Templates can be defined on Devices Classes and on individual devices. Before Zenoss begins performance collection for a device or component it must determine which Templates apply. This process is called template binding. The first step to binding is determining the list of Template names that apply to this device or component. For device components this is usually just the meta type of the component (e.g. FileSystem, CPU, HardDisk, etc.) For devices this list is the zDeviceTemplates zProperty. The second step to binding is finding Templates that match these names. For each name Zenoss searches first the Device then up the Device Class hierarchy looking for a template with that name. Zenoss uses the first template it finds with the correct name, ignoring others of the same name that might exist farther up the Device Class hierarchy.

The Templates page for any Device or Device Class shows the templates available for binding. This page shows a list of all templates that are defined at this point or higher in the Device hierarchy. Use the Bind Templates menu item to bring up the Bind Performance Templates dialog. This dialog lets you view and change which templates are currently bound. You can edit the list of template names a device will bind to either by using the Bind Templates dialog or by editing the zDeviceTemplates zProperty directly on the zProperties page. There is no way to edit the bound name for a device component.