The system configuration information file specifies the IP address, host name, host type, creation date/time, comment, and path for each host. Note that the creation date/time can be set only for JP1/Software Distribution Manager.

This is a text file, in which a line whose first column is a single quotation mark (') or a pound sign (#) is assumed to be a comment line.

Format

IP-address host-name HID=host-ID,TYPE=host-type,MAC=MAC-address,COMMENT=comment, ROOT=path,DATE=creation-date-and-time

Description

You can specify the operands after IP-address in any order.

IP-address (required)

Specify the IP address of the host.

Although JP1/Software Distribution Manager does not manage the specified IP address, you must specify this operand so that the file format matches the format of the hosts file of TCP/IP.

You can also directly enter the hosts file of TCP/IP as the system configuration information file. In such a case, the system sets all hosts as clients.

You can create a simpler system configuration information file by adding a host type (TYPE), a comment (COMMENT), and a path (ROOT), based on the hosts file of TCP/IP.

host-name (required)

For details about how to specify the host name, see 8.1.2 Assigning host names in a JP1/Software Distribution system.

HID=host-ID

Specify a host ID that uniquely identifies the host. If you chose File and then Save to File in the System Configuration window to save the system configuration information to a file and a host ID was set, be sure to specify that host ID. If a host ID was not set in the system configuration information file that you produced using Save to File, or if you are adding a new host, do not specify this operand.

TYPE=host-type

Specify MASTER (relay system or offline folder) or CLIENT (client or offline machine) as the host type. If you omit this operand, the system sets CLIENT as the default.

If you are using both the hosts file of TCP/IP and a system configuration information file, specify # and a space before TYPE. In the hosts file of TCP/IP, the text after # is treated as a comment.

MAC=MAC-address

Specify the MAC address of the host. Basically, do not change this operand because MAC addresses are related to facilities such as Wake on LAN. If you change the operand, the related facilities may not function.

COMMENT=comment

Specify a comment. You cannot use commas in the comment. The comment text string can have up to 64 bytes.

ROOT=path

If the host is connected through multiple relay systems, specify the full path from the highest relay system to the lowest relay system, expressed as host names, IP addresses, or host IDs. If the host is connected through two or more relay systems, separate the relay systems with \ or !. If the host is connected directly to JP1/Software Distribution Manager, you can omit this operand.

DATE=creation-date-and-time

Specify the date and time when you register (or registered) the host with the central manager or relay manager for the first time. Specify the date and time in MM/DD/YYYY/hh/mm/ss format (where MM is the month, DD is the day, YYYY is the year, hh is the hour, mm is the minute, and ss is the second). In YYYY, you can specify 1971 to 2037. In hh, you can specify 0 to 23.

If you omit this operand, the date and time when Create from File was executed is set.

To create the system configuration information from a file:

1. In the System Configuration window, choose File, and then Create from File.
   The dialog box for selecting a file appears.
   
2. Select the system configuration information file that was created, and click the OK button.
   The system creates the system configuration information from the system configuration information that was set in the file.
   

You should note the following points when you create the system configuration information from a file:

• If the system configuration information was created previously, the contents of the System Configuration window are replaced with the contents set in the file. A host is deleted from the system configuration information if it is in the existing system configuration information, but not in the file. When a host is deleted, its inventory information remains in the database. You can use Database Manager to delete the inventory information for such deleted hosts. For details about how to delete the inventory information, see 7.5.6 Deleting unneeded inventory information from the database.
• The existing contents of the Destination window are deleted, except the ID group information.
• If the existing contents of the System Configuration window contain a host ID specification, be sure to set that host ID.
• If you are using the host ID, an illegal root error may occur when the facility for automatically registering the system configuration starts processing during creation of the system configuration information from the file. Wait several moments and then start again.

You can save the system configuration information displayed in the System Configuration window to a file. This feature is helpful when you need to change the system configuration information, because you simply save the current system configuration information to a file and then edit that file.

If managing servers are configured in a hierarchy, the file output at the central manager does not include system configuration information about hosts under the relay managers. To obtain system configuration information about hosts under the relay managers, you must output that system configuration information to a file at each relay manager.

To save the system configuration information to a file:

1. In the System Configuration window, choose File, and then Save to File.
   The Save System Configuration dialog box appears. Before you perform this operation, choose Refresh to update the system configuration information. If you do not manually update the system configuration information, the displayed information may differ from the latest internal data.
   
2. Specify the file name, and click the OK button.
   The system configuration information is saved to the file.
   

An output example of the system configuration information file is shown below:

Figure 8-1 Output example of the system configuration information file

Note that if you save the system configuration to a file, an IP address is replaced with xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx. To use IP addresses to manage hosts using the created file, you must edit the IP addresses with a tool such as a text editor.