Inventory Management
Inventory management provides a customizable and state of the art Configuration Management Database (CMDB) to track all kinds of assets or CI´s (configuration items).
There are two main tile categories in Inventory Management:
- Service bookings (commercial inventory)
Are used to provide an overview of all commercial bookings from the Service Catalog. - Asset categories (asset inventory)
Asset categories are a way to structure your CMDB into logical groups with assets of a similar type. An asset category may be “network components”.
Service Bookings
The Bookings tile contains all services ever booked, including historical bookings (already ended subscriptions). All Service Bookings are presented in the form of a table that may be filtered by using the corresponding buttons or the search box.
Service Booking always relate to a specific user and may also have a phone number relation. Based on the user the data for organizational unit and cost center are assigned. Additional information about start and end dates as well as optional asset assigned are also correlated into this service booking records.
Assets
The asset tiles represent the contents of the CMDB. All CIs (Configuration Items) located in the CMDB are displayed there. For different types of assets, there can be different tiles under which the assets are stored. This depends on which type or type of assets it is, e.g. a phone number as an asset has different detailed information or parameters than e.g. a WLAN access point, a PC or a software. The assets or asset types are called "Asset Categories" in ServicePlaza. Each category can have its own asset-specific configurations, details, parameters, or relationships. The categories are created and configured in the inventory management settings.
A separate tile is created for each asset category and available in inventory management (see previous figure). In the example below the asset category for PC Clients is shown:
Shown assets may be read only or writable, depending on the authorization level of the logged in user. Also, the organizational unit data structure applies in the CMDB. According to the asset category configuration a user may only be able to see only the assets that belong to him.
Asset data may be enriched using the Workflow sync functions, see the Workflow chapter for more information.
All assets in the CMDB correlate to a product from the product catalog. The product will set the base configuration for an asset. It will provide the product name, product group, asset category and many more attributes to the asset automatically.
Depending on the product and asset category configuration not all tabs are shown to the user.
General
The general tab provides common data about the identification and assignment of the asset.
- Identification
The identification section will provide multiple fields to track the asset identity, like a serial number or a MAC address. - Assignments:
In the assignment section you can assign a user, telephone number, organization unit and a service booking to the asset. This way the access to the asset may be restricted to certain level of user (roles) depending on your configuration.
Details
The content of the details tab is fully customizable to the customer requirements. In the example below several different fields and tabs have been created to track required data for this type of assets.
The configuration of the details tab is based on the asset category in the configuration settings in the inventory management.
Location
The location tab may be used to track the physical location of the asset, see image below:
Warranty
If warranty feature is configured on the product level the warranty tab is shown. Warranty data is automatically applied to the asset on creation / update when it matches the configured settings.
File
In the File tab, attachments can be uploaded to the asset. Files can be, for example, data sheets, configuration data or site plans. Via the pull-down menu in front of the file selection field, a document type can be defined, and a file uploaded.
The file is not uploaded until the new or changed asset is saved. Only one file can be attached per change or when you first create it. There are no format restrictions for the files and may have a maximum size of 5 Mbyte per file.
Relations
Relations in Inventory Management are an option to tie relations between assets. A relation may be parent – child or just a 1 to 1 relation, depending on the relation type chosen.
To do so you must assign a relationship from the asset to another one. In the example above we see a parent/child relationship where the Meraki MS220 Switch is the child from the root object. This root object is a static entity in ServicePlaza and the top level hierarchy where assets may relate to.
History
To permanently store new data to the asset you need to save it, to do so you´ll have to enter a remark/notice and (if available) a ticket reference to it. This will create the history for the asset.
Lost & Found
Another part of inventory management evaluates the existing asset inventory against the actual asset inventory of the CMDB, insofar as the corresponding system or its elements Manager is connected to the ServicePlaza with an interface. If this is the case, all objects defined in the interface are read from the connected system and compared with the assets existing in the ServicePlaza. Any entries in the system for which no assets exist are then displayed in the Lost and Found tiles. The tile is in the inventory management and can be opened by clicking on the tile.
Service Tree
A component of inventory management is the possibility to display the relationships and thus the dependency of assets with each other. A classic example would be an IT network in which there are various switches and end devices that are connected to each other and thus have a relationship to each other. These relationship trees can be found in the Inventory Management, in the Relationship Trees tile.
The tree view and relationship types are used for the basic configuration of a service tree. The service tree shows which relationships individual assets have to each other. For the representation of relationships in a tree, so-called parent / child relationships are used. The parent/child relationship is a directed relationship so that it captures which asset is the parent and which asset is the child.
In addition to this information, the relationship type is also recorded. The different relationship types or their names can be configured in the inventory management settings and are available to users (with appropriate authorization).
Due to the relationship types, ServicePlaza can display different trees and thus also different representations for the same assets, but only one relationship type can be displayed at a time.
The following list of assets could be an example of the logical network connection relationship type:
-
ServicePlaza (Root)
-
Distribution Switches
cis-ds-001 (C-3750-12TS)
cis-ds-002 (C-3750-12TS)
-
Access Switches
cis-as-001 (C-3750-48PS+)
cis-ap-001 (C-AP313i)
cis-as-002 (C-3750-24PS+)
-
In the first level (e.g. "Access Switches"), a group was created and bound to the root (i.e. ServicePlaza (Root)). Later, there is a relationship between the Access Switches (Parent) group and the child "cis-as-001 (C-3750-48PS+)". Again, one level lower, the asset "cis-as-001 (C-3750-48PS+)" (now Parent) has been linked to the access point "cis-ap-001 (C-AP313i)" (Child).
For an asset to appear in the tree view, a continuous relationship must have been established up to the "ServicePlaza Root" object. Assets without a continuous relationship (of the relationship type) do not appear in the tree view.
By creating the links via the parent / child relationship, it is possible to represent a tree structure. By means of the relationship type, a filter exists so that only the desired relationships are displayed in the tree.
Important:
- Each asset can only have one parent in the same relationship type at a time, otherwise no tree structure can be represented.
- In addition to the relationship types, there are also the tree views and the groups. The tree views are responsible for configuring the tile for each tree. If a tree view is created, a corresponding tile appears under the inventory management -> relationship trees, which leads to the corresponding structure. Once the above relationship types are fully configured on the assets and assigned to the corresponding tree view, they are displayed there. Groups, on the other hand, serve as a structure element to generate logical views for assets. These can be created as separate branches but also "sub-branches".
To create a relationship type, a tree view, or a group, open the corresponding tab and click on the icon. The input mask opens to create a relationship type, a tree view, or a group.
Settings
In the settings of the inventory management the generic configuration of the CMDB is created.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Display name | This allows the name of the "Inventory Management" service to be renamed so that it is displayed in used menus and titles with the configured name. |
| Filter possible. for inventory management Tbl. (AssetTypes) | Static network unlocks: This selection synchronizes the XMC NAC with the ServicePlaza. Only static network activations are read out, e.g. policy group, location (if available), MAC address and a description. Network Assets: The network assets are read out by PRTG and the infrastructure inventory. The selection is displayed there as an infrastructure asset. The available information is all SNMP information from PRTG: type, IP address, MAC address, manufacturer, firmware and a location, insofar as this is created with a location number under Locations in the ServicePlaza. UC Information: By selecting this display, in addition to the UC profiles (see UCProfileAvaya), information on collective connections, pick-up groups and the associated AD information is also read. Furthermore, the XMC NAC reads the data for the registered phones and assigns them to the UC profiles. |
| View bookings for all OrgUnits | If this function is activated, the table of the Postings tile is made available for all readers, regardless of the set authorization of the individual users. |
| Recreating Data for Asset UI Views | Regenerates all tables of all asset tiles with the current data in the database. This function can be used if there are possible inconsistencies in the tables. The corresponding process is started in the background and may take a while depending on the CMDB size. |
| Recreating Data for Posting Views | Regenerates the table of the Service bookings. The function serves to clean up or refresh the table. The corresponding process is started in the background and may take a while depending on the CMDB size. |
Asset categories
In this tab, asset categories are created. An input mask with a form builder is available for creating a new category. If you open the page of the asset categories, the existing already created categories are displayed in a list:
If a product is created in the product catalog and it is defined as an asset, the product must be assigned an asset category.
The assignment to an asset category defines which properties and data fields they have. The asset category defines who is allowed to see assets in this category, what basic data is displayed, what the detail view of the asset looks like, and what asset category-specific data it contains.
When creating a new asset category, a new asset tile for this category usually appears in inventory management overview.
In the upper area of the input mask, the general settings of the asset category are set.
The following table shows the possible configurations:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The name of the asset category is defined here, which can be selected for a product in the product catalog, for example. |
| Image | This parameter allows you to specify an image to display on the asset category tile in Inventory Management. The image must correspond to one of the file formats .jpeg, .jpg, .png, .gif and must have at least 32 x 32px and a maximum of 256 x 256px. With the Search button you can upload a suitable image via the browser function. You can use the Reset button to remove an image. |
| Asset Details / Show tab | The options/fields selected below can be shown or hidden when viewing an asset |
| Asset Details "Location" | The menu item "Location" with the predefined fields for the description of the location (location, building, floor, room/distributor, cabinet ID and HE) is displayed for the asset. |
| Files Asset Details | The menu item "Files" is displayed for the asset. |
| Visible to | The selected roles can see the asset categories in the system. |
| Editable for | The selected roles can add or change the asset categories in the Assets system. |
| Asset Menu Integration | If selected, there is a tile for this asset category in inventory management. |
| Description of the menu item | This is where the name of the "Asset Tile" is set in Inventory Management. This name is then displayed on the tile. |
The second section of the input mask then sets general settings of the corresponding assets of this category. There it is determined which fields and options should be displayed.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Visible columns in the table | The options/fields selected below can be shown or hidden in the asset overview table |
| Status | Status display for the asset is displayed Status are: In use, Warehouse (Customer), Warehouse (Damovo), Under construction, Reserved, Unknown, Missing, Scrapped, Deleted in Element Manager |
| Identifier | The unique identifier defined for the asset is displayed |
| Product group | The product group of the asset is displayed |
| Product | The product name of the asset is displayed |
| Organizational unit | The org unit on which the asset is posted is displayed. If the asset is posted to a user, the user's org unit is displayed. E.G.: AMT10 |
| AD Name | The user ID or the user to whom the asset is posted is displayed. E.g. a user ID or a PU user |
| Telephone number | If the phone number is relevant for an asset, it could be displayed here. E.g. with the UC profile |
| Location | The location of the asset is displayed |
| Hostname | The host name of the asset is displayed |
| Mac | The MAC address of the asset is displayed |
| Serial number | The serial number of the asset is displayed |
| Day | The asset tag is an optional free text field for identification, e.g. for IT inventory numbers |
| Name ID | An optional free text field for the possibility of identifying the asset. E.g. FQDN for virtual servers |
| Other attributes | The name that can be defined here describes another optional free text field for the asset. |
The lower part of the input mask contains the UI (form). Using the UI builder, asset categories can be individually extended by specific fields if required. These are then displayed on the asset on the Details tab.
The following example shows a possible configuration for a category of PC Clients:
If nothing is defined via the UI builder, the Details tab on the asset is not displayed.
Relationship Types
On the Relationship Types tab, you can now create or change relationship types for different requirements according to your needs.
In the input mask, you can now define a name for the relationship type, whether it should be displayed in a tree structure or not, and who should have the write permissions for the configuration and maintenance of the relationship types in the assets. Please note that when selecting Tree Display Yes, an asset can only have one parent at a time, otherwise a tree structure would not be possible. If you select No, it is possible to specify several parents on an asset, but a tree representation is no longer possible. In this case, there is only the information on the assets.
Service Tree
The Tree View tab configures the various tiles needed to display the relationships of the assets. For each defined tree view, a tile is created below the Tree Views tile in Inventory Management.
In the input mask, you can configure the tree view as shown in the following table:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Specifies the name of the tree view to be displayed on the tree view tile. |
| Image | With the Image parameter, an image file can be .jpeg in one of the file formats, .jpg, .png, .gif be uploaded. The image must have at least 32 x 32px and a maximum of 256 x 256px. With the Search button you can upload a suitable image via the browser function. You can use the Reset button to remove an image. |
| Abstract | The short description is displayed on the lower part of the tile and should not exceed 100 characters, otherwise it can no longer be fully displayed on the tile. |
| Relationship | Here, a previously defined relationship type with the type Tree must be selected. If no relationship type has yet been defined, a tree view cannot be created. Only relationship types that are configured with Yes for tree display are displayed in the selection. |
| Tree display | In the tree display, the tree view is selected on which basis or view the tree view is to be created. Only assets, location, organizational unit, or organizational unit with location are available. These then represent the "root point" or the starting point of the tree. |
| Assetname Syntax | This parameter determines how the asset should be displayed within the tree structure. You can choose from \<Identifier> (\<assetname>), \<series number> (\<assetname>), \<hostname / FQDN> (\<assetname>), \<name ID> (\<assetname>), \<MAC address> (\<assetname>), or \<asset tag> (\<assetname>). |
| Visible to | The Visible to parameter determines which roles are allowed to see the tile and its contents. All roles that are selected are given a check mark after the role name and thus receive the authorization. |
| Apply CSS permissions | This parameter defines whether a user is allowed to see all assets and the entire tree view or only the area or part that he is allowed to see due to his membership in an organizational unit (client). |
Group Configuration
The group configuration is used within the tree view to create individual different branches after or below the "root" point. A group can be created in the Group Configuration tab.
In the input mask, you can now define a name for the group, whether the group should be bound to the root (Yes) or not (No) and which relationship type should apply to the group.
To select a relationship type and thus create a group, it is necessary that a relationship type has already been created. If Tied to Root Yes is selected, the group is tied to the top of the tree as a separate branch. If you select No at this point, a group selection opens, and you must select after Bound to (Group) under which group the new group should be attached or started. This starts a new branch with this group below the selected group.
Import Template
In this tab a template for the wizard for mass import of assets can be saved / updated. This template is an Excel file in a certain format with the necessary columns and column names, which must be filled for the import according to the respective configuration.