Considering recent issues IT Admins have reported with using Shared Network Adapters (or SNAs), we’d like to clarify a few things as well as share what OIT Device Engineering is doing to help:
– The Shared Network Adapter registration process does not eliminate the need to also register the adapter for use on the Duke Network in DukeReg. OIT Device Engineering has no special rights in DukeReg and cannot register a network adapter to any Support Group other than our own. The Shared Network Adapter help page in Planisphere has been updated to remind IT admins of this.
– As with all DukeReg registrations, six months of inactivity will result in the registration’s deletion from DukeReg. If your Shared Network Adapter goes unused for more than six months, you will need to re-register it to use it on the Duke Network. To avoid this, make sure to use your Shared Network Adapter–be it a dongle, dock, or multi-function monitor–at least once every few months. OIT Device Engineering is working on a Planisphere API script to identify SNAs nearing 180 days of inactivity.
– Shared Network Adapters will show up in Planisphere’s MAC address history of the devices they are used with AND the SNA’s Planisphere record will collect a list of names those devices have reported to DHCP while in use. This is expected behavior and is the same as any other network adapter. Shared Network Adapters will NOT, however, be used as a common characteristic to gather separate Planisphere records into a single entity. Avoiding *this* is why we register SNAs.
– As the Shared Network Adapter registration process has undergone changes recently and OIT Device Engineering has recently gained new members, we have discovered inconsistencies with both the process and the results. Most notably, we’ve found that some SNAs have not been added to the special lists within Microsoft Configuration Manager and Jamf Pro that prevent them from being used as unique identifiers within those systems. OIT Device Engineering is currently reviewing the registration process, automating it where possible, and reviewing the state of existing entries, making corrections where necessary.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us via ServiceNow (“Device Engineering – OIT”), our new “OIT Device Engineering (Public)” Team in Microsoft Teams, or via e-mail at oitde@duke.edu. Thanks!
