Using the inventory command

Explains how to use the inventory command to manage inventory

Use the inventory command to manage your network inventory and perform grouping and debugging operations from the command line.

Invoked without arguments, the inventory command brings up the DataMart Inventory Tool GUI, which is explained in detail in the IBM Tivoli Netcool Performance Manager: DataMart Configuration and Operation Guide .

You typically use the DataMart Inventory Tool to:

  • Run inventories against profiles newly created with the Inventory Wizard to ensure that they work as expected.
  • Run an on-demand inventory.

The inventory command, by contrast, is typically placed in crontab to run complete or partial inventories or grouping operations on a regular basis as part of a Tivoli Netcool Performance Manager deployment.

Thus, the best practice is first to create and debug an inventory profile using the DataMart Inventory Tool, and then to deploy the inventory and grouping operations in crontab using the inventory command.

When a profile is run from the Inventory Tool GUI, the output goes to the UI and to the file PVMHOME/log/TraceInventory.log .

When a profile is run from the CLI, the output goes to the standard output device (terminal screen). If you want to save the inventory output, you must redirect the output to a file:
inventory -noX ... > myInventory.log
Note: Sample inventory script contains a sample Korn Shell script that calls the inventory command. You can use this as a model for your own inventory wrapper programs.