Best Practice: Use Loopback Addresses to Manage Devices Modeled in SPECTRUM

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Issue/Introduction

Best Practice: Use Loopback Addresses to Manage Devices Modeled in SPECTRUM

Resolution

A recommended best practice is to set loopback addresses on the devices to be managed by SPECTRUM.  This is an address that reliably and uniquely represents the device to be modeled.

You can set SPECTRUM to use a loopback interface as a primary agent address, and you can specify which loopback interface to use when modeling devices.

By default "Use Loopback" is set to No under the VNM icon under SpectroSERVER Control.  If you set to Yes, the SpectroSERVER will use the loopback interface as a primary agent address when you discover the device  (this will not convert existing Primary Address to the loopback address if already modeled).

Also under SpectroSERVER Control is Loopback if Description.  Here you can enter a string to identify a preferred loopback interface for SPECTRUM to use when modeling the device. SPECTRUM compares the string entered with the if_descr entries in the device IFTABLE for loopback interfaces only. If a match is found, SPECTRUM uses that loopback interface when it models the device. If there is no match, or no value is specified, SPECTRUM chooses the loopback interface on the device with the lowest if_index value.