Connectivity

The ability to import software catalog data depends on effective communication between the Software Knowledge Base Toolkit server and the Control Desk application server.

The cron task for importing data from Software Knowledge Base Toolkit sends URLs to the Software Knowledge Base Toolkit server using two main parameters: host name and port. Two URLs are sent to check the status of the file and to retrieve the file.

You can test HTTP connectivity by entering the URLs sent from the cron task directly into a browser on the server running the task. This test pinpoints the causes for problems in connectivity. Perform this check only if there is difficulty retrieving the file to the directory specified in the TEMPDIR parameter for the cron task.

Problems with connectivity generally have one of the following causes:

• Cron task parameters are not correct.
• Firewalls and proxies block access from the Control Desk server to the Software Knowledge Base Toolkit server. If possible, retrieve files using a browser but not using the cron task and check to see whether there is a proxy configured in the browser. You must use a network path that does not require a proxy or firewall authentication.
• The software knowledge base is not running or accepting requests. You can check the knowledge base console to see whether any export jobs are in the queue that prevent your request from running.

To determine whether any of these issues are interfering with connectivity, create the URL manually and enter it into a browser.