3.1 Credentials
In this section, we show the process of adding credentials, or importing those credentials via an excel spreadsheet. Let’s start with the brief overview on how you should set up credentials and network groups.
If the number of credential information is limited, then a single Network Group might be enough for you. In this case, the same credential set is applied to all devices in the inventory. Just enter the required information to access the devices in the Credentials window.
However, in some cases, the number of credentials gets quite large and it might be practically impossible to manage them. In this case, you might have to divide the credentials into several network groups.
Starting from the version 11.04, netLD provides two ways to add credential sets, called the Dynamic setting strategy and the Static setting strategy. In Dynamic setting strategy, you assign a range of IPs and a set of credentials of each network group. In Static setting strategy, you specify the credentials for the devices one by one. Registering credential information can be done by hand or by reading a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. We also generate an empty static credentials Excel template for convenience.
3.1.1 Dynamic Setting Strategy
Here we show how to set up a network group in Dynamic setting strategy. First open Tools Menu → Inventory → Credentials.
Click on the in the lower left, or click on the button in the center. This empty screen is shown only at the first visit.
Enter a new name of the network group. Select Dynamic - Credentials by
CIDR, Range, Wildcard and click on the OK button to create a network group.
Enter the range of IP addresses specifying the devices in Add address IP, CIDR, Wildcard, or Range field. Click on the on the right. The address will be
added into the table on the left.
Example
Single IP Address 10.0.0.1
2001:0DB8:AC10::
Range of IP Addresses 192.168.0.*
10.0.0.1-10.0.0.100
192.168.0.1/24
2001:0DB8:AC10::/64
After you entered a proper IP range, register the credential information. You can set up to three credentials for one network group. Click on the
just under the Credentials field and enter a name of the new credential set.
Click on the OK button to finish.
If more than two credential sets are available for a group, netLD tries each set on the list in turn and uses the first valid credential.
Make sure that any groups do not share the same range of IP addresses. Otherwise, netLD might fail to save the backup of the devices.
3.1.2 Static Setting Strategy
Next, we show how to use Static setting strategy.
In the Static setting strategy, you should run the process by hand. Click on the 
in the lower left.
Enter a new name of the network group. Select Static - Credentials by specific
IP address. Click on the OK button to specify the credential set for the group.
Click on the in the upper right corner of the screen to add a device credential.
Repeat these steps until all groups and credentials are added to the list. Click on the OK button to finish.
3.1.3 Import from an Excel spreadsheet
In the Static strategy, you can also import the credentials from a spreadsheet, instead of setting them manually. During the Static setting strategy
described in the previous section, follow the instruction below:
Click on the and then select Save empty static credentials Excel Template.
Open the exported spreadsheet and enter the device IPs and the corresponding credential information accordingly. Once you have finished, save and
close the file and get back to the netLD screen.
Click on the 
and select Import static credentials from Excel. . . to import the data from the spreadsheet you edited above. In the file selection dialog,
choose the edited one and click on the OK button.
Importing data from the external resources may overwrite the existing credential with the same IP. Ensure there is no unacceptable conflict in IP
address between the existing data and the newly imported ones.