Process management databases

On startup, the discovery engine, ncp_disco, populates the agent and stitcher databases with information extracted from the discovery agent and discovery stitcher files. While operating, ncp_disco scans for alterations to the agent and stitcher files and updates the agent and stitcher databases if necessary. The frequency of scans is set in the disco database.

The agents and stitchers databases contain definition and configuration information for the agents and stitchers, such as a list of the types of devices that are sent to any given agent. The information in these databases is extracted by the discovery engine from the following directories:

/precision/disco/agents
/precision/disco/stitchers

The stitchers databases also contain information about when any given stitcher is triggered; for example, "start stitcher X upon completion of agent Y," or "start stitcher X upon the insertion of an entry into database table Z." It is therefore possible to start stitchers on demand by inserting their name into the appropriate actions table using OQL. The necessary agents are started automatically when a device is inserted into the despatch table of the agent.