USER GUIDE

SERVICE GATEWAY INSTALLATION

AND FUNCTIONALITY
Product Snow Inventory

Version 6

Document date 2018-09-19

SNOWSOFTWARE.COM
CONTENTS
1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 3

1.1 System requirements ...................................................................................................... 3

2 Installation package ................................................................................................................ 4

2.1 Default location of files ................................................................................................... 4

2.2 Data folders .................................................................................................................... 5

3 Create a Service Gateway instance ......................................................................................... 6

4 Service Gateway functionality ................................................................................................ 8

4.1 Updates and communication .......................................................................................... 8

4.2 Handling of snowpacks ................................................................................................... 9
4.3 Web metering ................................................................................................................. 9
4.4 Logging ........................................................................................................................... 9

Page 2 of 10 SNOWSOFTWARE.COM
1 INTRODUCTION
A Snow Inventory infrastructure consists of one or more Inventory databases and Master Server
instances, and Inventory Agents for one or several platforms. To ensure high-availability of the
Master Server, Service Gateway instances can be configured for load-balancing. This makes it
possible to have the Inventory Agents configured for multiple Service Gateways when sending and
receiving data, to have fallback options if one of the Service Gateways is unavailable.

The Service Gateway instances can also serve as proxies in segmented networks.

This document describes installation and functionality of a Service Gateway in Snow Inventory.

1.1 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

For information on system requirements, see the document System Requirements for all Snow
products, which is available for download at http://www.snowsoftware.com/int/download.

Page 3 of 10 SNOWSOFTWARE.COM
2 INSTALLATION PACKAGE
The installation package is called SnowInventoryServerSetup.exe and includes the following
components:

▪ Snow Inventory Server

▪ Snow Management and Configuration Center (will only be installed if Snow License Manager
is not already installed on the target machine)

▪ Snow Inventory Admin Console plug-in (plug-in for Snow Management and Configuration
Center)

▪ Snow Update Service (SUS)

When running the installation, a selection must be made whether to install a Master Server or a
Service Gateway. A Master Server installation includes all of the components listed above, while a
Service Gateway installation only includes the Snow Inventory Server component.

NOTE

▪ Snow Inventory will share the components Snow Management and Configuration Center
(SnowMACC) and Snow Update Service (SUS) with Snow License Manager. Therefore,
these components will always be installed in the location of the system variable
%PROGRAM FILES% and not in the selected destination folder. Please make sure that the
user running the installation package has access to that path.

▪ Snow Update Service will be installed in a default folder on the C: drive. Do not move
Snow Update Service from this location as this is not a supported configuration.

2.1 DEFAULT LOCATION OF FILES

The table below shows the default locations of the server files and configuration file after
installation. Also, the table shows the default locations of the log files.

File name Location Description

snowserver.exe C:\Program Files\Snow Software Executable file for Inventory Server

\Snow Inventory\Server

snowserverconfig.exe C:\Program Files\Snow Software Executable file for Inventory Server

\Snow Inventory\Server Configuration Manager

snowserver.config C:\Program Files\Snow Software Configuration file

\Snow Inventory\Server

snowserver.log C:\ProgramData\ Snow Software Log file

\Snow Inventory\Server

Page 4 of 10 SNOWSOFTWARE.COM
2.2 DATA FOLDERS
The table shows the data folders that are used by the Inventory Server. They are created when the
server is started for the first time.

Folder name Location Description

announcements C:\Program Files\Snow Software This folder contains discovery information

\Snow Inventory\Server\Incoming from the Inventory server discovery and
\announcements the Snow Integration Connectors that send
discovery data

data C:\Program Files\Snow Software This folder contains inventory information

\Snow Inventory\Server\Incoming from the Inventory Agents and the Snow
\data Integration Connectors that send inventory
data.

stats C:\Program Files\Snow Software This folder contains internal statistics of

\Snow Inventory\Server\stats the Inventory server.

Page 5 of 10 SNOWSOFTWARE.COM
3 CREATE A SERVICE GATEWAY INSTANCE
1. Start Snow Inventory Server Configuration Manager (run snowserverconfig.exe).
2. On the Welcome page of the Snow Inventory Server Configuration Manager, click Create
Service Gateway.
3. In the HTTP Bindings step:
▪ For HTTPS (recommended)
Select an existing server certificate in the list. Select Network interface, and type a
Port and a DNS name that will be used for accessing this Snow Inventory server.
▪ For HTTP
Type a Port and a DNS name that will be used for accessing this Snow Inventory
server.
4. Click Next.

5. In the Server Settings step:

a. Type a Discovery site name. This site name will be used for the Inventory server and
for all discovered devices.
b. Type the path to the Incoming folder where all inventory files will be received before
they are forwarded to the Inventory Master Server, or click to browse for the
folder.
c. If you want to use certificate authentication between the Gateway and the Master,
select the Use client certificate for authentication check box and then select a
certificate in the Client certificate list.
d. In the Forward address box, enter the URI of the Inventory Master Server where the
inventory files will be sent for processing, or to another Service Gateway instance.

Page 6 of 10 SNOWSOFTWARE.COM
6. Click Next.

7. A Summary of the configuration is presented.

8. To create the Service Gateway instance according to the specified configuration, click
Create.

9. To return to a previous page and make changes, click .

Page 7 of 10 SNOWSOFTWARE.COM
4 SERVICE GATEWAY FUNCTIONALITY

4.1 UPDATES AND COMMUNICATION

The Service Gateway will check for server updates every hour or when the Service Gateway service
is started. It then compares its own server version with the version of its Master Server. If the
version is lower, the Service Gateway asks the Master Server to send its .exe file, and then tries to
update itself. The time interval of these checks can be configured through the
ServerUpdateModule element in the configuration file of the Service Gateway. Also, it is possible
to disable the updates.

Every 30 seconds, the Service Gateway asks the Master Server if there are any commands to be
executed in the database. If so, it receives the commands from the Master and puts them into an
own queue. The time interval can be changed through the configuration. In this example, the
interval has been changed to once every 15 minutes.

EXAMPLE
The snowserver.config of the Service Gateway

<ModuleConfiguration>
<Module
typeName="SnowSoftware.Inventory.Server.ServiceGatewayCommandControlModule">
<Setter propertyName="Interval">"00:15:00"</Setter>
</Module>
</ModuleConfiguration>

Depending on the setup of the Master Server, the Service Gateway asks for updates and
commands over HTTP or HTTPS. The requests are either sent directly to the Master Server, or sent
via other Service Gateways installed "upstream" in the Snow Inventory infrastructure.

4.1.1 EXECUTE COMMANDS FROM THE ADMIN CONSOLE (MASTER SERVER)

When the Service Gateway receives a list of commands to be executed from the Master Server, it
will put them into queue where they will be processed in the same way as on the Master. You can
see the list of commands in the System Events view in the Admin Console (Snow MACC),
where you also find the results of the execution. More detailed information about commands
processed by the Service Gateway can be found in the Service Gateway log files, see Logging.

Discovery settings are stored locally on the Service Gateway in an encrypted file called
SnowInventoryServer5.db (located in C:\ProgramData\SnowSoftware\Inventory\Server
\LocalStorage). This file includes everything the Service Gateway needs to know to be able to start
(or continue) both Active Directory Discovery or Network Discovery depending on the commands
from the Master Server.

4.1.2 AGENT UPDATES VIA THE SERVICE GATEWAY

When the Service Gateway receives a request for an update from an Inventory agent, it
forwards the request to the Master Server. After receiving an answer from the Master Server, the
Service Gateway immediately forwards it to the agent. There is no special logic in the middle, i.e.
no caching or temporary storage of the files.

Page 8 of 10 SNOWSOFTWARE.COM
4.2 HANDLING OF SNOWPACKS
Once an Inventory agent is ready to send a snowpack (inventory result file) to the Service Gateway,
it tries to connect to it. If the Service Gateway responds, the agent is allowed to send the file to it.
The snowpack is then temporarily stored in the processing folder (default location is C:\Program
Files\Snow Software\Snow Inventory\Server\Incoming\data\processing) until the Service
Gateway tries to pass it on to the Master Server. This is typically done every 30 seconds.

If the Master Server isn't reachable from the Service Gateway, the files will be stored in the
processing folder until the Master Server is reachable again.

4.3 WEB METERING

The Snow Inventory Agent for Windows can meter usage of web applications. Configuration of
which web applications to meter is done in the web user interface of Snow License
Manager. Information on published web application patterns needs to be available on the
Inventory Server, where it can be checked by the agents.

On the Master Server, you need to specify the IDX URL to License Manager so that the Master
Server knows where to get the web application patterns from. This setting is only required on the
Master Server, it is not needed on the Service Gateway. Just make sure to add the Service Gateway
IDX endpoint in the Inventory agent configuration.

EXAMPLE
System setting in snowagent.config

<Setting key="idx.endpoint" value="http://servicegateway/v1/Inventory.ashx" />

4.4 LOGGING
All log files of the Service Gateway are located in the C:\ProgramData\SnowSoftware\Inventory
\Server folder. Only the last five log files are kept and by default, the files are configured to be
maximum 2MB in size.

Configure the maximum log file size in the server.config file by using the MaxLogSize parameter
(in megabytes). Also, it is possible to filter the log to only show specified tags.

EXAMPLE
The snowserver.config of the Service Gateway

<Logging>
<Tags>
<Tag>discovery</Tag>
<Tag>discovery-active-directory</Tag>
</Tags>
<MaxLogSize>1024</MaxLogSize>
</Logging>

Page 9 of 10 SNOWSOFTWARE.COM
4.4.1 LOG DETAILS

EXAMPLE
Service Gateway asks for updates

2017-08-22T07:42:22+02:00;command-control;;;;Sending /hello and checking server

update
2017-08-22T07:42:23+02:00;request-pipe;request-153;;;Added POST http://
servicegateway/api/client/hello to queue.
2017-08-22T07:42:23+02:00;request-pipe;request-153;;;Dequeued.
2017-08-22T07:42:23+02:00;request-pipe;request-153;;;Result 200 OK.
2017-08-22T07:42:23+02:00;request-pipe;request-154;;;Added POST http://
servicegateway/api/commands/Ly2Zlt2dKuu/get to queue.
2017-08-22T07:42:23+02:00;request-pipe;request-154;;;Dequeued.
2017-08-22T07:42:23+02:00;request-pipe;request-154;;;Result 204 No Content.

EXAMPLE
Active Directory Discovery - connecting and starting

2017-08-22T07:51:31+02:00;discovery-active-directory;;;;Connecting to 'LDAP://
DC=contoso,DC=com'...
2017-08-22T07:51:32+02:00;discovery-active-directory;;;;Successfully connected to
'LDAP://DC=contoso,DC=com', returned ID is ca6bbcc5-60d3-4c54-a618-9b953b7a5f9f
2017-08-22T07:51:32+02:00;discovery-active-directory;;;;Starting Active Directory
discovery crawler...
2017-08-22T07:51:32+02:00;discovery-active-directory;;;;Active Directory
discovery of 'LDAP://DC=contoso,DC=com' started.

EXAMPLE
Network Discovery
The target computer does not allow Win RPC connections and that causes problems when
trying to deploy an agent to that computer.

2017-08-29T09:41:53+02:00;discovery;192.168.X.X;;;SNMP discovery started.

2017-08-29T09:41:53+02:00;discovery;192.168.X.X;;;SSH discovery started.
2017-08-29T09:41:53+02:00;discovery;192.168.X.X;;;WinRpc discovery started.
2017-08-29T09:41:53+02:00;discovery;192.168.X.X;;;Running IP fingerprintingg
2017-08-29T09:41:58+02:00;discovery;192.168.X.X;;;DNS lookup started
2017-08-29T09:41:58+02:00;discovery;192.168.X.X;;;SNMP scan success
2017-08-29T09:41:58+02:00;discovery;192.168.X.X;;;win-rpc ping error
'SocketException: No connection could be made because the target machine actively
refused it 192.168.X.X:135' occured.

EXAMPLE
Receiving a file and passing it forward

2017-08-22T08:13:32+02:00;request-pipe;request-1659;;;Added POST http://

servicegateway/api/receiver/receive to queue.

Page 10 of 10 SNOWSOFTWARE.COM