Hardware/Software Inventory Tools

blamoreaux-p40 · #1

One of the responsibilities of the Stake Technology Specialist is to:

... maintain a current inventory of all hardware and ensure that software installed on Church computers complies with licensing agreements.

What tools do you use and how detail do you get? At work the asset management team has bar codes on all of the equipment. Is this an overkill? Also, where do you maintain the record? Do you keep it in it's own database?

Here are some thoughts I've had:

Create my own labels for the machines with their own IDs
Use Google Documents as my repository.
Run Belarc Advisor for each computer

#2

blamoreaux wrote:One of the responsibilities of the Stake Technology Specialist is to:

... maintain a current inventory of all hardware and ensure that software installed on Church computers complies with licensing agreements.

What tools do you use and how detail do you get? At work the asset management team has bar codes on all of the equipment. Is this an overkill? Also, where do you maintain the record? Do you keep it in it's own database?

Here are some thoughts I've had:

Create my own labels for the machines with their own IDs

Use Google Documents as my repository.

Run Belarc Advisor for each computer

All of the above suggestions are good ones. Belarc advisor is especially effective as it provides a good summary of the system. Personally I maintain a list of models and serial numbers in an Excel file on my home computer as well as a hard-copy of the information in a binder.

Another effective tool is to take closeup photographs of the equipment.

If you wish to create your own labels, one suggestion would be to use the ward/stake numbers and etch them into the bottom or rear of each item.

#3

When I was called as STS I inherited a partial inventory of technology equipment. My predecessor had begun to label each piece of equipment with an abbreviation of the stake's name appended with a four digit number. The list was kept in an OpenOffice word file. I have continued the process of labeling and tracking. However, I moved the information to a database file (MS Access file compatible with OpenOffice). After two and a half years of this I find I went overboard in using the database file. The amount of information and data can be adequately handled in a word processing table or in a spreadsheet. The data does not change frequently enough or require the management or reporting capabilities of a database program. I am in the process of moving the data to a word processing table. I am doing this to make the transfer of the calling to my successor as simple as possible. Perhaps my successor may not be familiar with a database program, nor have the desire to do so.

russellhltn · #4

I just keep a simple spreadsheet. Make, model, serial number. As for the software, I just look to see if anything has been installed over and above what I put on it. (It helps that all of the machines started off with Desktop 5.5 - so they are all standardized.)

As for Belarc Advisor, this is what I read for the licensing:

The license associated with this product allows for free personal use only. Use on multiple PCs in a corporate, educational, military or government installation is prohibited. See the license agreement for details.

Did I look at the wrong version? If it's the security scan feature you want, and you have a Internet connection, I use secunia online.

jjcrandall-p40 · #5

We have a product that Church IT has made available named LANDesk, that does track software licenses, patching, serial numbers, ect. It's a good inventory management software, meaning, you can tell what software is on the workstation, how many times they use it, and when was the last time they used it.

It's still not a good asset management software, or tracking physical equipment, like projectors, computers, monitors, ect., ect.

With that in mind, at HQ & area offices, it is used do also install applications remotely, and patch workstations, but Local Units haven't utilized it like it was designed, mostly because it's a very admin heavy.

russellhltn · #6

jjcrandall wrote:but Local Units haven't utilized it like it was designed, mostly because it's a very admin heavy.

I think the real issue is that many, if not most, admin computers are still on dial-up while all FHCs should be on broadband. It limits what can reasonably be done.

#7

jjcrandall wrote:We have a product that Church IT has made available named LANDesk, that does track software licenses, patching, serial numbers, ect.

With that in mind, at HQ & area offices, it is used do also install applications remotely, and patch workstations, but Local Units haven't utilized it like it was designed, mostly because it's a very admin heavy.

LANDesk is used in Family History Centers throughout the Church. I do not think it is available for local unit adminstrative computers.

russellhltn · #8

lajackson wrote:I do not think it is available for local unit adminstrative computers.

It is part of Desktop 5.5, and I think it may even be part of the security package install. (It sure looked like the LANDesk install screens when I updated it.)

It's just that I've never seen it used on a admin computer.

#9

RussellHltn wrote:It's just that I've never seen it used on a admin computer.

That's probably because we turn them off when we are done. [grin]

Aren't the FHC computers left on occasionally, or perhaps are just on longer during more days, so LANDesk is able to access them and do its thing?

#10

lajackson wrote:LANDesk is used in Family History Centers throughout the Church. I do not think it is available for local unit adminstrative computers.

The client portion of LANDesk Manager is installed on administrative computers configured with Desktop 5.5. It is just not being used by Church headquarters.