Practice
IT inventory and documentation: methods and tools
A current inventory is the basis for fast support, clean licence management and decisions that hold up. The hard part is less the initial capture than staying current. This article sorts through the methods and tools.
Automatic versus manual capture
Hardware and software can be captured automatically - through inventory tools that scan devices on the network or report through an agent. Manual upkeep stays necessary for what no scanner sees (accessories, contracts, site details). The art is the combination: automatic where possible, manual where necessary.
Agent-based or agentless?
Agent-based approaches (OPSI, for instance) deliver deep software data and work outside the local network too. Agentless approaches (network scans through OCS Inventory) are quick to roll out but see fewer details. Many environments run both in parallel.
Assignment to customers and sites
For a service provider the clean assignment is decisive: devices have to belong to the right customer and site - automatically by IP subnet, for instance. What matters here: identical host names or MAC addresses across customer boundaries must never lead to confusion.
Keeping documentation alive
Inventory and documentation only pay off while they are current. It helps to interlock both with daily work: the device involved hangs on the ticket, knowledge articles link to customers and devices, and automatic syncs reduce manual upkeep.
Frequently asked questions
What belongs in an IT inventory?
Hardware (clients, servers, network), software and licences, accessories, and the assignment to customers, sites and contracts. On top of that the relationships between objects - which system depends on which.
What is the difference between agent-based and agentless inventory?
Agent-based (OPSI, for instance) delivers deeper software data and works outside the LAN; agentless (an OCS network scan) is faster to roll out but less detailed. The two are often combined.
How do I avoid mix-ups across customers?
Through consistent assignment by customer, site and subnet. Identical host names or MAC addresses (from cloned VMs, for instance) must never cause devices from different customers to be merged.
How does an inventory stay current?
Through automatic synchronisation and interlocking with daily work: devices on the ticket, documentation in context and regular syncs rather than purely manual upkeep.
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