For CLI discovery, the drivers invoke CLI commands to query EIGRP-enabled Cisco devices and IS-IS-enabled Cisco devices for routing topology and relationship information. One CLI discovery session is started for each device. Appendix C, “CLI Commands for Discovery,” provides a description of the commands that are invoked by a CLI discovery session.
A CLI discovery session uses the appropriate CLI device-access object to access a Cisco device through the Telnet, SSH1, or SSH2 protocol. The session uses the “site key” to decrypt a copy of the user password in the CLI device-access object just before the session attempts to access the Cisco device. As explained in the VMware Smart Assurance System Administration Guide, the site key is created during the installation of VMware Smart Assurance applications.
If the probing of a device is successful, Network Protocol Manager creates an object for each discovered routing-protocol component and places the objects in its repository. If the probing is not successful, Network Protocol Manager places the name of the probed device on the Pending Elements list. Chapter 5, “Understanding Discovery Results,” provides information about discovery errors and the Pending Elements list.
On Unix-like systems, Network Protocol Manager for BGP can optionally discover Route Reflector. On Unix-like systems Network Protocol Manager for OSPF can use CLI discovery to identify and mark OSPF passive interfaces.
