Advanced Search

In the Advanced Search tool, you can create complex searches based on Node Inventory information. The benefit of the Advanced Search tool is to save the query and create a Group of Nodes based on the search criteria.

  • 1. Select a field

The selection of the field upon which the criteria will apply is a two step process. The list of fields is not displayed unordered and extensively. Fields have been grouped in the same way they are displayed when you look at information about a Node. First you choose among these groups: Node, Network Interface, Filesystem, Machine, RAM, Storage, BIOS, Controller, Port, Processor, Sound Card, Video Card, Software, Environment Variable, Processes, Virtual Machines; then you choose among the list of fields concerning this theme.

  • 2. Select the matching rule

The matching rule can be selected between following possibilities: Is defined, Is not defined, =, ≠ or Regex followed by the term you are searching for presence or absence. Depending on the field, the list of searchable terms is either an free text field, either the list of available terms.

  • a. Regex matching rule

You can use regular expressions to find whatever you want in Node inventories. A search request using a regexp will look for every node that match the pattern you entered.

Those regexps follow Java Pattern rules. See http://docs.oracle.com/javase/6/docs/api/java/util/regex/Pattern.html for more details.

Example 4. Search node having an ip address matching 192.168.x.y

Assuming you want to search every node using an ip address match 192.168.x.y, where x<10 and y could be everything. You will to add that line to your search request:

  • Node summary, Ip address, Regex, 192\ .168\ .\d\ . .*


  • b. Composite search

Some fields allow you to look for more than one piece of information at a time. That’s the case for environment variable. For those fields you have to enter the first element then the separator then following elements. The name of the fields tells you about what is expected. It would look like firstelement<sep>secondelement assuming that <sep> is the separator.

Example 5. Search Environment Variable LANG=C.

Assuming you want to search every node having the environment variable LANG set to C. You will have to add that search line to your request:

  • Environment variable, key=value, =, LANG=C.


  • 3. Add another rule

You can select only one term for each matching rule. If you want to create more complex search, then you can add another rule using the + icon. All rules are using the same operand, either AND or OR. More complex searches mixing AND and OR operands are not available at the moment.

Example 6. Advanced search for Linux Nodes with ssh.

Assuming you want to search all Linux Nodes having ssh installed. You will create this 2 lines request:

  1. Operator: AND.
  2. First search line: Node, Operating System, =, Linux.
  3. Second search line: Software, Name, =, ssh.