL1 with the relevant details.

To enable the event policy:

  1. In SL1, go to the Event Policies page (Events > Event Policies).
  2. Click the check box for the "Infoblox: Mismatched IP address" event policy. A row of buttons appear at the top of the list.
  3. Click Enable. The Status for the policy is updated to "Enabled".

Configuring PowerFlow

Creating a Configuration Object

A configuration object supplies the login credentials and other required information needed to execute the steps for a PowerFlow application. The Configurations page () of the PowerFlow user interface lists all available configuration objects for that system.

You can create as many configuration objects as you need. A PowerFlow application can only use one configuration object at a time, but you can use (or "align") the same configuration object with multiple applications.

For this SyncPack, you can make a copy of the "Infoblox Base Config" configuration object, which is the sample configuration file that was installed with the "Infoblox: Inventory" SyncPack.

The "Infoblox Base Config" configuration object contains all of the required variables. Simply update the variables from that object to match your SL1 and Infoblox settings.

To create a configuration object based on the "Infoblox Base Config" configuration object:

  1. In the PowerFlow user interface, go to the Configurations page ().
  2. Click the Actions button () for the "Infoblox Base Config" configuration object and select Edit. The Configuration pane appears.
  3. Click Copy as. The Create Configuration pane appears.
  4. Complete the following fields:
  • Friendly Name. Type a name for the configuration object that will display on the Configurations page.
  • Description. Type a brief description of the configuration object.
  • Author. Type the user or organization that created the configuration object.
  • Version. Type a version of the configuration object.
  1. In the Configuration Data field, update the default variable definitions to match your PowerFlow configuration:
  • sl1_host. Type the hostname or IP address of the SL1 system the alerts will synchronize with.
  • sl1_user. Type the username for your SL1 system.
  • sl1_password. Type the password for your SL1 system.
  • infoblox_username. Type the username for your Infoblox system.
  • infoblox_password. Type the password for your Infoblox system.
  • infoblox_url. Type the URL for your Infoblox system.
  • organization_id. Type the SL1 organization ID that you want recently discovered Inflobox IP addresses to be added to.
  • zone_name. Type the zone you want an SL1 device to be assigned when added to Infoblox.
  • aligned_device_template. Type the ID of the SL1 device template that you want recently discovered Infoblox IP addresses to use when added to SL1 using the following format, in which you replace [ID] with the device template ID:

    /api/device_tempalte/56

  • You can find your device template IDs on the Templates page (Devices > Templates).

  • credentials. Type the credential type and list of SL1 credentials that you want to use using the following format, in which you replace [type] with the credential type and [ID] with the credential ID:

    /api/credential/[type]/[ID]

    The credentials field accepts the following credential type values:

    • snmp
    • db
    • soap
    • basic
    • ssh
    • powershell

    You can find your credential IDs on the Credentials page (Manage > Credentials). For example, If the device has an SSH/Key credential with the ID 105, then you would type "/api/credential/ssh/105".

    If the devices have a PowerShell and SOAP/XML credentials with the ID 100 and 120, then you would type "/api/credential/powershell/100,/api/credential/soap/120".

  • device_groups. Type the ID of the SL1 device group that you want recently discovered Infoblox IP addresses to be added to in SL1 using the following format, in which you replace [ID] with the device group ID:

    • /api/device_group/[ID]

    You can find your device group IDs on the Device Group page (Devices > Device Groups). For example, if the device group you want to add Infoblox IP addresses to has the ID 10, then you would type "/api/device_group/10".

  • aligned_collector. Type the ID of the collector in SL1 that you want recently discovered Infoblox IP addresses to use when added to SL1.
  • scan_ports. Type the list of ports that you want recently discovered Infoblox IP addresses to scan when added to SL1.
  • infoblox_id. Type the name of the custom attribute you want to use when synchronizing SL1 devices and Infoblox IP addresses.
  • time_period. Type the default time configuration in hours to synchronize your Infoblox IP addresses and SL1 devices.
  1. Click Save. You can now align this configuration object with one or more PowerFlow applications.

Aligning a Configuration Object and Configuring PowerFlow Applications

You will need to align the "Infoblox: Inventory" SyncPack applications with the relevant configuration object in PowerFlow, and, if needed, update any other fields on the Configuration pane for the applications:

  • "Get Device List From Infoblox and Add To SL1"
  • "Get Device List From SL1 Add To Infoblox"
  • "Get Mismatched IP List"
  • "Update Infoblox Id"

To align the configuration object with the relevant PowerFlow applications:

  1. On the Applications page of the PowerFlow user interface, open one of the Infoblox PowerFlow applications and click Configure. The Configurations pane for that application appears.

  2. From the Configurations drop-down, select the configuration object you want to use.

    The values for sl1_hostname and the other parameters that appear in the Configuration pane with a padlock icon () are populated by the configuration object you aligned with the application. Do not modify these values. If you encounter an error, make sure your configuration object is configured properly.

  1. Update any of the remaining fields on the Configurations pane as needed.
  2. Click Save to align that configuration with the application.
  3. Repeat steps 1-4 for the other PowerFlow applications.

Scheduling PowerFlow Applications

To trigger the applications in the SyncPack, you must schedule the applications included in the SyncPack.

You can create one or more schedules for a single application in the PowerFlow user interface. When creating each schedule, you can specify the queue and the configuration file for that application.

To create a schedule:

  1. On the Applications page (), click the Schedule button for the application you want to schedule. The Scheduler window appears.
  2. In the Schedule List pane, click the down arrow icon () next to an existing schedule to view the details for that schedule.
  3. In the Schedule Creator pane, complete the following fields for the default Frequency setting:
  • Schedule Name. Type a name for the schedule.
  • Frequency in seconds. Type the number of seconds per interval that you want to run the application.
  • Custom Parameters. Type any JSON parameters you want to use for this schedule, such as information about a configuration file or mappings.
  1. To use a cron expression, click the Switch to Cron Expression toggle to turn it blue. If you select this option, you can create complicated schedules based on minutes, hours, the day of the month, the month, and the day of the week:

As you update the cron expression, the Schedule window displays the results of the expression in more readable language, such as Runs app: "Every 0 and 30th minute past every hour on Sat", based on 0,30 in the Minutes field and 6 in the Day of Week field.

  1. Click Save Schedule. The schedule is added to the Schedule List pane. Also, on the Applications page, the Schedule button now displays with a dark blue background:

After you create a schedule, it continues to run until you delete it. Also, you cannot edit an existing schedule, but you can delete it and create a similar schedule if needed.

To view or delete an existing schedule:

  1. On the Applications page, click the Schedule button for the application that contains a schedule you want to delete. The Scheduler window appears.
  2. Click the down arrow icon () to view the details of an existing schedule.
  3. To delete the selected schedule, click the Actions icon () and selectDelete.

On the Scheduler window for a PowerFlow application, you can click the Copy as button from the Schedule List pane to make a copy of an existing schedule.

When either multiple SL1 instances or multiple Infoblox instances are involved with PowerFlow, you should create an individual configuration object for each SL1 or Infoblox instance. Next, create an individual schedule for each configuration object. Each schedule should use a configuration object that is specific to that single SL1 or Infoblox instance. Creating copies of a PowerFlow application from a SyncPack for the purpose of distinguishing between domains is not supported, and will result in issues on upgrades.