Configuring Network-Based Discovery Rules

Network-based discovery rules allow you to discover computers based on a range of IP addresses you specify. This method is recommended for small company environments, with no Active Directory domains.

Prerequisites

Before you configure a network-based discovery rule:

• Deploy a master agent on a machine in the company infrastructure.

For more details, see Step 1. Install and Configure Master Agent.

• Make sure you have an account with local Administrator permissions on all computers that you want to discover.

This prerequisite is not required if you have specified a discovery account in the master agent configuration settings. For more details, see Step 1. Install and Configure Master Agent.

• Make sure that client computers are powered on and configured to allow discovery: the Remote Scheduled Tasks Management (RPC) firewall rule must allow inbound traffic.

• On remote computers that run a Windows desktop OS, the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI-In) firewall rule must be configured allow inbound traffic.

• If you plan to install Veeam backup agents as part of the discovery procedure, make sure that remote computers are configured to allow installation: the File and Printer Sharing (SMB-In) firewall rule must allow inbound traffic.

• If you plan to assign a backup policy as part of the discovery procedure, create a new backup policy or check and if necessary customize one of the predefined policies.

For more details, see Configuring Backup Policies.

Configuring Network-Based Discovery Rules

To configure a network-based discovery rule:

1. Log in to Veeam Availability Console.

For more details, see Accessing Veeam Availability Console.

2. In the menu on the left, click Rules.
3. At the top of the page, click New.

Veeam Availability Console will launch the New Rule wizard.

4. At the Rule Name step of the wizard, specify a discovery rule name.

5. At the Companies step of the wizard, select the check box next to your company.

You must also select company locations for which the discovery rule must be configured. Click a link in the Locations column, then click a link in the Master Agent column, and select a management agent that will be used as the master agent for discovery in each company location.

By default, discovery is performed in all company locations where you deployed a master agent. If you choose to perform discovery in multiple locations, after you complete the wizard steps, Veeam Availability Console will create a separate discovery rule for each location. If you do not want to perform discovery in some company locations, clear check boxes next to these locations.

For details on working with company locations, see Managing Locations.

6. At the Discovery Method step of the wizard, select Network-based discovery.

7. At the Network Discovery step of the wizard, specify one or more networks and IP ranges that must be scanned to discover computers:

1. Click Add.

Veeam Availability Console will open the Network IP Range window.

2. In Network name field, type an arbitrary name of the network that must be scanned.
3. In the IP range fields, type a range of IP addresses that must be scanned in the specified network.
4. Click OK.
5. Repeat steps a-d for each new IP range you want to include in the rule.
6. In the Exclusion mask field, specify a mask for names of computers that must be excluded from discovery.

The mask can contain the asterisk (*) that stands for zero or more characters. You can specify multiple masks separated with commas.

8. At the Access Account step of the wizard, specify credentials of an account that the master agent will use to connect to computers within the discovery scope. The account must have local Administrator permissions on all discovered computers.

If you have specified a discovery account in the master agent configuration settings, select the Use credentials specified in the master management agent configuration check box. For more details on specifying master agent configuration settings, see Step 1. Install and Configure Master Agent.

Credentials specified in the master agent configuration take precedence over credentials specified in the discovery rule. For discovery, the master agent will use an account specified in its configuration settings. In case this account is not valid or not set, the master agent will use an account specified in the discovery rule.

9. At the Discovery Filters step of the wizard, choose what filters you want to enable for discovery.

• To filter computers by OS type, select By OS type in the list and click Edit. In the Operating System window, select the type of OS that must run on discovered computers (Server operating system, Client operating system). Click OK.
• To filter computers by application, select By application in the list and click Edit. In the Application window, select applications that must run on discovered computers (Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Active Directory, Microsoft SharePoint, Oracle, Other Applications). Click OK.
• To filter computers by platform, select By platform in the list and click Edit. In the Platform window, select platforms on which discovered computers must run (Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware vSphere, Physical computers, Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, Other). Click OK.
• To disable a filter, select it in the list and click Disable.

10. At the Email Notification step of the wizard, you can enable notifications about discovery results by email.

1. Select the Send notifications check box and specify a schedule according to which email notifications must be sent.
2. In the From field, specify an email address from which the notification must be sent.
3. In the Subject field, specify the subject of the notification.
4. In the To field, specify an email address at which the email notification must be sent.
5. Select the Send notification email after the first run check box if a notification about discovery results must be sent after the first run of the discovery rule, regardless of the specified schedule.

Discovery email notifications include a list of new computers discovered since the latest email notification. If no changes are detected since the latest email notification (no new computers are discovered), Veeam Availability Console will not send a new email notification about discovery results.

11. At the Backup Agent Deployment step of the wizard, specify whether you want to install Veeam backup agents on discovered computers:

1. If you do not want to install Veeam backup agents as part of the discovery process, leave the Discover remote computer without installing backup agent option selected.

If after discovery Veeam backup agents must be installed automatically, select the Discover remote computer, install backup agent and assign the selected backup policy option. From the Backup policy to apply list, choose a backup policy that must be assigned immediately after installation. If you do not want to assign any backup policy after installation, choose No policy from the list.

If you do not have the necessary backup policy configured yet, you can click the Create New link to create a new policy, without exiting the New Rule wizard. For more details on backup policies, see Configuring Backup Policies.

2. By default, the read-only access mode is enabled for all Veeam backup agents installed as part of discovery. To disable the read-only access mode for Veeam backup agents on discovered computers, set the Enable read only UI access for the backup agent toggle to Off.

For more details on the read-only access mode for Veeam backup agents, see Enabling Read-Only Access Mode.

12. At the Summary step of the wizard, review discovery rule settings.

1. To start discovery after you save the rule, select the Launch the discovery rule when I click Finish check box.

If you do not select this check box, you will need to launch discovery later. For more details, see Running Discovery.

2. Click Finish.