5. Guide to Network Glue device matching

Introduction

This article shows you how to match unmatched network devices discovered by the Network Glue Collector and create new IT Glue configurations if required.

Scheduled device matching

IT Glue will attempt to match incoming Network Glue data to existing IT Glue configurations following each network scan. This is done by automatically matching the MAC address discovered by the Network Glue Collector to existing IT Glue configuration's primary or non-primary MAC addresses.

If a network device has more than one MAC address (e.g. due to several Network interface cards), IT Glue will always attempt to match MAC addresses collected by the Network Glue data to a single IT Glue configuration if multiple MAC addresses were logged.

Note: Matching via MAC addresses only compares alphanumeric characters with all separators removed. Dashes and colons will not affect the automatching process. For RMM record matching, we assume a single separator of any sort including dashes, colons, periods, etc.

RMM MAC address automatching

To ensure a higher matching ratio, network devices are matched to your RMM devices based on the RMM MAC address. If a network device has a MAC address identical to the MAC address of an IT Glue configuration with information overlaid from your RMM, an automatch is created during the scheduled matching.

Manual device matching

The device matching page gives an overview about discovered network devices and their matching status. From here you can quickly evaluate which devices have been matched, adjust or create matches, create new IT Glue configurations based on network data or choose to ignore particular devices.

Why are my network devices not matched through the scheduled device matching?

In some scenarios, Network Glue data may not be automatically matched to existing IT Glue configurations. Refer to the table below for these scenarios and steps you can take to match your devices.

Possible Scenarios Next Step
A MAC address collected by Network Glue matches more than one IT Glue Configuration. Perform a manual match via search.
Multiple MAC addresses detected by Network Glue match a MAC address of more than one IT Glue Configuration. Perform a manual match via search.
A MAC address collected by Network Glue does not match the MAC address of an existing IT Glue configuration synced with an RMM. Network Glue performs the automatch algorithm based on MAC addresses that are part of an IT Glue configuration.
MAC address for a network device is not detected by Network Glue** Check if there is a firewall or other security settings that are blocking access to the devices. You can do so by checking if the devices and the Network Glue Collector host machine are pingable in both directions.

**Why isn't matching or creation or a device without a MAC address allowed?

Each time a network data set is collected, matching is performed based on the MAC addresses. If you have manually matched or created a configuration with no MAC address before the most recent sync, the system has no way of identifying this device during the next sync. Even if a configuration without a MAC address is created and added manually, you will end up with a MAC address configuration but a network device without a MAC address. Under these circumstances, no match can be created.

Prerequisites

  • You will need Administrator or Manager level access to utilize the device matching page.

Instructions

  1. To navigate to the device matching page, click the Device Matching button in a network diagram.


    IT_Glue_7th_floor_network___IT_Glue.png

  2. On this page, you can view, filter, and search a list of Unmatched, Matched, and Ignored devices by clicking each of the three categories. In the table, you can filter and sort by Device Type, Network Device, and whether SNMP is enabled or disabled.


    Networks___IT_Glue.png

The tables below show content that can be found in each category and the actions available per category.

Category Devices Listed Actions
Unmatched Devices that could not be matched automatically during the scheduled device matching.
  • Manual Match via search
  • Automatch
  • Create
  • Ignore
Matched

Devices that were matched either automatically or manually.

Note: You can distinguish between devices that were either automatically or manually matched during the scheduled device matching.

  • Manual Match via search
  • Automatch
  • Ignore
Ignored Devices that have been manually ignored by an Administrator or Manager.
  • Manual Match via search
  • Automatch
  • Create
Actions Description
Manual Match via search

Search for an IT Glue configuration and match it to a network device manually.

Configurations that match your search criteria will appear as you type. Clicking on an IT Glue configuration in the search results will match this configuration instantly.

Automatch

Automatch as needed based on MAC addresses. IT Glue attempts to find the most current and accurate match automatically.

Example: Click on Automatch if configuration data has been created or updated since the most recent Network Glue data sync.

Create Create a new IT Glue configuration based on the given Network Glue data.
Ignore Ignore a discovered network device. Ignored devices will no longer appear in the Unmatched or Matched categories in all subsequent network discoveries.
Note: All network devices listed in the Unmatched category will automatically be moved to the Matched category if either a manual match via search or automatch is performed, or if a new IT Glue configuration is created.

Setting up a workflow for unmatched devices

In Account > Workflows, an Administrator or Manager can set up a scheduled workflow that sends a notification to the chosen recipients when there are unmatched devices found in your network scans. You can also decide to receive the notification even when there are zero unmatched devices found for peace of mind.

For more information, see the Guide to workflows article.

Matching Hyper-V hosts, VMware hosts, and VM data

If you added VMware host data during the Collector setup, Network Glue will discover your VMware guests like all other devices. To have Hyper-V hosts and guests be discovered automatically as well, you will need to toggle on the “Scan Active Directory” switch during the Collector setup and add your AD credentials. All of these can be actioned by following our Setting up Network Glue for an IT Glue organization KB article.

Device Network Glue Device IT Glue Device
Virtual switch Virtual switch Virtual switches do not have MAC or IP addresses. So, they cannot be created as IT Glue configurations.
Hyper-V guest, or VMware guest Virtual machine

When creating a new configuration from the Network Glue device, a “VM” device type is applied.

When matching to an existing IT Glue configuration and an IT Glue device is missing, a “VM” device type is applied.

When matching to an existing IT Glue configuration that has a device type, the existing device type in IT Glue is applied.

Hyper-V host, or VMware host VMware and Hyper-V hosts are devices (e.g. server) already discovered by Network Glue.

Creating a new configuration

If a device is not automatically or manually matched to an IT Glue configuration, you have the option of creating a new IT Glue configuration based on the information gathered by the Network Glue Collector. The below table describes how Network Glue data is mapped to IT Glue configuration fields.

Network Glue device IT Glue configuration
Device type (router, switch, server, computer, printer, network device) Type
Device name Name
IP address Interfaces - IP address
MAC address Interfaces - MAC address
Hostname Hostname
Physical location Physical position
Network location Location

VSA Agent Status on Network Diagram

For our partners with Network Glue and an VSA integration, you can view and filter for all agent statuses on your network diagram. If your Network Glue devices are matched to IT Glue Configurations and synced with Kaseya VSA, your diagram will show the following statuses:

  • VSA agent is currently online
  • VSA agent is currently offline
  • VSA agent and user are both currently online

In addition, you can also filter for devices that are either matched or not matched to IT Glue through the "Matched to IT Glue" status.

To set up an integration with Kaseya VSA, refer to our Integrating with Kaseya VSA KB article. For more details on viewing VSA agent statuses on your network diagram, refer to our Guide to Network Glue network diagram KB article.

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