Server Management › Compare Servers or Components

Compare Servers or Components

The Compare Servers operation determines differences between any two of the following options on two or more different servers:

• Current server data
• Most recent snapshot
• Second most recent snapshot
• Most recent snapshot on a specific date
• Selected snapshot
• Baseline snapshot
• Gold standard snapshot
• Silver standard snapshot
• Bronze standard snapshot

Note: Component elements that have the Time Variant filter set in the corresponding Component Blueprint are the only items not checked for differences. Log files and data modified at runtime are examples of Time Variant-filtered elements.

To compare servers or components

1. Click the Management link, then the Servers tab.

   The Servers tab page appears.

2. Click the check box next to the servers you want to compare, and then select Management Actions, Run Compare from the Select Actions drop‑down list.

   The Run Compare wizard appears with the first server you selected listed in the Source Server field and the other servers listed in the Target Server fields.

3. Select a Source Snapshot from the following options:

   Current Data

   Specifies the current system data available for the server is used as the source.

   Most recent snapshot

   Specifies the snapshot with the most recent timestamp is used as the source.

   Second most recent snapshot

   Specifies the snapshot with the second most recent timestamp is used as the source.

   Most recent snapshot on a specific date

   Specifies the date of the snapshot to use as the source. If you select this option, the Source Snapshot Date field appears. Select the date of the snapshot you want to use. If there are multiple snapshots available on the specified date, the most recent snapshot on that date is used.

   Selected snapshot

   Specifies the snapshot to use as the source. If you select this option, the Source Snapshot field appears. Select the snapshot you want to use.

   Baseline

   Specifies the snapshot designated as the Baseline is used as the source.

   Gold standard

   Specifies the snapshot designated as the Gold Standard is used as the source.

   Silver standard

   Specifies the snapshot designated as the Silver Standard is used as the source.

   Bronze standard

   Specifies the snapshot designated as the Bronze Standard is used as the source.

4. Select a Target Snapshot (the options are the same as those listed in step 4).
5. Click Next.

   The Components page appears.

6. Select one of the following Component Blueprint options:

   Include All Component Blueprints

   Specifies that all software components of all component blueprints are compared on the selected servers. If you select this option, skip to step 10.

   Select Component Blueprints by Name

   Specifies that software components of one or more component blueprints are compared on the selected servers. If you select this option you must select the blueprints in the Available Blueprints column, then click the single right-facing arrow to move it to the Select Blueprints column.

   After you select one or more component blueprints, the ability to select software components is activated. Continue with step 8.

7. Click the Enable Component Selection check box if you want to select the specific software components that are compared on the selected servers.

   The Source Component field is activated.

8. Select the source and target software components that you want to compare from the Source Comparison drop-down list and by moving target components to the Selected Components column.
9. Click Next.

   The Filters page appears.

10. Select one of the following options to specify what differences are included in the comparison results:

    No children comparison if a hierarchical object exists on source or target only

    Specifies whether or not the child objects are compared for changes if the component only exists on either the source or target server.

    All Differences

    Specifies that all differences on the servers are compared.

    Component Inventory Differences Only

    Specifies that only the differences in the component inventory are compared.

    Filters

    Specifies that one or more of the following objects are compared:

    • Folders—Accept the default setting (All) or click the Select option, then select one or more folders to compare.
    • Categories—Accept the default setting (All) or click the Select option, then select one or more categories to search for changes. Categories are assigned in the Component Blueprint and are the organizational groupings to which an element belongs.
    • Weights—Accept the default setting (All) or click the Select option, then select the weights to search for changes. Weights are assigned in the Component Blueprint and represent the relative importance of an element. Unweighted elements (no weight assigned) are considered Medium.

    You can press Ctrl+click to select multiple non-consecutive list entries, or Shift+click to select multiple consecutive list entries.

11. Click OK.

    The comparison results appear as described in Viewing the Results of Change Detection and Compare Operations.