The Right Tool - Keep Track of Computers Using iInventory

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The right tool: Keep track of computersusing iInventory

Version 1.0April 17, 2007

By Scott Lowe

TakeawayiInventory is a simple program that can help organizations of all sizes track servers and computers, includingmaintaining an inventory that knows about changes made to hardware configuration. Scott Lowe reviews theiInventory features and comments on this tools usefulness.

iInventoryiInventory is a simple program that can help organizations of all sizes track servers and computers, includingmaintaining an inventory that knows about changes made to hardware configuration. According to the iInventorydescription page, the application can:

• Run audits from your desktop• Scan & audit connected Win PCs• Audits Windows, Mac and Linux• Create HTML & grid reports• Access, MSDE or SQL database For hardware & software inventory• Ensure Software license compliance• Integrate with Microsoft software inventory

One major feature offered by iInventory is its capability to scan Linux and Mac workstations, which might softenthe financial blow for smaller organizations that need to include these kinds of assets in their scans.

A free demo of iInventory is available as a download in the TechRepublic Software Library .

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The right tool: Keep track of computers using iInventory

In actioniInventory provides you with a number of choices when it comes to where you want to store your asset records(Figure A ). For small installations with fewer than 100 assets to track, iInventory can save the information into anAccess-compatible database. Medium-sized installations that track more than 100 assets may want to use theMSDE version of Microsoft SQL Server. You can also opt to save the tracking information into a full-fledged SQL

Server database. If you do not already have SQL Server in your organization, you must install it before usingiInventory.

Figure A

Choosing a database Each time you start iInventory, the product offers to perform a scan of the local system as well as a scan of thenetwork, which determines if there are any available assets that iInventory can track.If you want to disable this startup option ( Figure B ), clear the checkbox next to "Show at Startup."






Figure B

Self-audit and network scan When iInventory performs a scan of your network, it pops up a window that lets you know that it's doingsomething ( Figure C ). While not informational, it's nice to know that the product is doing something and is nothung.In cases in which you can't run a scan in this way, iInventory's Web site offers you some ideas for completing youraudit:

• Audit large numbers of networked computers quickly by placing one agent on a network server -- activateit with a simple command in the login script. Each computer runs the agent on login and the resulting

audit data collection is centralized• If you don't have network rights, bulk email users with a link to a single network-located agent -- with a

simple instruction to click the link. This activates the agent on the target• Perform a walk-around audit -- place the agent on a zip disk, floppy disk, CD-RW or even the network,

and then visit each target and run the agent manually. This method is often used by third party auditorsas it is also easy to collect administrative information or distribute asset stickers

• Email remote, standalone users with the actual agent -- with instructions to run the agent and return theaudit data files which can then be imported into iInventory.



http://www.iinventory.com/

http://www.iinventory.com/




Figure C

Network scan in progress

The screen in Figure D shows you the details obtained from a local scan, which scans the localcomputer for inventory information. iInventory captures a significant amount of information and presentsit in a readable table.After you have multiple machines scanned, this display can be used to determine how many and whichmachines have specific versions of software. You'll see this feature later.

Figure D

Local scan results






You might have some machines that are not a part of your domain or are not, for whatever reason, discoverableby iInventory. You can selectively scan these assets by providing a machine name or IP address and credentialsthat can be used to perform the scan.In the screen shot shown in Figure E , you can see that a second machine (DC8) has been scanned. Further, themachine named XPP was moved into the contoso.com domain and now appears in that list.

Figure E

Scan of another machine The screenshot in Figure F gives you a look at the final screen of overall information for the server named DC8.Note that this is not the only information provided by iInventory's audit process.






Figure F

Final screen of DC8 details Besides the overall information you saw in the previous screenshots, iInventory provides you with granularinformation regarding just about every possible aspect of the system. Take a look at the available options underthe DC8 heading in Figure H . Also note that iInventory tracks overall disk space utilization, making it an ideal tool,if run on a regular basis, for tracking storage trends over time.

Figure H

A plethora of details






Do you need to figure out which servers have undergone the upgrade to Service Pack 1 or 2 and which ones arestill waiting? This is one of the nuggets of information captured by iInventory. iInventory also captures memoryutilization, making it possible to track which servers might be in need of an upgrade.Once scanned, your assets are broken down by operating system. Figure I shows another look at the WindowsXP system named XPP1, now a part of the contoso.com domain. Below the Windows XP entry, note that there isa list of available Windows Server 2003 servers. Figure I shows two systems named XPP -- one was from a scan

before the computer was added to the contoso.com domain and can be safely removed.

Figure I

Break down by operating system Asset tracking is important in any organization, but so is keeping current with patches and updates and keepingtrack of the systems to which licensed software has been installed. iInventory's software dictionary records cangive you a picture of which systems have certain software. In this example, you can see a list of computers towhich the .NET Framework 1.1 has been installed.Do you have any rogue operating systems out there? Or, do you need to verify your operating system count foryour Microsoft licensing agreement? Let iInventory do the work! On the screenshot shown in Figure J , note thatiInventory is tracking two Windows XP systems and one Windows Server 2003 system.






Figure J

Operating system count The screenshot shown in Figure K shows you one of the reports available in iInventory. In this case, iInventory isproviding a complete list of managed assets and displaying details about the operating system, including the OSversion and patch level. This kind of information can be invaluable when it comes to deciding what kind of humanresources to apply to patching systems.

Figure K

Drilling down






When it comes to making hardware upgrade decisions, not every organization is able to say "we replace everycomputer every three years on the dot." Instead, many organizations must make year-to-year determinationsbased on available budget and existing computer performance. Two key performance indicators for computershave always been processor type/speed and the amount of RAM. Another one of iInventory's standard reportsshows ( Figure L ) you the full name and speed for every processor in your organization and the amount of RAM inthe associated computer. This goes way beyond many standard inventory spreadsheets that just include speedand total RAM! Now you can see which processors are dual-core, and therefore make better upgrade decisions.

Figure L

Processor and RAM information Earlier you saw a screen that, along with other information, gave you a look at how much hard drive space wasavailable in your system. The Win32 hard drive summary report ( Figure M ) shows you the same information, butin a much more concise fashion.

Figure M

Hard disk space






From a licensing perspective, keeping track of the number of installations is critical. The software report shown inFigure N scans the registry for installed software and displays the number of instances found in your scannedassets.You can also use file-matching to determine the software that is installed on a machine. For example, if iInventoryfinds "Word.exe" it will assume that Word.exe is the Microsoft Word executable and increment the license countfor that software.

Speaking of which, you can also tell iInventory how many licenses you own for a particular product and let it dothe compliance checking for you.

Figure N

Software count Over time, you'll probably add an asset or ten to your organization. When iInventory scans that asset, thesoftware provides you with a status window outlining the scan's progress ( Figure O ).






Figure O

Adding a new asset

The bottom lineI found iInventory to be an excellent tool when it comes to keeping track of computer and software assets. Withprices starting at $5.50 per seat for 2,500 seats up to $21 per seat for 11 seats, smaller organizations might notfind it quite as valuable as larger ones, though. For complete pricing, go to iInventory's price list . The kind ofinformation provided by iInventory can also be invaluable when it comes to software compliance audits, so thecost may be justified there as well.

iInventory, as of this writing, would scan both Windows Server 2003 and Vista machines, but these operatingsystems cannot house the software. Instead, you must install iInventory into an XP machine or a Windows 2000server. I initially ran into installation problems when trying to install to Windows Server 2003 and did not evenconsider this possibility. In my opinion, this is a huge problem that the company should address as soon aspossible.Once I had that out of the way, when I launched the iInventory executable I downloaded from their site, theinstallation program for Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 started. The iInventory download is a self-extracting installerand, for whatever reason, the installation routine kicked off a different setup.exe file that just happened to be onmy system. Once I moved iInventory's installer to a different location, it installed without a hitch.



http://www.iinventory.com/prices.htm

http://www.iinventory.com/prices.htm




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Version historyVersion : 1.0 Published : April 17, 2007

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The Right Tool - Keep Track of Computers Using iInventory