HAM basics

An SNMP collector collects data from a specific set of network resources according to a set of configuration properties.

A collector has two basic parts: the collector process running on the host computer, and the collector profile that defines the collector's properties.

Note: Do not confuse a "collector profile" with an "inventory profile." A collector profile contains properties used in the collection of data from network resources - properties such as collector number, polling interval, and output directory for the collected data. An inventory profile contains information used to discover network resources - properties such as the addresses of the resources to look for and the mode of discovery.

A collector that is not part of a HAM environment is static - that is, the collector process and the collector profile are inseparable. But in a HAM environment, the collector process and collector profile are managed as separate entities. This means that if a collector process is unavailable (due to a collector process crash or a host machine outage), the HAM can dynamically reconfigure the collector, allowing data collection to continue. The HAM does so by unbinding the collector profile from the unavailable collector process on the primary host, and then binding the collector profile to a collector process on a backup (spare) host.

Note: It may take several minutes for the HAM to reconfigure a collector, depending on the amount of data being collected.