Tracking Hardware Configurations in a
Heterogeneous Network with syslogd
Rex Walters
IBM Microelectronics Division
Abstract
Keeping track of the RAM, disk drives, and various SCSI, network, and
display adaptors currently installed in dozens (or even hundreds) of
workstations can be a nearly impossible task, particularly in
environments where hardware is frequently ``borrowed'' from one
workstation and moved to another, or where machines frequently come
and go. This paper describes a novel method of using syslog(3) to
allow the workstations themselves to log their current hardware
configuration with a central host every time they boot. The
application reuses existing tools wherever possible, and thus provides
a good degree of platform independence. The programs work with nearly
any UNIX system, and should be extendable to other non-UNIX (but
TCP/IP enabled) systems with only modest effort.
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