Parts of a Probe

Probe File Header

The header of a probe file contains a formal description of the probe. It is defined using the following tags:

   <header> ... </header>

Header Part Format

The header is composed of several parts. Each part has a name, and a corresponding value, written in this format:

   part-name = "value"

where value is enclosed in double-quotes.

Header Parts

  type

Describes the type of the probe file. InterMapper supports the following probe types:

  • builtin
  • tcp-script
  • custom-snmp
  • custom-snmp-trap
  • command-line
  • cmd-line

For custom TCP probes, use the tcp-script type.
For custom SNMP probes, use the custom-snmp type.
For custom SNMP Trap probes, use the custom-snmp-trap type.
For command-line probes, use the command-line or cmd-line type.
  package

The first part of the probe's full identifier. Typically, the package is made up of the domain name of the organization that created the probe, with the labels reversed.

For example, all probes created by Dartware, LLC the package statement is as follows: 

   package = "com.dartware"

The package part guarantees that different organizations can create probes without concern that their probe identifiers will conflict.

Note: The combination of [package].[probe_name] together form the probe's full identifier. (In the example below, the full identifier is "com.dartware.tcp.custom") By convention, the name of the file that holds the probe definition is the same as the probe's full identifier. This is not required, but it's a good idea.
  probe_name The second part of the probe's full identifier. The probe_name may be whatever string the creating organization chooses.
  human_name The string that appears in the left pane of the Probe Picker window. This string helps guides the user to select the probe for a particular device.
  version Provides a means to determine which probe file is the current one. The format of the version is "#.#".
  address_type

A comma-separated list of one or more address types. InterMapper implements "IP" and "AT".
  port_number The IP port used by this probe.
  display_name

Specify the display_name to use with this probe, using forward slashes to specify the heirarchy. To do this, add the following line to the <header> section of the probe:

    display_name = "[top level]/[next level]/[next level]"

Example:

   display_name = "Custom/Command-line"
  url_hint Assign a double-click action within the probe (making it the pre-defined double-click action). To do this, add the following line to your <header> section of the probe:

url_hint = "url-to-invoke"

The following example would invoke the web browser to the device's IP address and port 

 url_hint = "http://${address}:${port}"

 
  poll_interval

Set the device's default poll interval to the indicated number of seconds. This overrides the map's default setting, and might be used to avoid too-frequent polling for (physical) devices that should not be polled too often.

Setting the poll interval *for the device* will override this poll_interval setting.

poll_interval = "300"

Sample Header Section

This is a sample header from the Custom TCP script.

<header>
   "type"          =   "tcp-script"
   "package"       =   "com.dartware"
   "probe_name"    =   "snmp.example"
   "human_name"    =   "Example SNMP probe"
   "display_name"    =   "Miscellaneous/Example SNMP Probe"    
   "version"       =   "1.0"
   "address_type"  =   "IP,AT"
   "port_number"   =   "161"
   "flags" = ""
</header>

 

Header Section of Custom SNMP Probes

The <header> section of the probe file is similar to the standard <header> section, with the following differences:

Note: The old_protocol and old_script parts, added for backward compatibility, are deprecated, and are ignored in any older probes that use them.