The Snow Inventory Oracle Middleware scanner searches only in the file‑system locations defined in the Snow Inventory Agent’s Software configuration. If the agent’s include/exclude rules don’t point to the directory where Oracle Middleware is installed, the scanner won’t find it. This article explains how to configure the software paths for Linux/Unix and Windows and includes log excerpts so administrators can verify that the scanner is working as expected.

Read more about how the middleware scanner works in The scanning process.

Why configuration matters

• Snow Inventory Oracle Middleware Scanner performs the file system search in the same locations as the Snow Inventory Agent, configured in the Software element of the agent configuration file, snowagent.config.

• The middleware scanner uses the same file‑system search locations as the agent’s <Software> element in snowagent.config.
• On Linux, macOS and Unix, the scanner ignores mounted drives with a file‑system type different from the root unless that file‑system type is explicitly listed.
• Any file types or paths specified in the <Software><Exclude> section of snowagent.config are not included in the scan. Removing exclusions like .xml and (if necessary) .txt is essential when scanning for middleware because many Oracle configuration files use those extensions.
• By default, the scanner can be configured to ignore bind mounts and autofs mounts on Unix/Linux; you need to disable those exclusions if middleware is installed on a remote share (such as NFS).

Linux/Unix configuration

• Include the installation path.
• In the <Software><Include> section, specify the directory where Oracle Middleware is installed.
• If you already include the entire file system (e.g., /*), this covers all directories. But if you use a narrower include list, add the middleware path explicitly.
• Remove file‑type exclusions.
• The default Linux/Unix template excludes .xml files. Because many Oracle configuration files are .xml, remove that exclusion.
• If you still aren’t capturing all the data, also remove .txt from the exclude list.
• Handle file‑system type restrictions.
• By default, the scanner only scans file systems of the same type as the root. For example, if your root file system is xfs and your middleware is on an ext4 mount, the scanner will ignore it.
• Add the additional file‑system type under <Software><IncludeCriteria><FileSystem>:

<Software>

  <Include>

    <Path recursive="true">/*</Path>

  </Include>

  <IncludeCriteria enabled="true">

    <FileSystem>xfs</FileSystem>

    <FileSystem>ext4</FileSystem>

  </IncludeCriteria>

</Software>

• Scan remote shares (NFS).
• If the middleware is installed on an NFS mount, configure the agent to scan remote mounts by adjusting software.scan.ignore_bind_mounts and software.scan.ignore_autofs_mounts to false.
• Scanning remote shares takes longer, so plan accordingly.

Example log before and after fixing the file‑system mismatch

When the middleware was installed on an ext4 mount but the root file system was xfs, the scanner log showed entries like:

Verbose; ... DiskScannerSoftwareInfo; addIgnoredMountPointsToExcludeRules; Ignoring mount point /opt/weblogic/* fs is ext4 root :/ is xfs

After adding ext4 to the <FileSystem> include list, the log changes to:

Verbose; ... DiskScannerSoftwareInfo; addIgnoredMountPointsToExcludeRules; Accepting mount point /opt/weblogic fs is ext4 root :/ is xfs

These messages confirm that the scanner is now including the ext4 mount and will capture your middleware installation.

Windows configuration

• No file‑type or file‑system restrictions. The Windows template doesn’t exclude .xml files and doesn’t restrict file systems.
• Include the installation directory. The default include paths cover common system locations, but not custom drives. If Oracle Middleware is installed on D:\Oracle\weblogic, for example, add:

<Software>

  <Include>

    <Path recursive="1">D:\Oracle\weblogic\*</Path>

  </Include>

</Software>

Default Windows include entries

For reference, the default <Include> section in a Windows snowagent.config template includes paths like:

<Path recursive="1">C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\*</Path>

<Path recursive="1">%temp%\*</Path>

<Path recursive="1">%ProgramFiles%\*</Path>

<Path recursive="1">%ProgramFiles(x86)%\*</Path>

Adding the middleware path ensures the scanner searches the right directory.

Summary

To ensure the Snow Inventory Oracle Middleware scanner finds your Oracle installations:

• Confirm the <Software><Include> section covers your middleware directory on all platforms.
• Remove exclusions for .xml (and optionally .txt) files so the scanner can read the configuration files it needs.
• On Linux/Unix, add any non‑default file‑system types to the <FileSystem> list and enable scanning of remote mounts if needed.
• For administrators, use the scanner logs to verify which mounts are being ignored or accepted. Once the configuration is correct, the logs will show that your middleware directory is included.

These adjustments ensure accurate scanning results while keeping the instructions concise enough for most users, with log examples available for those who need to troubleshoot or validate the settings.