Skip to content

Adding hosts

A host in Vesana is a concrete monitored machine or device — a Linux server, a switch, a UPS, a firewall.

Ways to create a host

Way When
Manually via the host form Single device, you know what it is
Discovery Let the network scan find them, accept hits
Bulk import (CSV / API) Many at once

This page covers the manual path. For discovery: Discovery.

Steps

1 — Pick a profile

Hosts → New opens a visual profile selector. Profiles are grouped by category (Server, Network Devices, Storage, UPS, …) and show capabilities as pills.

Pick the closest match. If unsure:

  • For Linux/Windows servers: Generic Linux Server / Generic Windows Server
  • For switches: Generic Network Device → discovery later suggests something more specific
  • For UPS / Storage / Firewall: vendor-specific profile if available, otherwise generic

Profile capabilities drive the next fields.

2 — Required fields

Field When shown
Hostname always
IP address when profile.ip_required = true (all SNMP/Ping/HTTP profiles)
Tenant super admin only; regular users are pinned to their tenant
Description optional
Tags optional, comma-separated

Hostname is unique within a tenant. Use FQDN if needed.

3 — Pick a monitoring mode

Three modes possible, depending on profile capabilities and target architecture:

Mode When Prerequisite
Agent Linux/Windows servers, all workstations Profile with agent_capable = true, agent install
Collector Switches, UPS, firewalls, storage, anything via SNMP/Ping/SSH Collector VM in customer network
Active Rare — only when server-direct check is fine Direct network sight to target

You can decide per service — many hosts have agent + collector at the same time (agent for local CPU/RAM, collector for SNMP sensors).

4 — Save

After Save you land on the host detail page with:

  • Status summary (count OK / WARN / CRIT / NO_DATA services)
  • Services table (initially empty)
  • Agent box (if agent_capable)
  • Visual (if profile.visual_type is set)
  • Audit-log tab

5 — Generate agent token (if agent mode)

In the agent area of the host detail:

  1. Click Set up agent
  2. Token is shown once — copy immediately
  3. Insert token into the agent installer (see Agent installation)

Agent tokens are not recoverable

Lose the token: Revoke and create a new one. The old agent stops authenticating — re-install needed.

6 — Add services

If the profile has auto_add profile-checks, services are already there. Otherwise manually:

  • Add service on the host detail
  • Pick profile-check from dropdown (filtered by capabilities + OS)
  • Optional: threshold override, interval override, config override

Details: Edit profiles.

Backend validation rules

POST /api/v1/host-services/ enforces these regardless of UI:

  • Agent checks → host must have agent_managed = true (token created)
  • Passive checks → host must have a collector assigned
  • Network checks (ping, port, snmp, ssh_) → ip_address required
  • Interval between 10 s and 7 days
  • Retry interval ≥ 5 s and ≤ main interval
  • check_type is immutable after creation — to change type, recreate the service

Bulk operations

On the hosts overview (/hosts):

  • Select multiple → add tags / assign tenant / change profile
  • Filter by status, tag, tenant
  • Search by hostname

Mass profile change triggers auto-add checks on apply — existing services stay, new ones arrive.

Next