Retrieval of computer systems (deprecated)

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You use the GET operation on the api/sam/computer_systems element to request information about computer systems in your infrastructure.

Important: This REST API is planned to be entirely substituted with api/sam/v2/computers REST API. If you have custom tools or internal processes that are based on api/sam/computer_systems REST API, it is best to adjust the tools to use the new version of the API. For information, see: Mapping columns between computer_systems and v2/computers REST API.

This API retrieves information about physical and virtual computer systems. Apart from computers that have an BigFix® client installed, it also includes host systems on which the client is not deployed because some virtualization types do not allow for software to be installed on the host level (VMware ESXi, IBM PowerVM, and so on). Data related to such host computer systems must however be retrieved to build a proper hierarchy between the server and its virtual machines and to correctly report the PVU and RVU utilization.

The type property determines whether a computer system is a host computer or a virtual one. A host can be, for example, a virtualization server, ESX hypervisor, or a laptop with agent installed. A virtual machine refers only to virtual machines that can be deployed on a host. Because of this, you should not compare the outcome of the REST API with single reports, especially with the Computers, and Hardware Inventory reports.

To retrieve information about your computer systems, use the following URL: 
https://hostname:port/api/sam/computer_systems
Important:
  • To use this API, you must be assigned to the All Computers group and have the View Hardware Inventory permission.
  • By default, the retrieved data is sorted by id.

Before you begin

9.2.34 Starting from application update 9.2.34, this REST API is disabled by default. To enable it, change the value of the expose_deprecated_api parameter on the Advanced Server Settings panel to true. For more information, see: Advanced server settings.

Important: Deprecated REST APIs are going to be removed at the end of 2024. After that period, these REST APIs are going to be unsupported. Switch to version 2 of the REST APIs as soon as convenient.

Resource URL

https://server_host_name:port_number/api/sam/computer_systems

Resource information

Table 1. Resource information
Operation details Description
Purpose Returns a list of computer systems.
HTTP method GET
Resource URI https://server_host_name:port_number/api/sam/computer_systems
URI query parameters For a list of applicable query parameters, see: Query parameters.
Request headers
Header
Accept-Language (optional)
Values
en-US (only English is supported)

Used to negotiate the language of the response. If this header is not specified, the content is returned in the server language.
Request payload n/a
Request Content-Type
  • application/json
Response headers
Accept-Language (optional)
  • Use: Used to negotiate the language of the response. If this header is not specified, the content is returned in the server language.
  • Values: en-US (only English is supported)
Token
  • Use: Used to authenticate REST API requests. The header is required when you set the value of the api_token_in_url_enabled parameter to false. Otherwise, you can specify the token in the request header or in the URL. For more information, see: Authenticating REST API requests.
  • Values: an alphanumeric string that is generated in License Metric Tool
Import-Mode
  • Use: Specifies the data import status.
  • Values: none, idle, running, pending
Import-Progress
  • Use: Specifies the percentage progress of a data import.
  • Values: A percentage value, for example 59.
Import-Last-Status
  • Specifies the status of the last data import.
  • successful, failed
Import-Last-Success-Time
  • Use: Specifies the time of the last successful data import.
  • Values: Date, for example 2014-06-18T04:00:29Z.
Response payload Computer Systems element
Response Content-Type
  • application/json
Normal HTTP response codes
  • 200 – OK
Error HTTP response codes
  • 500 – “Bad Request” if a query parameter contains errors or is missing

Message body includes an error message with details.

Query parameters

You can use query parameters to narrow down the results of your search. The following table presents query parameters that you can use for the api/sam/computer_systems element.
Table 2. Query parameters for retrieving software products
Parameter Description Required Value
columns[] Specify which columns to retrieve. If you do not specify this parameter, a set of default columns is retrieved. For available columns, see Response body. Example:
Retrieve the name and version columns:
URL?columns[]=name&columns[]=version
 No String
order Specify how to sort the returned data. The default direction for sorting columns is ascending. If you want to specify a descending sort, append desc to the column name. Example:
Order by type descending:
URL?order[]=type desc
 No String
limit Specify the number of rows to retrieve. If you omit this parameter, all rows are retrieved. No Numeric
offset Specify the number of rows to skip for retrieving results. You can use it together with the limit parameter to paginate results. Example:
Retrieve 50 records starting after record 150:
URL?limit=50&offset=150
 No Numeric
criteria Retrieve records which match specific conditions. The parameter should have the following structure, written on one line: 
<criteria> ::= <left-brace> <boolean-operator><colon> <left-bracket> 
<criterion> [{ <comma> <criterion> }...] <right-bracket> <right-brace>

<boolean-operator> ::= "and" | "or"
<criterion> ::= <criteria> | <left-bracket> <column> <comma> <operator> <comma> <value> <right-bracket>
<column> ::= <json-string>
<operator> ::= <json-string>
<value> ::= <json-array> | <json-string> | <json-numver> | <json-null>

For more information about operators, see Common connectors and operators.

Example: Retrieve computer systems whose operating system contains "AIX" OR the last seen date within a specific date range: 
URL?criteria={ "or": [ ["os", "contains", "aix"], 
{ "and": [ ["last_seen", ">", "1970-01-01T00:00:00+00:00Z"], 
["last_seen", "<", "1970-01-02T00:00:00+00:00Z"] ] } ] }
For columns that use the date and time values, such as Last Seen, you can retrieve data also for a period instead of a specific date. To do so, use last or next as <operator>, and then specify the time value in the following convention: PxD/PxW/PxM/PxY, where x is a number in the 1-999 range, and D, W, M, or Y is a designator that represents days, weeks, months, or years respectively. For example, to retrieve computer systems that reported within last 7 days, use the following API request: 
URL?criteria={"and":[["last_seen","last","P7D"]]}

Example HTTP conversation

Request
GET https://hostname:port/api/sam/computer_systems
Request header
Accept: application/json 
Accept-Language: en-US
Token: <token>
Response header
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Language: en-US
The above response header may be followed by different entries, depending on the current status of the data import which is represented by Import-Mode. To understand the returned values, see the following definitions:
  • none - a data import has never been initiated
  • idle - no data imports are currently running
  • running - a data import is in progress
  • pending - an action performed in the user interface requires a data import to be started for the change to take effect
If a data import has never been initiated:
Import-Mode: none
If a data import is in progress:
Import-Mode: running
Import-Progress: 41
If a data import is not running:
Import-Mode: idle/pending
Import-Last-Status: successful
Import-Last-Success-Time: Mon, 23 Jun 2014 12:18:29 GMT
Response body (JSON)
If a particular entry is hidden by default, it is not retrieved by using the general URL. To retrieve such data, you must use query parameters to specify the name of the hidden column. For example, you can retrieve the server_id and datasource_id columns by using the columns[] parameter: 
URL?columns[]=server_id&columns[]=datasource_id
{	
 "id": 25,
 "parent_id"=9,//ID of a host for a VM 
 "computer_id": 2,//hidden by default
 "computer_remote_id": 123,//hidden by default
 "server_id": 24,//hidden by default
 "datasource_name"="Data source",//hidden by default
 "datasource_id"=1,//hidden by default
 "type"="virtual",//type: virtual or host
 "os": "Linux Red Hat Enterprise Server 6.2)",
 "host_name": "<name>",
 "dns_name": "<name>",
 "ip_address": [
    "<ip_address>",
    "<ip_address>" ],
 "last_seen": "2014-04-08T14:33:41Z",
 "hardware_manufacturer": "IBM",
 "hardware_model": "System x3550 M2 -[794662G]-", 
 "hardware_serial_number": "99B7166",
 "hardware_type": "7946",//hidden by default
 "hardware_name": "IBM Corp. 7946",//hidden by default
 "processor_brand_string": "Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E7-3400 @ 2.40GHz",
 "processor_type": "Multi-core",
 "processor_brand": "Xeon(R)",
 "processor_vendor": "Intel(R)",
 "processor_model": "3400-3699 or 5500-5699",
 "partition_cores" : 1,//null for host serves
 "server_processors": 1,
 "server_cores": 8,
 "pvu_per_core": 70,//hidden by default
 "uuid":"50305bd3-1f09-7294-7033-b903767d4605" //hidden by default
 "cluster_id":"1"// hidden by default 
}		//ID of the cluster to which the computer system
 		belongs. Available only for type: host.