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host_inventory file
Last Updated: June 30, 2026

The ServAssure NXT host_inventory file is the primary definition of all hosts (servers or virtual machines) that make up the ServAssure NXT cluster. All hosts are defined in the inventory file, and grouped according to their roles. The following group roles exist within the file:

[appserver]
The servers that will host the ServAssure NXT Application/UI.
[cassandra_seeds]
The hosts that will act as the Cassandra data nodes, but are designated as seed nodes.
[cassandra_others]
The hosts that will act as the Cassandra data nodes, but are NOT designated as seeds. These are standard Cassandra data nodes.
[solr]
The hosts that will handle search functionality for the ServAssure NXT system.
[nxt_engine]
The hosts that will handle the data ingress and caching.
NOTE: This group was previously named "[arcus]", or [nxt-engine] (hyphen not underscore). The existing group can be renamed when upgrading from a previous ServAssure NXT release.
[haproxy]
The hosts that will handle the proxy and/or load balancing for the cache (nxt-engine) and search (Solr) nodes.
[rabbitmq]
The hosts that will run the RabbitMQ message bus application.
NOTE: This group is only needed when integrating with the ServAssure Collection Platform.
[dashboard]
Hosts that will run ServAssure Dashboard for Alarm Central.
[metricsv2]
Server for Metrics 2.8. This server needs to be reachable via SSH during installation.
[trapreceiver]
The servers that will receive traps and forward them to the NXT Engine for processing.
NOTE: Populating the file with the correct information is extremely important, as the ServAssure NXT installation will only be performed against the hosts identified within it. Additionally, the configuration parameters used for all hosts during installation come from the contents of the host_inventory and site_vars files.

Example

This example shows how to edit the [appserver] role to add the application hostname to the hostname field. For each application server, enter the hostname in the hostname field. 
[appserver]
my.server.hostname
If there is more than one server, add another hostname but change the alias. The alias names must be unique for each host. For example:
[appserver]
my.server.hostname.1
my.server.hostname.2
Continue editing the file, and repeat the process for all remaining groups and hosts. See ServAssure NXT host_inventory file for a fully populated example file.

Once you have designated all of the hosts, the only remaining variables in the host_inventory file are the ServAssure NXT ROLE Group Variables. Continue editing the file to populate all groups.

envars
The complete file name and path of the site_vars file. This file also requires completion. Define the path to this file. It can be located in the same path as the host_inventory file, or it can reside in a different location of your choosing.
ctvip
The cache tier virtual interface IP address, or the IP address of the proxy server if defined and used in the [haproxy] group.
stvip
The search tier virtual interface IP address, or the IP address of the proxy server if defined and used in the [haproxy] group.
atvip
The application tier virtual interface IP address, or the IP address of the proxy server if defined and used in the [haproxy] group.
ntvip
The Node API virtual interface IP address, or the IP address of the proxy server if defined and used in the [haproxy] group. Value is <loadbalancer / haproxy_server_ip>.
NOTE: A standard ServAssure NXT installation uses a server running a proxy, as defined in the [haproxy] group, if that is desired. However, there may be specific site cases where a hardware load balancer is used. If so, the IP addresses here would be those virtual IP’s set up with that particular device or service.