The discovery process uses the name resolution service that is provided by the local operating system to translate hostnames to IP addresses, and to translate IP addresses to hostnames. On a UNIX system, a name resolution service might be Domain Name System (DNS), NIS or NIS+, or a hosts file.
The discovery of a candidate system starts with a hostname, which is provided by the user, or an IP address, which is provided by the user or is automatically discovered. If the system is identified by a hostname, the discovery process calls the local name resolution service to resolve the hostname to one or more IP addresses. If the hostname does not resolve, the discovery process places the system, which is identified by its hostname, on the Pending Devices list of the IP Manager.
The Pending Devices list is described in “Pending Devices list” on page 193.
If the candidate system is identified by a user-provided IP address, the discovery process checks whether the IP address conforms with the IP address format. If the IP address does not conform, the discovery process places the system, which is identified by its invalid IP address, on the Pending Devices list.
If the candidate system is identified by an automatically discovered IP address, the discovery process checks whether the IP address matches an IP address of any discovery filter. If the IP address does not match the IP address of any discovery filter, the discovery process discards the IP address.
