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Process Classifiers for Applications

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In this lesson, you will learn:

  • What a process classifier is
  • How it finds applications
  • SNWR’s classifier for the archiver

🔁 Quick look back: Last time: Device Classifiers. You learned how classifiers decide a device’s type, including SNMP OIDs.

1 The Problem: A Running App Goes Unrecorded

Discovery explores snwr-mail-02 and sees a process called snwr-archiver. But:

  • No rule says what that process is.
  • So no application CI is created.

🎯 The problem: A running application goes unrecorded.

👉 The fix: Add a process classifier that recognises the snwr-archiver process.

Flow from process to application CI.
Figure 1. How the archiver process becomes an application CI.

2 Process classifiers

Key term: Process classifier

A rule that matches a running process and says which application it is.

A process classifier can create an application CI, and can also trigger an application pattern for more detail.

3 Writing a good match

  • Match on something stable, like the process name or a path.
  • Avoid matching common words that appear in other processes.
  • Test on the real server.

4 Project Clear View: How We Implemented It

📍 Situation: The archiver process was seen but not recorded.

🧭 Decision: Create a process classifier for it now, and link the pattern later.

🛠️ Steps we took:

  1. Created a process classifier matching the name snwr-archiver.
  2. Set it to the SNWR Mail Archiver class (created in Custom Patterns).
  3. Tested against the lab copy on snwrdev.
  4. Confirmed the app CI links to its server.

✅ What we verified:

  • An archiver CI appears with a Runs on link.
  • No other processes matched.

📁 Evidence: The classifier, linked to the pattern later (see Custom Patterns › Debugging and Validating the Pattern).

5 Quick recap

  • Process classifiers match running processes.
  • They create application CIs.
  • They can trigger an application pattern.
  • Match on something stable, and test it.

6 Check yourself

Think of your answer first. Then tap to check.

1 What does a process classifier match? Show answer

A running process, such as by its name or path.

2 What does SNWR’s classifier match? Show answer

Processes named snwr-archiver.

3 Why avoid matching common words? Show answer

They may match other processes by mistake.

Nice work! Discovery can now spot the archiver. 🎉
Next up: IP Ranges, Range Sets and Exclusions

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