Chapter 8

Assets Database

Assets Database is designed to help you extend and customize the information that LANutil holds about the software and hardware assets within your organization. It enables you to easily enter and access extra information about your network so you can work in the way that best suits you.

Using a simple, user-friendly interface, it enables you to select the information you want to store with each type of asset on your network, including information that is not normally available in network management products, such as manufacturer, purchase and warranty and maintenance information. Each asset type is set up as a template, so you can use it to ensure the consistency of the data held about the equipment on your network. And, because it is fully integrated with other parts of the LANutil product, you can use it to produce extended reports on the status of your network either by using LANutil's built-in reports or by creating your own SQL queries.

To open the Assets Database utility, double-click the Assets Database operation in the LANutil Console.

Using the Assets Database

Use the Assets Database window to record and display the details of the hardware and software assets held at each Site within your organization. By default, the window lists all the assets stored in the Site database, but you can also open a Details view to select the data displayed in the Assets list, and an Edit view to enter and update asset information.

To view or update the records of an asset:

Click the Edit button in the toolbar to display the Edit view in the top-right of the Assets Database window.

To view the details of the current Site Database, or to select the data displayed in the Assets list:

Click the Details button in the toolbar.

To resize columns:

Click on the right edge of the column you want to resize, drag the edge of the column to the required position, then release the mouse button.

To select a record:

In the Assets Database window, click on the gray box on the left of record row. An arrow symbol is displayed in the box to indicate it is selected. If you have the Edit view open, the record is displayed ready for editing.

To change the order of columns:

1. Click and hold the mouse on the column you want to move.
2. Without releasing the mouse button, drag the column to its new location. As you drag, a black vertical line is displayed to indicate the column's current position.
3. Release the mouse button when this line is positioned correctly.

   You can also order columns in your SQL statement when listing the fields which will be selected.

To resize the asset columns:

Click on the right edge of the column you want to resize, drag the edge of the column to the required position, then release the mouse button.

To sort asset records:

Data in the Assets Database window can be sorted using the contents of a column to control the order in which the asset records are displayed. To change the sort order of the List view, click on the heading of the column you want to use to specify the sort order.

To choose which records are listed:

Click the Details button in the toolbar and specify your record selection criteria using the SQL Code field.

Asset Types

Asset types are templates that are used to specify what information is required for each hardware or software asset you want to record. For example, you can define an asset type for printers that holds information on where the printer is located, its name and model information and so on. You can define asset types using predefined forms that collect standard data, or you can specify your own information requirements by defining customized fields for the database.

To create a new asset type:

1. In the Assets Database window, select the Edit, Create New Asset Type menu command. The New Asset Type dialog is displayed.
2. In the Asset Type field, enter a name for the new asset type.
3. If you want to force users to specify the PC where the asset is installed, check the Node Required box.
4. Check the tabs you want to include in the asset type. The General, Purchase and Warranty tabs contain standard information that can be applied to any asset; the User Extensions tab enables you to add your own customized data fields.
5. Click the OK button to close the dialog and add the new asset type to the database.

Customizing Asset Data

Although the Assets Database utility contains many standard data items that can be used to collect information that is most commonly required for software and hardware asset management, you can also customize the asset database to include information that is specific to your organization, such as service intervals, and license costs. This section describes how to create fields to define your own data requirements using the New Column wizard.

To create a new record field for an asset type:

1. Select the Edit, Add Column menu command. The New Column dialog is displayed.
2. In the USR_ field, enter a name for the information you want to collect. The name is used as a title for the data in the Assets Database window.
3. Click Next to display the Data types tab.
4. Select the data type you want to use to store the asset data. If you select a data type of Text, you must specify a character type and the maximum number of characters that can be entered in the field.
5. If you want to automatically populate the new data field with a default value, enter the value in the Default value field.
6. Click the Next button to display the Summary tab.
7. In the Summary tab, check the details of the new data, then click the Finish button to create the field.

   The field can be used to extend any asset type by selecting the Show User Extensions tab option when creating or editing it.

Assets

Assets represent any item of equipment that you need to monitor and keep track of. Use new asset entries to record details about hardware, and software assets that are not automatically detected by LANutil.

To enter a new asset:

1. In the Assets Database window, select the Edit, Add menu command. The Asset Types dialog is displayed.
2. In the Asset Types dialog, select the type of asset you want to add, then click the Add Asset button. The Asset Details dialog is displayed.
3. In the Asset Detail dialog, select each tab in turn and complete the fields for the new asset.
4. Click the OK button to close the dialog and add the new asset to the database.

Importing and Exporting

The Assets Database enables you to import and export the asset types defined in one Site database so you can easily distribute standard asset type definitions throughout your organization.

To import asset types:

1. In the Assets Database window, choose the File, Import Asset Types menu command.
2. In the Import Asset Types dialog, enter a Filename for the file, or click the Browse button to choose a file and location.
3. In the Delimiter list, select the character that is used as a field separator in the file you want to import.
4. If the import file contains header information, enter the first line of data in the Start import at row field.
5. Choose an On Error option to specify what action you want the application to take if it encounters a problem when importing information from the specified file.
6. Click the OK button to close the dialog and export the Asset Type information.

To export asset types:

1. In the Assets Database window, choose the File, Export Asset Types menu command.
2. In the Export Asset Types dialog, enter a Filename for the file, or click the Browse button to choose a file and location.
3. In the Delimiter list, select the character you want to use as a field separator. Note that you should select a character that is not already used in an asset type.
4. Choose All to export the entire assets table, or choose Selected only to export the rows selected in the Assets Database window.
5. If you want to add any explanatory information to the export file, check the Add header text box and enter the information in the text field.
6. Click the OK button to close the dialog and export the Asset Type information.

Importing Asset Data

The option to import Asset data from a delimited text file enables you to easily load any existing asset information into your LANutil database, or to quickly compile your asset data into a spreadsheet and then use it to extend your database.

To import asset data:

1. In the Assets Database window, choose the File, Import Assets menu command. The Import Assets dialog is displayed.
2. In the Filename field, enter the path and name of the file that contains the data you want to import, or click the Browse button to search for the file.
3. In the Delimiter list, select the character that the file uses as a field separator.
4. If the file contains header information, enter the row at which the data starts in the Start import at row field.
5. In the Default Nodename if required for Asset Type field, type the text you want to use as the node name of an asset when the associated asset type requires a node name.
6. Choose an On Error option to specify the behavior of the application when it encounters errors.
7. Click the OK button to close the dialog and import the data into the Assets Database.

Exporting Asset Data

The Assets Database utility enables you to export Asset data in delimited text files so that it can be copied to other Site databases, or used in spreadsheets and reports.

To export asset data:

1. In the Assets Database window, choose the File, Export Assets menu command.
2. In the Export Assets dialog, enter a Filename for the text file, or click the Browse button to choose a file and location.
3. In the Delimiter list, select the character you want to use as a field separator. Note that you should select a character that is not already used in the asset data.
4. Choose All to export the entire assets table, or choose Selected only to export the rows selected in the Assets Database window.
5. If you want to add any explanatory information to the export file, check the Add header text box and enter the text in the text field.
6. Click the OK button to close the dialog and export the Asset information.

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