SE 6.4.2.0 SymmAPI - no device groups?

Very complex thread at a first look ...

1) there are a lot of options when you want to establish a STD with a BCV..
you can use DGs, CGs or even files (that describe the pairs you want to create/establish/split/whateveryoumaywant).
2) you can have a look at /var/symapi/log or c:\program files\emc\symapi\log .. it may reveal you a lot of things ...
3) if you don't know which host is issuing the commands, you can always ask the DMX to tell you who is running symcli commands .. symaudit may be of help ..

Could you please explain better what are you trying to find/do ??

It seems Msumner is going to write his own symcli implementation embedded in his application perhaps ?

Negative, not looking to recreate the wheel, simply look at the application coded events that occur through the API and have a way to monitor and troubleshoot now that SymCLI is not used(direct function calls through the API from the application)

this is why I'm looking for any kind of SymAPI manual that details the process...anybody know of one?

I think what you might be looking for is "EMC SMI-S Provider"

Product description
EMC® SMI-S Provider V3.3 supports the SNIA Storage Management Initiative (SMI), an ANSI standard for storage management. This initiative has developed a standard management interface that has culminated in a comprehensive specification (SMI-Specification or SMI-S). The SMI-S defines the open storage management interface that enables the interoperability of multiple vendor¿s storage management technologies. These technologies are used to monitor and control storage resources in multivendor SAN topologies.

The SMI strives to ensure consistent data and eliminate inconsistencies between management tools by providing a unified interface to the many storage objects that must be managed in a storage environment. This enables application developers to focus on a single, standard interface for the development of management tools.

Release Notes: https://powerlink.emc.com/nsepn/webapps/btg548664833igtcuup4826/km/live1/en_US/Offering_Technical/Technical_Documentation/300-006-069_a01_elccnt_0.pdf?mtcs=ZXZlbnRUeXBlPUttQ2xpY2tDb250ZW50RXZlbnQsZG9jdW1lbnRJZD0wOTAxNDA2NjgwMzFjZGJhLG5hdmVOb2RlPVNvZndhcmVEb3dubG9hZHMtMg

That's a very close recommendation, but really only details the software package installation and known issues. I'll continue to research with EMC and will post any findings, but it looks like the SymmAPI log is the only way to really monitor the process(other than calling support and having the PSE lab do it for me!

thanks all for the input!