ADVICE

Network information

NetReg documentation

Contents

What is Netreg?

Netreg is a registration system for devices connected to the University's data network. All devices that are connected to the network must be registered within Netreg with the device's name, location, and IP and MAC address(es).

Netreg is used to produce information for the following services:

  • The University's DNS service
  • The University's VMPS service
  • Parts of the University's DHCP service

Additionally, Netreg can be used to store additional information about devices, such as serial numbers, operating system, hardware type, etc.

Net-reps should use Netreg to register new devices, to register device changes and to remove devices.

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Logging into Netreg

It is necessary to log into Netreg before you can use it.

To log into NetReg, follow these steps:

  1. Open a Web browser
  2. Go to the URL NetReg page (https://netreg.bris.ac.uk/)
  3. If prompted, agree to accept the certificate
  4. Enter your UOB username and password, and select the "Login" button
  5. You will be prompted to select a server. Select "ncs" in the menu and then select the "Select server" button
  6. Select the "Zones" link on the top menu bar (usually you will only be able to select "bris.ac.uk")
  7. You will be presented with a list of available zones; select the link that corresponds to the zone that you wish to work with

Points to note:

  • You will be automatically logged out from NetReg after one hour of inactivity
  • You can save a server and zone as defaults which can be automatically selected when you log-in. To select a server and zone as your defaults, first log into Netreg following the steps above, and then select the "Login" link on the top menu; finally, select "Save defaults" on the left menu
  • It is not usually possible to access Netreg from a computer that is not connected to the University network. If you would like to do this (for example, from home) first connect to the University network using the UoB -  virtual private network (VPN)

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About privileges

All actions performed within Netreg require the appropriate privileges for them to complete.

As a user, you are given the minimum privileges required to make changes to the hosts and subnets that you are responsible for. Therefore, it is not possible to accidentally delete or change information about devices that you are not responsible for. If you believe that you need your privileges to be extended (for example, to administer an additional subnet), please email net-admin@bristol.ac.uk stating your reason(s).

You can view your privileges by:

  1. Select the "Login" link on the top menu bar
  2. Your permissions are displayed under the "Permissions" heading (you may need to scroll down)

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Adding a host

  1. Select the "Hosts" link on the top menu bar
  2. Select the "Add host" link on the left menu bar
  3. Enter the hostname into the "Hostname" field. Important: do not include the name of the zone (ie. "host.cse" not "host.cse.bris.ac.uk")
  4. Enter the IP address into the "IP" field
  5. If the host requires a VMPS service, select the appropriate VMPS domain from the "Group" field
  6. Enter the MAC address into the "Ethernet address" field
  7. Select the "Create" button at the bottom of the page (you may need to scroll down)

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Adding an alias to a host

  1. Select the "Hosts" link on the top menu bar
  2. Search for the assciated host record using one of the search fields. Usually this will be "Domain pattern" for hostname searching and "CIDR or IP" for IP address searching.
  3. Select the relevant host from the search results (if only one result then this set is not required).
  4. Select the "Alias" button at the bottom of the page. Important: Do not use the left menu bar "Add alias" link!!!
  5. Enter the hostname of the new alias into the "Hostname" field. Important: Do not include the base domain part (ie. use "host.cse" not "host.cse.bris.ac.uk")
  6. Select the "Type" field to be "CNAME".
  7. Select the "Create ALIAS" button

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Changing the hostname of an existing host

  1. Select the "Hosts" link on the top menu bar
  2. Select the "Search" link on the left menu bar
  3. Either enter the existing hostname into the "Domain pattern" field or enter the IP address into the "CIDR (block) or IP" field
  4. Select the "Edit" button at the bottom of the page (you may need to scroll down). If you get the error "No matching records found" then this host does not exist
  5. Enter the new hostname into the "Hostname" field. Important: do not include the name of the zone (ie. "host.cse" not "host.cse.bris.ac.uk")
  6. If a MAC address does not already exist for this host, you will need to add it; enter the MAC address into the "Ethernet address" field
  7. Select the "Make changes" button at the bottom of the page (you may need to scroll down)

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Changing the IP address of an existing host

  1. Select the "Hosts" link on the top menu bar
  2. Select the "Search" link on the left menu bar
  3. Either enter the hostname into the "Domain pattern" field or enter the existing IP address into the "CIDR (block) or IP" field
  4. Select the "Edit" button at the bottom of the page (you may need to scroll down). If you get the error "No matching records found" then this host does not exist
  5. Enter the new IP address into the "IP" field
  6. If a MAC address does not already exist for this host, you will need to add it; enter the MAC address into the "Ethernet address" field
  7. Select the "Make changes" button at the bottom of the page (you may need to scroll down)

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Changing the MAC address of an existing host

  1. Select the "Hosts" link on the top menu bar
  2. Select the "Search" link on the left menu bar
  3. Either enter the hostname into the "Domain pattern" field or enter the existing IP address into the "CIDR (block) or IP" field
  4. Select the "Edit" button at the bottom of the page (you may need to scroll down). If you get the error "No matching records found" then this host does not exist
  5. Enter the new MAC address into the "Ethernet address" field
  6. Select the "Make changes" button at the bottom of the page (you may need to scroll down)

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Removing an existing host

  1. Select the "Hosts" link on the top menu bar
  2. Select the "Search" link on the left menu bar
  3. Either enter the existing hostname into the "Domain pattern" field or enter the IP address into the "CIDR (block) or IP" field
  4. Select the "Delete" button at the bottom of the page (you may need to scroll down). If you get the error "No matching records found" then this host does not exist
  5. You will be prompted again; if you are sure you want to delete this host, select the "Delete" button. If you do not want to delete this host, select the "Cancel" button

Points to note:

  • It is not possible to recover a host once it has been deleted
  • It is not possible to delete more than one host at a time

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More about searching

The search tool within Netreg is quite powerful. Any single field that describe a host (such as name, IP or ethernet address) may be used for a search. For example, a search where "Domain pattern" is "www" returns thirty hosts, including "www", "www.iser" and "wwwdev".

Multiple fields may be used in the same search to narrow the search down. For example, a search where "Domain pattern" is "www" and "CIDR" is "137.222.10/24" returns twelve hosts of the thirty hosts returned in the original search, all within the 137.222.10.0/255.255.255.0 subnet.

It is possible to repeat your last search at any time by selecting the "Last Search" link in the left menu bar.

Common pitfalls

  • Where multiple fields are specified, the effect is a logical AND (that is, a host must match both fields, not one or the other)
  • The default record type is "Host". If you are searching for a different type of record type (such as an alias) remember to specify the appropriate type within the "Record type" drop-down menu

Regular expressions

Additionally, each search field may be expressed as a regular expression for more advanced searches. For example, a search where "Domain pattern" is "www$" returns a single host ("www"); a search where "Domain pattern" is "./*.cse$" returns the 235 hosts within the "cse" sub-domain ("kio.cse", "quad.cse", etc).

For more information on composing regular expression try reading one of the sites listed in the Open Directory Projects Regular Expressions category.

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