05 Define your sites and CI groups (Optional)

[ Applies to ] StorageGuard 9.x and later  /  All supported storage, backup, SAN and cloud systems  /  Windows and Linux deployments

Sites and CI groups are optional. Without them, StorageGuard scans everything in scope, and systems you don't assign stay in Unknown Site. Use them when you want to split your environment: sites by location or owner, CI groups by rules that pick the right systems for integrations, expansion packages and scan scopes. CI roles, on the same menu, describe what a system does and how important it is.

Sites

A site groups systems, usually by data center, but it can also be a department or a floor. Each system belongs to exactly one site, and you can later scope security policies and reviews by site.

Plan your sites

• Pick one way of grouping. A system can only be in one site, so choose whether sites represent locations (Boston, Frankfurt DR) or owners (Finance). Mixing both leads to systems that fit two sites.
• Match how you'll review findings. If teams own a data center each, sites by location let each team see only its own systems.
• Leave nothing in Unknown Site. Unknown Site holds every system not assigned elsewhere. It's a catch-all, not a place to keep systems long-term.

Create a site

1. Go to Settings > Associations > Sites.
2. Click +.
3. In Name, enter the site name. This name appears throughout StorageGuard.
4. In Description, add a short description.
5. Click Apply.

From now on, choose the site in the Site field when you add a data source or host.

Assign existing systems to a site

Systems added before you created sites are in Unknown Site. To move them:

1. Go to Settings > Associations > Sites and select the site.
2. Click Assign items.
3. Slide the toggle to Out of this Site to list systems not in this site.
4. Select the systems, right-click, and select Add items.

To remove a system, slide the toggle to In This Site, right-click the system and remove it.

CI groups

A CI group collects configuration items (CIs), such as hosts, clusters, databases, storage arrays or SAN switches, into a named set, picked by hand or matched by rules. You can use CI groups to scope scheduled scan tasks, and with integration plugins and data collection expansion packages. Membership is evaluated when the feature runs, so a new system that matches a group's rules is included automatically once it's scanned.

Create a CI group

1. Go to Settings > Associations > CI groups.
2. Click +.
3. Enter a Name and Description.
4. In Group main type, select the kind of CI, for example Storage Array or SAN Switch.
5. Add members in either or both of these ways:
   • Static: click Select next to Include items to pick systems, or next to Exclude items to leave systems out.
   • Dynamic: choose rules from Dynamic Rules, or add a new rule, to match systems by criteria such as scan group name or IP address.
6. Click Apply.

See which systems are in a CI group

In Settings > Associations > CI groups, right-click the group and select Show configuration items. The list shows both static and dynamic members.

CI roles

Every system has a CI role, such as Primary Storage or Backup destination, which helps you prioritize when several systems have issues. StorageGuard includes predefined roles; create your own to match how your organization classifies systems.

1. Go to Settings > Associations > CI roles.
2. Click +.
3. Enter a Name.
4. To give this role to every system that has no other role, select Set as Default Role.
5. Click the stars to set the role's importance.
6. Click Apply.

Edit or delete sites, CI groups and roles

• To edit a site, CI group or CI role, double-click it under Settings > Associations, make your changes and click Apply.
• To remove one, right-click it and select Delete. Predefined CI roles can't be changed or deleted.

Related articles

• Add a data source
• Discover systems and choose what to scan
• Schedule recurring scans