Device Broker support

  • Published on Jan 26, 2026
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The Inventory Manager adapter exposes inventory nodes to Device Broker, allowing Configuration Manager and command templates to access inventory nodes. This allows Configuration Manager and command templates to work with inventory nodes while providing centralized inventory management.

How the adapter works

The adapter translates between Inventory Manager's data model and Device Broker's interface:

  1. Configuration Manager or command template requests device information through Device Broker
  2. Device Broker locates the device across registered adapters, then routes the request to the Inventory Manager adapter
  3. The adapter queries Inventory Manager for node data
  4. Inventory Manager retrieves the node and resolves any credential references
  5. The adapter transforms the node into Device Broker format
  6. Device Broker returns the device to the requesting application

When Configuration Manager or command templates execute operations against inventory devices, the adapter calls Inventory Manager's action execution, which routes to IAG 5 services.

Built-in broker services

Inventory Manager includes built-in broker services that support device broker functionality in IAG 5. These services replace the Ansible role implementation used in IAG 4 and enable Configuration Manager and command templates to interact with inventory nodes.

These broker services return payloads designed for Itential applications. While they can be used in workflows, their responses are optimized for application integration.

Available services

After you install and configure Inventory Manager, the following built-in broker services automatically appear in the Services tab of your Gateway Manager details page:

  • is-alive - Verifies device connectivity
  • run-command - Executes commands on network devices
  • get-config - Retrieves device configurations
  • set-config - Applies configuration changes to network devices

These services communicate with network devices over SSH, supporting 150+ platforms through netmiko and scrapli drivers. For more information on selecting and configuring a driver, see Configure driver options.

How broker services support Device Broker

When Configuration Manager or command templates execute operations against inventory devices:

  1. The operation request goes through Device Broker to the Inventory Manager adapter
  2. The adapter calls the appropriate action configured in your inventory
  3. The action routes to the corresponding built-in broker service
  4. The broker service executes the operation on the target device
  5. Results return through the chain back to Configuration Manager or command templates

This architecture maintains backward compatibility with IAG 4 workflows while leveraging Inventory Manager's centralized device management.

Inventory requirements

Broker services require inventory nodes with specific connection attributes to communicate with network devices.

Required attributes:

  • itential_host - Device IP address or hostname
  • itential_user - SSH username
  • itential_password - SSH password
  • itential_platform - Device platform/OS type (e.g., cisco_ios, arista_eos)
  • itential_driver - Connection driver (netmiko or scrapli)

Optional attributes:

  • itential_port - SSH port (default: 22)
  • itential_become - Enter privileged mode (default: false)
  • itential_become_password - Password for privilege escalation
  • itential_driver_options - Advanced driver configuration

For complete details on configuring inventory nodes with these attributes, see Create and populate inventories.

For information on configuring actions that use these broker services, see Create and manage actions.

View inventory devices

Inventory devices appear automatically after you configure the Inventory Manager adapter.

To view inventory devices:

  1. Open Configuration Manager or command templates
  2. Navigate to device discovery or device selection
  3. Inventory devices appear in the device list

If device name prefixing is enabled in the adapter configuration, devices appear as inventory-name::device-name.

Configuration Manager

Use inventory devices in device groups

Add inventory devices to Configuration Manager device groups:

  1. Create or edit a device group
  2. Select devices to include
  3. Choose inventory devices from the device list
  4. Save the device group

Device groups can contain a mix of IAG 4 and inventory devices, allowing gradual migration.

Golden configuration operations

Use inventory devices for golden configuration operations:

  1. Create or select a golden configuration template
  2. Select target devices (including inventory devices)
  3. Run the golden configuration operation
  4. Configuration Manager retrieves configurations from inventory devices through their configured actions

The action configured in the inventory determines which IAG 5 service executes and what command runs.

Compliance checks

Run compliance checks against inventory devices:

  1. Create or select a compliance policy
  2. Select target devices (including inventory devices)
  3. Run the compliance check
  4. Configuration Manager compares current configuration against the policy

Compliance checks work identically for IAG 4 and inventory devices.

Command templates

Use inventory devices as targets for command templates:

  1. Open or create a command template
  2. Select target devices
  3. Choose inventory devices from the device list
  4. Execute the command template

If device name prefixing is enabled, select devices using the inventory-name::device-name format.

Command execution

When you execute a command template against inventory devices:

  1. The command template sends the request through Device Broker
  2. The Inventory Manager adapter identifies the inventory and node
  3. Inventory Manager executes the configured action
  4. The IAG 5 service runs the command
  5. Results return to the command template

Command templates work identically with IAG 4 and inventory devices.

Troubleshooting

Devices not appearing in Configuration Manager or command templates:

  • Verify the adapter configuration includes the inventory (inventories setting)
  • Check that nodes exist in the inventory
  • Verify RBAC permissions for the inventory

Unexpected device names:

  • Check the prepend_inventory_name setting
  • Verify inventory names and node names are correct
  • Review device naming in the Inventory Manager UI

Action execution failures:

  • Verify actions are configured in the inventory
  • Check IAG 5 service configuration in actions
  • Verify cluster routing (cluster_id in action config or node attributes)
  • Review IAG service execution logs