IT Inventory and Resource Management with OCS Inventory NG 1.02

Barzan "Tony" Antal

• Publisher: Packt Publishing
• Year: 2010
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781849511100
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Data Processing
• Index: Computer Science

In Detail

OCS Inventory NG is a cross-platform, open-source inventory and asset management solution. It brings more than plentiful features to the table to satisfy the business needs of small-to-large organizations with up to tens of thousands of computers. However, to put this inventory solution to optimum use requires a lot of skill.

This book will lead you through the steps of implementing OCS-NG until you master working with it. This book aims at reducing efforts involved in resource management. The solution gives a robust foundation on top of which we can implement other third party applications, plugins, and much more.

This book begins with the basics-it explains what IT inventorying needs are to be met in the real-world. Then, it covers a step-by-step approach to everything you need to know to set up and implement OCS-NG as a centralized inventory solution to meet all these requirements. It delves deeper into carrying out inventory tasks with every chapter.

You will learn how to choose the best agent type and deployment method. We discuss the process of gathering inventory data and cover techniques for creating and deploying packages. You will also learn how to acquire added benefits with the use of plugins. We discuss best practices on inventorying and troubleshooting agent-related problems. The book presents real-world inventorying scenarios along with their solutions. You will basically learn how to use OCS-NG to get the most out of it.

As a conclusion, if you want to learn about a free solution that fulfils inventorying necessities of the real-world, this is the book for you.

A practical guide on how to set up, configure, and work with OCS Inventory NG- a cross-platform, open-source inventory solution

Approach

This book closely follows the style of a practical, hands-on "how to" guide on working with OCS Inventory NG. The step-by-step approach, coupled with the use of visual aids, clear instructions, and real-world examples, makes it a fast-paced book. Upon the completion of this book, you will have the necessary skill set, know-how, and confidence to implement OCS Inventory NG to meet the demanding asset management needs of any organization. Then you can carry on using the book as reference material.

Who this book is for

This book targets an audience of system administrators and IT professionals who are required to implement, configure, customize, and work with IT Inventory and Asset Management solutions. The book does not presume any prior knowledge of inventory management, just a solid grasp of the server/client model and familiarity with the chosen operating system along with the necessary web server and database server terminologies. Anyone with an interest in inventorying IT assets and solving real-world resource management dilemmas will enjoy this book.

IT Inventory and Resource Management with OCS Inventory NG 1.02

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Table of Contents

IT Inventory and Resource Management with OCS Inventory NG 1.02

Credits

About the Author

Acknowledgement

About the Reviewer

Preface

What this book covers

What you need for this book

Who this book is for

Conventions

Reader feedback

Errata

Piracy

Questions

1. Introduction to IT Inventory and Resource Management

Inventorying requirements in the real world

A feasible solution to avoid inevitable havoc

Streamlining software auditing and license management

More uses of an integrated IT inventory solution

Gathering relevant inventory information

Overall inventory demands to enhance usability

Centralization: Introducing the client-server model

Example of the client-server model—an Internet forum

The client-server model versus the peer-to-peer paradigm

IT inventorying based on the client-server model

How does OCS Inventory NG meet our needs?

Brief overview on OCS Inventory NG's architecture

Rough performance evaluation of OCS-NG

Meeting our inventory demands

Set of functions and what it brings to the table

Taking a glance at the OCS-NG web interface

An incentive on functionalities

Summary

2. Setting up an OCS Inventory NG Management Server

Getting ready for the OCS-NG installation

Setting up prerequisite software on Linux flavors

Demystifying package management

The everlasting dilemma of solving dependency hell

Getting familiar with your distribution's package manager

Yum on RPM-based Linux distributions

APT and Aptitude/Synaptic on Debian and its derivates

Emerge and Portage, the heart of Gentoo Linux

Installing Apache, MySQL, and PHP/Perl on Linux systems

Installing the AMP stack with yum

Installing AMP stack with apt

Installing AMP stack with emerge on Gentoo

Installing the AMP stack with an XAMPP precompiled package

Setting up the necessary modules on Linux systems

Setting up the OCS-NG management server on Linux operating systems

Installing OCS-NG server via an RPM package

Installing OCS-NG server via installation script

Downloading and extracting the OCS-NG server package

Running the installation script and checking prerequisites

The real work behind the scenes of the script

Setting up the OCS-NG management server on Windows operating systems

XAMPP for Windows, the warm-up stage

Warning: XAMPP 1.6.8-1.7.1—a known issue and solution

Launching the OCS-NG integrated installation

A pragmatic look at initial configuration

Summary

3. The Zen of Agent Deployment

Behind the scenes: How agents earn their living

Choosing the best agent type

Demystifying the LocalSystem account of Windows OS

Choosing the best deployment method

Deploying agents on Windows operating systems

Getting familiar with command-line arguments

Manual installation strategies

Using OcsLogon.exe to deploy via GPO or login scripts

Using the packager to create the deployable agent

Getting the agent package on the OCS-NG server

Deployment via Active Directory GPOs

Initiating deployment with OcsLogon.exe via login script

Unattended installation via the PsExec.exe tool

Deploying agents on Linux operating systems

Installing agents on Linux with user interaction

Installing agents on Linux without user interaction

Deploying agents on Mac OS X operating systems

Deploying agents on mobile devices

Summary

4. Finding your Way through OCS-NG Features

Getting familiar with the OCS-NG web interface

Logging in

Looking around and examining the view

Elaborating the overview section of statistics

Getting to know the blue query toolbar

Understanding the first two queries

Demystifying TAG-based repartitioning

Understanding the other three queries

Getting to know the administrative toolbar

Preliminary configuration tips and best practices

Explaining configuration parameters

Maintaining a clean inventory: Solving common pitfalls and eliminating redundancies

Implementing the Registry query function

Uploading inventory data of hosts that are not networked

Working with the inventory

Summary

5. Investigating the Process of Gathering Inventory Data

Going beyond the retrieval mechanism

Using the IP Query function

Summary

6. Package Deployment through OCS-NG

Getting to know the package deployment function

Creating a package: Step-by-step approach

Server requirements for effortless deployment

Package activation and going beyond deployment

Affecting packages: Getting the packages through

Managing the rules of affectations

Securing the process with SSL certificates

Working with self-signed certificates

Working with PKIs that have certificate authority

Getting the certificates deployed on agents

Summary

7. Integrating OCS-NG with GLPI

Introducing GLPI: IT asset management on steroids

Getting familiar with the web interface of GLPI

Setting up GLPI on top of our OCS-NG server

Configuring GLPI to integrate with the OCS-NG mode

Extending GLPI with plugins

Using GLPI to track and manage inventory assets

Carrying out administrative tasks with GLPI

Generating reports and statistics with GLPI

License tracking and software auditing with GLPI

Helpdesk and issue tracking functions of GLPI

Summary

8. Best Practices on Inventorying with OCS-NG

Backing up and restoring the OCS-NG database

Dumping the database with mysqldump

Dumping the database with phpMyAdmin

Restoring SQL dump files via MySQL's CLI

Automating and scheduling dumping backups via scripts

Adding the scheduled job into crontab on Linux OS

Writing the batch script and adding into Windows Scheduler

Tweaking the OCS-NG server for performance

Useful scripts that make our everyday life easier

Implementing PHP notification-sender scripts

Extending OCS-NG inventory via .vbs scripts

Uninstalling the OCS agent via batch script

Best practices on retrieving model-specific data of various computer hardware components

Retrieving model-specific data of HDDs

Retrieving model-specific data of RAM memory modules

Updating OCS-NG agents on clients (when needed)

Updating the Windows agent

Updating the UNIX agent

Updating OCS-NG central server (when needed)

Summary

9. Troubleshoot Confidently—Find Solutions and Workarounds

Keeping an eye on the behavior of agents

A closer look at the agent's logfile

Troubleshooting problems related to agents

Forcing an agent to report inventory

Solving administration console-based issues

Solving MySQL limitations the right way

Solving PHP limitations the right way

Identifying and fixing issues on the server backend

Communication server fails to write a logfile on Linux

Diagnosing uncommon pitfalls—asking for help

Summary

A. Keeping Pace with Version Updates—Glancing over the changelog of the Latest Release

Analyzing the changelog

Index

IT Inventory and Resource Management with OCS Inventory NG 1.02

Copyright © 2010 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author nor Packt Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.

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• IT Inventory and Resource Management with OCS Inventory NG 1.02