A group is a logical set of devices. Groups in the Questra IDM Application Suite serves a variety of purposes:
Groups provide users with a means to navigate to devices. Users can begin their search for a device by selecting a group on the Navigation pane's Groups panel, causing the Content pane's Devices panel to display the list of devices in the group. From that list, they then select the device they want to work with.
Groups control which users are authorized to access which devices. When a user is added to the system, he or she is assigned as an owner of a group, which thereby gives that user access to the group's devices.
Groups support the email alert notification and escalation
processes
Groups help users and administrators save time by allowing them to perform operations on many devices at the same time. Users can set up a scheduled task (such as for collecting readings, transferring files, or downloading software updates) for an entire group of devices, rather than having to set up those tasks on individual devices. Likewise, administrators can quickly associate a customer with, assign ownership to, and define rules for a whole group of devices instead of for individual devices.
There are two different types of groups: statically-populated groups (or simply static groups) and dynamically-populated groups (or simply dynamic groups). Since its inception, the Questra IDM Application Suite has used static groups. A static group is one whose device membership has been manually defined by an administrator. The administrator creates the group and associates devices with it. When a new device is added to the system (whether manually or through auto-registration), the administrator must manually associate it with a group.
As of Version 5.1, the system introduced the support of dynamic groups as well. Devices can be automatically associated with groups based on a set of rules or some aspect of their profiles. As devices are added to the system or provide updated information to the Enterprise, they are automatically associated with the applicable dynamic groups. (For more information, see Understanding dynamic groups.)
All groups of either kind have a parent group. Those at the top level have a special built-in parent group called Root.
The system comes installed with a static group called Geography and a comprehensive set of subgroups. These groups support the alert map features with which users can locate alerts geographically rather than by drilling down to a device or a custom group of devices. These default static groups are:
Geography
World
<continent>
<country>
(for
the United States only) <state>
You can also create any number of custom groups as needed.
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It is common to have multiple groups to suit the needs of various application functions that involve groups. For example, you might want to create a group Customers or Global Experts and then create subgroups within them. Using separate groups for the application functions provides more configuration flexibility and is easier for users to understand. If you do want to set up custom group hierarchies, keep in mind the purposes that groups serve, as described above. |
As of Version 5.2s, the concept of group ownership has been further refined. The group hierarchy that you see in the Navigation pane's Groups panel and on the Groups dialog will depend completely on your group ownership. You will be able to see and manage only the groups you own. If you own the Root group, you will be able to manage all groups in the system.
