Stop monitoring specific changes in SCM hardware or software inventory profiles using out-of-the-box exclusions

1/28/2019 8:03 PM

11/15/2022 9:34 PM

Beginning with Server Configuration Monitor (SCM) 1.0.1 SR, out-of-the-box profiles are updated to allow the ability to ignore specified changed values in SCM hardware or software inventory profiles using exclusion rules for common scenarios.

You may want to stop monitoring specific values in hardware and software monitoring, as those changes may represent false positives. For instance, you can:

• Exclude total memory from hardware inventory monitoring on virtual machine node types. 
• Exclude any driver names that contain the word "Remote" from software inventory monitoring.

Exclusions can be applied only to profiles with SolarWinds Information Service (SWIS) query (internal query) elements.

Server Configuration Monitor

To exclude hardware or software data from change detection, take one (but not both) of the following actions:

• Copy the out-of-the-box profile and edit the SolarWinds Information Service (SWIS) query directly.
• Create an exclusion rule directly in the database.

To copy an out-of-the-box profile in SCM:

1. Navigate to Server Configuration Monitor Settings, either from the link in the upper right of the Server Configuration Monitor Summary page or by going to Settings > All Settings > Server Configuration Monitor Settings.
2. Click the Manage Profiles tab (if it is not selected by default).
3. Select the SW inventory profile, and then click Copy.
4. Rename the copied profile.
5. Edit the SWIS query in the new profile.
6. Save the new profile.

Copied profiles are a type of custom profile, so they are not displayed in List Resources. They are also not detected in Network Discovery and not displayed in SCM candidates resource. Only out-of-the-box configuration profiles are detected there.

To create an exclusion rule in the database:

Use the database table (definition table [SolarWindsOrion].[dbo].[SCM_QueryElement_ExclusionRules]), and insert content manually as needed. See the example of the database table below that can be used to create the following exclusion rules:

• Exclude total memory from hardware inventory monitoring on virtual machine node types. 
• Exclude any driver names that contain the word "Remote" from software inventory monitoring.
• Exclude any changes that relate to operating system update KB123 for Node 3.

Note: The Orion Module Engine service must be restarted for new exclusions to take effect.

 

The first two rules listed in the table below already exist in the database, but are not active. To activate one of these rules, use the following:

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UPDATE [dbo].[SCM_QueryElement_ExclusionRules] SET Active = 0 WHERE ID=3

The third rule in the table below is an example of a rule that can be created, but it does not currently exist in the database.

Table name: [SolarWindsOrion].[dbo].[SCM_QueryElement_ExclusionRules]

NodeID	ProfileID	ElementDisplayAlias	ExclusionQueryWhereCond	ExcludedColumns	Active
NULL	2 (SW inventory)	Software Installed	WHERE Model = 'Virtual Machine'	TotalMemoryB; someOtherColumn	0
NULL	1 (HW inventory)	Drivers	WHERE NAME LIKE '%remote%'	NULL	0
3	2	OS Updates	WHERE Name = 'KB123'	NULL	0

NULL in the NodeID column indicates that the exclusion rule is applied for all nodes.
If ExclusionQuery fails, no exclusion is created, and an error message is displayed.

INSERT INTO [SolarWindsOrion].[dbo].[SCM_QueryElement_ExclusionRules](
       [NodeID]
      ,[ProfileName]
      ,[ElementDisplayAlias]
      ,[ExclusionFilter]
      ,[ColumnsToExclude]
      ,[Active]
         ) VALUES (
         2,
         'SW Inventory',
         'OS Updates',
         'WHERE Name = ''KB123''',
         NULL,
         1
         )

Important: The Orion Module Engine service must be restarted for new exclusions to take effect.