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Creating Rules to Add Devices to a Group Automatically

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You can create automatic inclusion rules that define which devices are included in the site or service group. Devices that match the inclusion rules are added to the group automatically. If a device no longer meets the rule criteria, it is removed from the group automatically.

Rules are created by first defining AND and OR statements, then by adding rules to the statements. For example, if you are creating a rule to include all Windows operating systems, in the default AND group, you would specify that the OS Name contains "Windows".

To create a rule that specifies that the device must either have a Windows operating system or it must be a member workstation, you would change the AND statement to an OR statement, and then add a second rule that specifies that the OS name contains "Windows":

Creating automatic inclusion rules involves the following tasks:

  1. Define the rule statement.

  2. Create an automatic inclusion rule for a group.

  3. Create condition statements for a rule .

  4. Create inclusion criteria for a rule .

Define the rule statement

Creating automatic inclusion rules usually is straightforward, but because you can put together sophisticated rules, it is best to come up with a statement about the rule using simple English before you get started.

Here are some example rule statements:

If you want this result...

Example rule statement

The device must be a firewall

firewall

The chassis type must be a laptop, and the operating system must be Windows

(Chassis type is laptop) AND (OS is Windows)

The network service must be HTTP or HTTPS

(HTTP) OR (HTTPS)

The domain role must be a member workstation or a member server, and the operating system must be Windows 7 or Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Enterprise(Member Workstation or Member Server) AND (Windows 7 or Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Enterprise)

To create an automatic inclusion rule for a group

  1. In Service Center, click Service Delivery > Groups.
  2. Click the Service Groups tab or the Site Groups tab.
  3. Click the name of the group to modify.
    If you need to create a group first, see Creating a Group.
  4. Click the Auto-Inclusion tab.
  5. Create the conditional statements. See To create condition statements for a rule.

  6. Create the inclusion criteria. See To create inclusion criteria for a rule.

    You can add up to a maximum of 15 rules.

  7. Preview the rule. See Previewing a Group.

To create condition statements for a rule

Set up the conditional statements by doing any of the following:

    • To create a single AND statement to which you can add one or multiple rules, do nothing.
    • To create a single OR statement, right-click the existing AND statement and select Modify. From the Type list, select OR.
    • To add an OR group below the existing AND statement, select the AND statement and click Add. From the Type list, select OR.

To create inclusion criteria for a rule

  1. Select the AND or OR statement to which you want to add inclusion criteria.

  2. Click Add.
  3. From the Type list, select Rule.

  4. From the Rule list, select one of the following:

RuleDescriptionDo the following...
Chassis Type Filter devices according to chassis type, such as laptop, desktop, notebook, etc. Select either Equals or Not Equal from the Operator list, and select a chassis type from the Value list.
Device MAC Address Filter devices by the MAC address. Select either Equals , Contains , or Starts With from the Operator list, and type the MAC address in the Value box.
Device  Model Filter devices by providing the device model. Select either Equals , Not Equal, Contains , Not Contain , or Starts With from the Operator list and type the device model name in the Value box.
Device NameFilter devices by a variety of name fields. The string you provide is compared with the following, in this priority: Alias, Computer Name, SSH Name, SNMP Name, and NetBios Name. If the text is found, the device is filtered and the search ended. For example, if the string is found in the Computer Name, the search ends instead of proceeding to the SSH Name category. Select either Equals, Not Equal, Contains, Not Contain, or Starts With from the Operator list and type the device model name in the Value box.
Device Role Category  

Filters devices by device role category.  

As a best practice, use this rule when applying service plans to shared site groups; the pre-built shared site groups in Barracuda RMM are designed to be applied to the device roles defined in this rule.

Select Equals from the Operator list, and then select Network Device , Unknown , Windows Server, or Windows Workstation .
Device System NameFilter devices by providing the system name, as displayed on the Device Overview page.Select either Equals, Not Equal, Contains, Not Contain, or Starts With from the Operator list and type the device model name in the Value box.
Domain Role Filter devices by the domain role. Select either Equals or Not Equal from the Operator list and select a domain role from the Value list, such as Member Workstation or Primary Domain Controller .
Hardware Type Filters devices according to hardware type, including desktop, laptop, printer, rack mount, and others. From the Value list, select the hardware type.
Has Warranty Information

Filter devices by whether warranty information exists. 

Searches for devices with both custom and vendor warranties. Supported vendors include Acer, Compaq, Dell, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, HP, IBM, Lenovo, and Toshiba.


Select this option from the Rule list to include all devices with warranty information.
Installed Memory (in GB) Filter devices by the installed memory. Select either Greater Than or Less Than from the Operator list, then type a number in the Value box, in GBs.
IP Address Filter devices by the IP address. Select either Equals , Not Equal , Greater Than , Less Than , Contains, or Starts With from the Operator list, then type an IP address in the Value box.
Is a Printer Filter devices to include printers. Selecting this option from the Rule list includes all printers.
Is a Virtual Machine Filter devices to include virtual machines. Selecting this option from the Rule list includes all virtual machines.
Logical Drive Size (GB) Filter devices by the logical drive size. Select either Greater Than or Less Than from the Operator list, then type a number in the Value box, in GBs.
Manufacturer   Filter devices by the manufacturer. Select Equals , Not Equal , Contains , Not Contain , or Starts With from the Operator list, then type a manufacturer name in the Value box.
Network Role Filter devices by the network role, such as firewall, router, etc. Select a network role from the Value list.
Network Service

Filter devices by standard network service ports, including commonly-used services such as HTTP, SMTP, and POP3.

Custom ports for network services are not filtered.

 Select a network service from the Value list.
OS Family Filters devices by OS family. For example, Android, iOS, Linux/ Unix, and Windows. From the Value list, select an OS family.
OS Name Filter devices by the operating system name, for example, Windows Server 2008 Standard. Select Equals , Not Equal , Contains , Not Contain , or Starts With from the Operator list, then type an operating system name in the Value box.
OS SKU

Filter devices by their unique operating system SKU (Stock Keeping Unit).

For example, Windows 7 has several SKUs, including Home Premium, Professional, Home Basic, and Enterprise.  

The OS SKU rule is not applicable to Windows 2003 and XP operating systems.

 Select either Equals or Not Equal from the Operator list, then select a SKU from the Value list.
OS Version

Filter devices by the operating system version, which you can determine by executing the winver command.

For example, for the Windows 7 Enterprise operating system, the OS build version is 7601.

 Select either Equals , Not Equal, or Starts With from the Operator list, then type an operating system version in the Value box.
Responds to SNMP Filter devices by whether they respond to Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) monitors. From the Value list, select True to include devices that respond to SNMP monitors, or False to include devices that do not respond.
Responds to Specific OID Filter devices to include those that respond to a specific SNMP object identifier (OID). From the Value list, select an OID type, such as Dell Server or HP Switch.
Responds to SSH Filters devices by whether they respond to Secure Shell (SSH) monitors. From the Value list, select True to include devices that respond to SSH monitors, or False to include devices that do not respond.
Responds to WMI Filters devices by whether they are WMI-enabled. From the Value list, select True to include devices that are WMI-enabled, or False to include devices that are not.
Responds to WS-MAN Filter devices by whether WS-MAN is enabled, which is an option for WMI connectivity. Select True or False from the Value list.
Software   Filter devices by the software that is installed.

You can filter by software name, and optionally you can also filter by the software version.

  1. From the Operator list, select either Exists or Does Not Exist.
  2. Under Software Name, select an operator from the Operator list and type the software name in the Value box.
  3. To further filter by software version, select the Include Software Version check box. From the Operator list that appears, select an operator and type a version number in the Value box.
SNMP sysDesc Filter devices by the SNMP system description. For example, to include Apple macOS devices, you could enter "Darwin". Select either Equals , Not Equal , Contains , Not Contain , or Starts With from the Operator list, then type an SNMP system description in the Value box.
SNMP sysObjectID

Filter devices by the SNMP system object ID.

For example, Cisco ASA series devices each have unique sysObjectIDs. To include Cisco ASA 5505 devices, enter the sysObjectID for this device type (1.3.6.1.4.1.9.1.745).

 Select either Equals , Not Equal , Contains , Not Contain , or Starts With from the Operator list, then type an SNMP sysObjectID in the Value box.
Software Mac and Software Windows Filter devices by the Mac or Windows applications that are installed.

You can filter by software name, and optionally you can also filter by the software version.

  1. From the Operator list, select either Exists or Does Not Exist.
  2. Under Software Name, select an operator from the Operator list and type the software name in the Value box.
  3. To further filter by software version, select the Include Software Version check box.
  4. From the Operator list that appears, select an operator and type a version number in the Value box.
System Role Filter devices by system role. For example, File Server or Routing Service. Select a system role from the Value list.
Windows Service Name

Filter devices by the Windows Service Name.

To determine the Windows Service Name, view the device's Properties Page.

 Select either Equals , Not Equal , Contains , Not Contain , or Starts With from the Operator list, then type a Windows Service Name in the Value box.

5. Click Add.

6. Click Save.

Automatic Inclusion Rule Examples
Example 1

You want to create a service group that automatically includes all computers running the Windows 2008 operating system.

The rule statement would be: All computers with the Windows 2008 operating system.

  1. In Service Center, click Service Delivery > Groups.
  2. Click the Service Groups tab.
  3. Click the name of the group to modify.
  4. Click the Auto-Inclusion tab.
  5. Select the AND row and click Add.
    You must click an empty space in the row and not on the text itself.
  6. From the Rule list, select OS Name.
  7. From the Operator list, select Contains.
    Selecting Contains from the Operator list does not require the full text string, therefore including any device that has an operating system with Windows 2008 in the name.
  8. In the Value box, type Windows 2008 .
  9. Click Add.
Example 2

You want to create a service group that includes all machines running the Windows 2008 operating system and are backup domain controllers.

The rule statement would be: Computer must have the Windows 2008 operating system AND have a domain role of backup domain controller.

  1. In Service Center, click Service Delivery > Groups.
  2. Click the Service Groups tab.
  3. Click the name of the group to modify.
  4. Add the Windows 2008 OS rule:
    1. Select the AND row and click Add.
    2. From the Type list, ensure that Rule is selected.
    3. From the Rule list, select OS Name.
    4. From the Operator list, select Contains.
      Selecting Contains from the Operator list does not require an exact text string, therefore including any device that has an operating system with Windows 2008 in the name.
    5. In the Value box, type Windows 2008 .
    6. Click Add.
  5. Add the backup domain controller rule:
    1. Select the AND row and click Add.
    2. From the Type list, ensure that Rule is selected.
    3. From the Rule list, select Domain Role.
    4. From the Operator list, select Equals.
    5. From the Value list, select Backup Domain Controller.
    6. Click Add.
Example 3

You want to create a service group that includes devices with a Windows 2008 operating system and the domain role is either primary domain controller or backup domain controller.

The rule statement would be: Computer must be running the Windows 2008 operating system AND the domain role must be either Primary Domain Controller OR Backup Domain Controller.

  1. In Service Center, click Service Delivery > Groups.
  2. Click the Service Groups tab.
  3. Click the name of the group to modify.
  4. Click the Auto-Inclusion tab.
  5. Add the Windows 2008 operating system rule:
    1. Select the AND row and click Add.
    2. From the Type list, ensure that Rule is selected.
    3. From the Rule list, select OS Name.
    4. From the Operator list, select Contains.
      Selecting Contains from the Operator list does not require a full text string, therefore including any device that has an operating system with Windows 2008 in the name.
    5. In the Value box, type Windows 2008 .
    6. Click Add.
  6. Add the OR condition:
    1. Click the OS Name row and click Add. 
    2. From the Type list, select OR.
    3. Click Add.
  7. Add the domain roles to the or condition:
    1. Right-click the OR row and select Add from the context menu.
    2. From the Type list, select Rule.
    3. From the Rule list, select Domain Role.
    4. From the Operator list, select Equals.
    5. From the Value list, select Primary Domain Controller.
    6. Click Add.
    7. Right-click the OR row again and select Add from the context menu.
    8. From the Type list, select Rule.
    9. From the Rule list, select Domain Role.
    10. From the Operator list, select Equals.
    11. From the Value list, select Backup Domain Controller.
    12. Click Add.