---
title: "Managing Discovered Data"
canonical: "https://docs.infoblox.com/space/nios85/35817029/Managing%20Discovered%20Data"
format: markdown
---
In addition to viewing the discovered data, you can perform the following to manage the discovered data:

- Manage an unmanaged address by adding it to a host, converting it to managed data, or clearing its unmanaged status. Note that for Cloud Network Automation, you can convert discovered data to NIOS objects within a delegated scope. For more information, see the<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Managing</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Unmanaged</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Data</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> section</span>.
- Resolve conflicting addresses. For more information, see the *Resolving Conflicting Addresses* section.
- Clear discovered data for a network view, network, IP address, or cloud tenant. For more information, see the *Clearing Discovered Data* section.
- You can also clear all discovered data collected by a specified vDiscovery job. For more information, see the *Clearing All Discovery Data* section.

# Managing Unmanaged Data

You can manage unused and unmanaged addresses by performing one of the following:

- Add to an existing host, as described in the *<span style="color: #000000">Adding</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">to</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">an</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Existing</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Host</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> section</span>.
- Convert to a fixed address, host, A record, or PTR record, as described in the *Converting Unmanaged Data* section. Note that for Cloud Network Automation, you can convert discovered data to NIOS objects within a delegated scope.
- Clear the unmanaged status, as described in the *<span style="color: #000000">Clearing</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Unmanaged</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Data</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> section</span>.  
Note that you cannot convert unmanaged IP addresses that are being served by Microsoft DHCP servers to host records.

## Adding to an Existing Host

You can add an unmanaged address, including all its information, to an existing host. You can select the desired host to which you want to add the unmanaged address.  
To add an unmanaged address to an existing host, perform the following:

1. From the *IP* *Map* or *List* panel, select an unmanaged address you want to add to a host, and then click **Add** -> **Add** **to** **Existing** **Host** from the Toolbar.
2. In the *Select* *Host* dialog box, select a host from the table. You can also search for a host using filters or the Go to function. For information, see *[Using Filters](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/nios85/pages/35417138/Finding+and+Restoring+Data#FindingandRestoringData-UsingFilters)* and *[Using the Go To Function](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/nios85/pages/35417138/Finding+and+Restoring+Data#FindingandRestoringData-UsingtheGoToFunction)*. Click the Select icon to select the desired host.  
Note that depending on the page size configuration, the search results are limited to the page size that you set. If the search results exceed the page size limit, the appliance displays an error message to inform you to refine your search criteria or to change the page size limit. In the *Host* *Record* editor, complete the information.
3. Save the configuration, and then click **Restart** if it appears at the top of the screen.

## Converting Unmanaged Data

You can convert an unmanaged address to a host, an A or AAAA record, a PTR record, or a fixed address. To convert an unmanaged address:

1. In the *IP* *Map* or *List* panel, select an unmanaged address you want to convert, and then select **Convert** from the Toolbar.
2. In the drop-down list, select the type of address to which you want to convert the unmanaged address. For IPv4 addresses, you can select **To** **Host**, **To A** **Record**, **To** **PTR** **Record**, or **To** **Fixed** **Address**. For IPv6 addresses, you can select **To** **Host**, **To** **AAAA**, **To** **PTR** **Record**, or **To** **IPv6** **Fixed** **Address**.  
Depending on the record type you select, Grid Manager displays the corresponding editor. It also populates the attributes of the unmanaged address in the editor. Enter the appropriate information in the editor.
3. Save the configuration, and then click **Restart** if it appears at the top of the screen.  
After the conversion, the status of the unmanaged address changes to **Used**.

The following are some conditions for a conversion:

- **A** **and** **AAAA** **records**: You must select a DNS zone when converting an unmanaged address to an A or AAAA record.
- **PTR** **record**: You must select a DNS zone when converting an unmanaged address to a PTR record.
- **IPv4** **and** **IPv6** **Fixed** **Address**: Grid Manager displays a confirmation dialog box to ensure that you want to create a fixed address for the unmanaged address.
- **IPv4** **and** **IPv6** **Host** **record**: You can use the unmanaged address to enable a host record for DNS or DHCP.

## Clearing Unmanaged Data

Unmanaged objects are objects that are not configured for DNS or DHCP and do not have any corresponding NIOS objects such as fixed addresses, DNS records, or host records. You can clear unmanaged data if you do not want it to appear in the discovered data. Any unmanaged data that was discovered in a previous discovery can be removed. When you clear an unmanaged IP address, the status of the IP address changes to **Unused**.  
Note that for cloud deployments, you can remove an unmanaged VM only when all the VM related properties are removed first. When the VM is removed, the tenant pointing to this VM will also be removed automatically. For information about cloud deployments, see *[Deploying Cloud Network Automation](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/nios85/pages/35881011)*.  
To clear unmanaged data, complete the following steps:

### Method 1

1. **For ****IP ****addresses**: From the **Data ****Management** tab -> **IPAM** tab, select an unmanaged IP address in the *IP**Map* or *List* panel.  
**For ****networks**: From the **Data ****Management** tab -> **IPAM** tab -> *IP**Map* or *List* panel, select a network in which you want to clear all unmanaged addresses.  
**For ****Cloud ****tenants**: From the **Cloud** tab -> **Tenants** tab, select a tenant for which you want to clear unmanaged data.  
**For ****Cloud ****VMs**: From the **Cloud** tab -> **VMs** tab, select a VM for which you want to clear unmanaged data.
2. Click **Clear** -> **Clear ****Unmanaged ****Data** or **Clear ****All ****Unmanaged ****Data** from the Toolbar.
3. In the *Clear**Unmanaged**Data* confirmation dialog box, click **Yes**. The appliance clears data that has no corresponding NIOS objects such as fixed addresses, DNS records, or host records.

### Method 2

1. From the **Cloud** tab -> **VM** tab, select **Discovery** **Manager** from the Toolbar.
2. In the *vDiscovery **Job **Manager* dialog, click the Action icon next to the selected vDiscovery job, and then select **Clear ****Unmanaged ****Data**.  
*Action icon*
3. In the *Clear **Unmanaged **Data* confirmation dialog box, click **Yes**. The appliance clears data that has no corresponding NIOS objects such as fixed addresses, DNS records, or host records.  
  
Note that after you clear all the unmanaged data, you should navigate to the **Data Management** tab and clear all the associated networks. When you clear unmanaged addresses in a given network view, all unmanaged IPv4 and IPv6 addresses of all networks in the network view are cleared. When you select an entire network or a specific network in the *IP* *Map* or *List* panel, all the unmanaged addresses in the network are cleared. After you clear the unmanaged data, the status of the IP addresses changes to **Unused**.

# Resolving Conflicting Addresses

Conflicts happen when discovered data does not match existing IP address data. The *IP* *Map* panel and the **Cloud** tab  
-> **VMs** tab display conflicting addresses with a red background. The *IP* *List* panel displays **Conflict** as the status for all conflicting addresses. For objects that have multiple conflicts, Grid Manager lists each of them in a bulleted list in the *Resolve* *multiple* *conflicts* dialog. You can select a conflict, in any order, to begin resolving each issue. After you resolve the selected issue, Grid Manager returns to the *Resolve* *multiple* *conflicts* dialog so you can resolve other issues.  
Depending on the conflict, you can do one of the following to resolve it:

- <span style="color: #000000">For a DHCP lease conflict, you can clear the existing lease and create either a fixed address or a reservation for the IP address. You can also keep the existing data and clear the discovered data. For more information, see the  </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Resolving</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">DHCP</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Lease</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Conflicts</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> section.</span>
- <span style="color: #000000">For a fixed address conflict, you can either keep the existing fixed address data or update the existing data with the discovered data. For more information, see the  </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Resolving</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Fixed</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Address</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Conflicts</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> section.</span>
- <span style="color: #000000">For a DHCP range conflict, you can create a fixed address, create a reservation, or clear the discovered data. For more information, see the  </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Resolving</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">DHCP</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Range</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Conflicts</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> section.</span>
- <span style="color: #000000">For a host conflict, you can either keep the existing host record data or update the existing data with the discovered data. For more information, see the  </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Resolving</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Host</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Conflicts</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> section.</span>
- <span style="color: #000000">For a VM affiliation conflict, you can either update all the displayed objects to be affiliate with the discovered data or keep the current affiliation and clear the conflict. For more information, see the  </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Resolving</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">VM</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Affiliation</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> </span>*<span style="color: #000000">Conflicts</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> section</span>[<span style="color: #000000">.</span>](#ManagingDiscoveredData-bookmark1373)

You must resolve conflicting addresses individually. You cannot resolve multiple conflicts at the same time.

> ⚠️ **Note**
> ⚠️ 
> ⚠️ After the conflict is resolved, the status of the IP address changes depending on how you resolved the conflict.

To resolve a conflict:

1. In the *IP* *Map* or *List* panel, select a conflicting address, and then click **Resolve** **Conflict** from the Toolbar.
2. The *Resolve* *Conflict* dialog box displays the reason of the conflict and lists the existing information and discovered information of the address in the **Description** field. Depending on the type of conflict, the appliance displays the corresponding resolution options. You can compare the existing and discovered data and decide how you want to resolve the conflict.

## Resolving DHCP Lease Conflicts

When an IP address has a DHCP lease and the discovered MAC address is in conflict with the existing MAC address, the IP address has a DHCP lease conflict.  
To resolve a DHCP lease conflict, perform the following:

1. In the *Resolve* *Conflict* or *Resolve* *multiple* *conflicts* dialog, Grid Manager displays the nature of the conflict and the discovered data versus the current data. Select one of the following to resolve the conflict:
  - **Clear** **lease** **and** **create** **fixed** **address** **from** **discovered** **data**: Clears the existing DHCP lease and creates a fixed address with the discovered data. The *Fixed* *Address* editor appears with the discovered data populated.
  - **Clear** **lease** **and** **create** **a** **reservation** **from** **discovered** **data**: Clears the existing DHCP lease and creates a new reservation using the discovered data. The *Reservation* editor appears with the discovered data populated.  
This option does not apply to leases served by Microsoft DHCP servers because they do not support Infoblox reservations.
  - **Keep** **the** **existing** **and** **ignore** **this** **conflict**: Keeps the current DHCP lease for the address and ignores the lease conflict.
2. Click **OK** or **Resolve** (when you have multiple conflicts). If you have multiple conflicts, Grid Manager returns to the *Resolve* *multiple* *conflicts* dialog so that you can resolve other conflicts.

## Resolving Fixed Address Conflicts

When the discovered MAC address of an IPv4 address does not match with its existing MAC address, or when the DUID of an IPv6 address does not match with its existing DUID, the IP address has a fixed address conflict.  
To resolve a fixed address conflict, perform the following:

1. In the *Resolve* *Conflict* or *Resolve* *multiple* *conflicts* dialog, Grid Manager displays the nature of the conflict and the discovered data versus the current data. Select one of the following to resolve the conflict:
  - **Keep** **fixed** **address** **and** **clear** **discovered** **data**: Keeps the existing fixed address and clears the discovered data.
  - **Update** **fixed** **address** **with** **discovered** **data**: Updates the existing fixed address data with the discovered data.
2. Click **OK** or **Resolve** (when you have multiple conflicts). If you have multiple conflicts, Grid Manager returns to the *Resolve* *multiple* *conflicts* dialog so that you can resolve other conflicts.

## Resolving DHCP Range Conflicts

When an IP address is in a DHCP range and does not match an existing DHCP lease, fixed address, or exclusion range and it shows an active state during a discovery, the IP address has a DHCP range conflict.  
To resolve a DHCP range conflict:

1. In the *Resolve* *Conflict* or *Resolve* *multiple* *conflicts* dialog, Grid Manager displays the nature of the conflict and the discovered data versus the current data. Select one of the following to resolve the conflict:
  - **Create** **a** **fixed** **address**: Creates a fixed address with the discovered data.  
If the fixed address is served by a Microsoft server, but is outside of a scope, you must then navigate to the *Fixed* *Address* editor and assign the fixed address to the appropriate Microsoft server.
  - **Create** **a** **reservation**: Creates a reservation with the discovered data. This creates an Infoblox reservation, and therefore cannot be used for IP addresses that are served by Microsoft servers. Note that you cannot convert an IPv6 address to a reservation.
  - **Clear** **discovered** **data**: Clears the discovered data and no object is created for the IP address.
2. Click **OK** or **Resolve** (when you have multiple conflicts). If you have multiple conflicts, Grid Manager returns to the *Resolve* *multiple* *conflicts* dialog so that you can resolve other conflicts.

## Resolving Host Conflicts

When the MAC address of an IPv4 address that belongs to a host record does not match with its existing MAC address, or when the DUID of an IPv6 address that belongs to a host record does not match with its existing DUID, the IP address has a host conflict.

1. In the *Resolve* *Conflict* or *Resolve* *multiple* *conflicts* dialog, Grid Manager displays the nature of the conflict and the discovered data versus the current data. Select one of the following to resolve the conflict:
  - **Keep** **host** **record** **and** **clear** **discovered** **data**: Keeps the existing data and clears the discovered data.
  - **Update** **host** **record** **with** **discovered** **data**: Updates the existing host record data with the discovered data.
2. Click **OK** or **Resolve** (when you have multiple conflicts). If you have multiple conflicts, Grid Manager returns to the *Resolve* *multiple* *conflicts* dialog so that you can resolve other conflicts.

## Resolving VM Affiliation Conflicts

When an IP address contains objects that are affiliated with a VM that is not the same as the discovered VM, this IP address has a VM affiliation conflict.  
To resolve a VM affiliation conflict:

1. In the *Resolve* *Conflict* or *Resolve* *multiple* *conflicts* dialog, Grid Manager displays the nature of the conflict and the discovered affiliation versus the current affiliation. Select one of the following to resolve the conflict:
  - **Update** **all** **the** **displayed** **objects** **to** **be** **affiliate** **to** **the** **discovered** **affiliation**: Updates all associated objects in this IP address to affiliate with the discovered affiliation.
  - **Keep** **the** **current** **affiliation(s)** **and** **clear** **the** **conflict**: Keeps the existing data and clears the conflict.
2. Click **OK** or **Resolve** (when you have multiple conflicts). If you have multiple conflicts, Grid Manager returns to the *Resolve* *multiple* *conflicts* dialog so that you can resolve other conflicts.

## Resolving MAC Address Conflicts

When the MAC address of an existing IP address does not match the MAC address of the discovered data, the object has a MAC address conflict.  
To resolve a MAC address conflict:

1. In the *Resolve* *Conflict* or *Resolve* *multiple* *conflicts* dialog, Grid Manager displays the nature of the conflict and the discovered data versus the current data. Select one of the following to resolve the conflict:
  - **Change** **the** **configured** **MAC** **address** **to** **be** **the** **same** **as** **the** **discovered** **MAC** **address**: Changes the MAC address to the discovered MAC address.
  - **Keep** **fixed** **address** **and** **ignore** **this** **conflict**: Keeps the fixed address and ignores the discovered data.
2. Click **OK** or **Resolve** (when you have multiple conflicts). If you have multiple conflicts, Grid Manager returns to the *Resolve* *multiple* *conflicts* dialog so that you can resolve other conflicts.

# Clearing Discovered Data

You can clear previously discovered managed data for selected IPv4 or IPv6 networks. This action is useful, for example, if your network topology has changed since the last discovery and you want to discover new data on the network or cloud platform. You may perform this action whether or not the network is in a managed or unmanaged state.

> ⚠️ **Note**
> ⚠️ 
> ⚠️ This action clears only the discovered data that is supported in the **Discovered** **Data** section for an IP address. It does not clear any NIOS objects or information such as tenants, networks, or VMs for a cloud platform. If a discovered IP address has the same IP as an existing NIOS object (such as a fixed address, DNS record, or host record), the appliance removes this IP address.

To clear discovered data:

1. In the *IP* *Map* or *List* panel, select a network, and then click **Clear** -> **Clear** **Discovered** **Data** from the Toolbar.
2. In the *Clear* *Discovered* *Data* dialog box, click **Yes**.
3. Navigate to the **Data Management** tab → **DNS** tab, delete all the associated zones.
4. <span style="color: #000000">After you clear all the discovered data, you should navigate to the </span>**Data Management**<span style="color: #000000"> tab and clear all the associated networks.</span>

You can also clear discovered data on all networks in a network view by performing the following steps:

1. In the *IP* *Map* or *List* panel, select a network, and then click **Clear** -> **Clear** **Discovered** **Data** from the Toolbar.
2. In the *Clear* *Discovered* *Data* dialog box, click **Yes**.
3. Navigate to the **Data Management** tab → **DNS** tab, delete all the associated zones.
4. <span style="color: #000000">After you clear all the discovered data, you should navigate to the </span>**Data Management**<span style="color: #000000"> tab and clear all the associated networks.</span>  
<span style="color: #000000">Note that when you clear all discovered data in a given network view, all imported discovered data for managed addresses, in all IPv4 and IPv6 networks in the network view, are cleared.</span>

You can also clear discovered data for a specific discovery job, as follows:

1. From the **Cloud** tab -> **VM** tab, select **Discovery ****Manager** from the Toolbar.
2. In the *vDiscovery **Job **Manager* dialog, click the Action icon next to the selected vDiscovery job, and then select **Clear ****Discovered ****Data**.  
*Action icon*
3. In the *Clear **Discovered **Data* dialog box, click **Yes**. The appliance clears all the discovered managed data that is collected by the specified vDiscovery job.
4. Navigate to the **Data Management** tab → **DNS** tab, and then delete all the associated zones.
5. <span style="color: #000000">After you clear all the discovered data, you should navigate to the </span>**Data Management**<span style="color: #000000"> tab and clear all the associated networks.</span>  
<span style="color: #000000">Note that if you delete an associated zone before you clear the discovered data, the </span>**<span style="color: #000000">Clear</span>**<span style="color: #000000"> option gets disabled from the </span>**<span style="color: #000000">Cloud</span>**<span style="color: #000000"> tab -> </span>**<span style="color: #000000">VM</span>**<span style="color: #000000"> tab. The </span>**<span style="color: #000000">Clear</span>**<span style="color: #000000"> option can be accessed from the </span>**<span style="color: #000000">Cloud</span>**<span style="color: #000000"> tab -> </span>**<span style="color: #000000">Tenants</span>**<span style="color: #000000"> tab. This is applicable when you use WAPI calls to clear all discovery data.</span>

# Clearing All Discovery Data

You can clear all the discovered data, whether managed or unmanaged, for a specific vDiscovery job. This action removes only the discovered data, not the associated NIOS objects, collected by the specified vDiscovery job only. It does not remove any discovered data collected through Network Insight or other non vDiscovery tasks.

> ⚠️ **Note**
> ⚠️ 
> ⚠️ If the same data is collected by the specified vDiscovery job and another non vDiscovery job such as Network Insight or IP discovery, the discovered data remains intact and will not be removed.

To clear all discovered data for a specific vDiscovery job, perform the following:

1. From the **Cloud** tab -> **VM** tab, select **Discovery ****Manager** from the Toolbar.
2. In the *vDiscovery**Job**Manager* dialog, click the Action icon next to the selected vDiscovery job, and then select **Clear ****All ****Discovery ****Data**.  
*Action icon*
3. In the *Clear**Discovered**Data* dialog box, click **Yes**. The appliance clears all the discovered managed and unmanaged data that is discovered by the specified vDiscovery job.  
Note that if you delete all the networks from the **Data Management** tab before you clear all the discovered data, the data gets cleared only from the NIOS user interface and not from the NIOS database which results in stale VM to be fetched when WAPI calls are made.