KACE Systems Management Appliance 14.1 Common Documents - KACE Service Desk Administrator Guide

Log in to the appliance Administrator Console, https://appliance_hostname/admin. Or, if the Show organization menu in admin header option is enabled in the appliance General Settings, select an organization in the drop-down list in the top-right corner of the page next to the login information.

On the left navigation bar, click Inventory, then click Devices.

Click the name of the object on the Devices list page.

Click SNMP Data in the Inventory section to display the results of the full walk.

Collect the relevant OIDs from the list.

Map the OIDs to fields in the appliance inventory table so that their information can be integrated into inventory. See Map Object Identifiers to fields in the inventory table.

Map Object Identifiers to fields in the inventory table

You can map SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) OIDs (Object Identifiers) to particular fields that you have created as Asset Subtypes. You can use the resulting SNMP Inventory Configurations to expand your inventory information to include data from non-computer devices.

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You have identified the relevant OIDs to be contained in the configuration:

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You have used a MIB browser on a vendor-supplied Management Information Base.

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You have performed an SNMP Full Walk on a target object with the appliance, and have reviewed the OIDs displayed in SNMP Data of the Inventory Information section of the object's Device Detail page. See Discovering devices on your network.

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You have created appropriate Asset Subtypes for the non-computers devices you want to manage in inventory. See Add Asset Subtypes and select Device Detail page preferences.

The SNMP Inventory Configurations list page provides you with the tool to create new mappings or manage existing ones.

After you have determined the OID data you want to collect, you select a subtype for the device from categories that are the same as those on the Device Detail page. You then select a property of that category, the result of which maps the OID to a field in the inventory table. The SNMP object appears in the device inventory after the next scan.

For example, if you had a printer in inventory, added manually or through a discovery schedule, you could use an SNMP Inventory Configuration to have the printer report cartridge ink levels to the appliance. In this case, you would use an Asset Subtype of Printer that you have created as a subtype of device, with a field named Toner Level.

Go to the SNMP Inventory Configurations list page:

On the left navigation bar, click Inventory, then click SNMP Inventory Configurations.

Select Choose Action > New.

Type a name for the configuration in the Name field.

Important:

IMPORTANT: For SNMP devices, you must assign the appropriate Asset Subtype when the device is configured. You cannot add or change SNMP device subtypes after they have been configured.

Select an Asset Subtype that identifies the type of device you want to inventory.

Map an OID to an appliance inventory field:

Click the Add button:

A new row appears under the headings.

Enter the OID in the text box under Object Identifier (OID).

Select a category from the drop-down list under Category.

The categories match those identified on the Asset Subtype Detail page.

Select a property from the drop-down list under Property.

The properties that appear are dependent on the subtype and the category you selected.

Click Save at the end of the row.

Map as many additional OIDs as you want for your purposes, and click Save at the bottom left of the page.

Apply the configuration to an object. See Apply an SNMP Inventory Configuration to a device.

Apply an SNMP Inventory Configuration to a device

You can apply an SNMP Inventory Configuration to a device so that the additional data can be collected during the next scan for that device.

You have created the configuration. See Map Object Identifiers to fields in the inventory table.

NOTE: You can apply SNMP Inventory Configurations only to SNMP-managed Agentless devices.

Go to the Devices page:

On the left navigation bar, click Inventory to display the Devices page.

Select the check boxes next to one or more devices.

Select Choose Action > Apply SNMP Configurations to display the Apply SNMP Configurations dialog.

Drag the configurations you want to apply into the Apply these SNMP configurations box.

You can search for a particular configuration by starting to type its name into the Search SNMP Configurations field.

Click Apply SNMP Configurations.

The Devices list page reappears after the configuration is applied.

The information appears for the device after the next regularly scheduled reporting time or forced inventory update.

About printer templates

The appliance also comes with a set of printer templates for typical SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) printer models. You can apply these SNMP configurations to printer devices, as needed.

The SNMP Inventory Configurations list page displays the available printer templates. When you apply a printer template to a device, the data defined in the template, such as toner levels or descriptions, is collected for the printer in the next inventory cycle.

A default installation includes a set of templates for the following laser printers, with two variation for each brand to accommodate monochrome and color printers: Brother, Canon, HP, Lexmark, and Xerox.

You can edit or create these templates, as needed. To create or edit a printer template, you must have the relevant SNMP OIDs (Object Identifiers) for the fields that exist as the associated Asset Subtypes. The appliance comes with two Asset Subtypes that capture printer-specific fields such as toner levels: Laser Printer: Color and Laser Printer: Monochrome. For more information about mapping OIDs, see Map Object Identifiers to fields in the inventory table. For details about Asset Subtypes and to find out how they relate to SNMP configurations, see About Asset Subtypes, custom fields, and device detail preferences.

Adding devices manually in the Administrator Console or by using the API

About managing devices

Tracking changes to inventory settings

Add devices manually with the Administrator Console

Adding devices manually using the API

You can add devices to inventory manually, either within the Administrator Console or by using the inventory API (application programming interface).

Adding devices manually is useful when you want to track device information, but you do not want to manage devices by installing the KACE Agent or using Agentless management.

Inventory for manual devices must be updated or uploaded manually. The appliance does not receive scheduled inventory updates from manual devices.

About managing devices

Managing devices is the process of using the appliance to collect and maintain information about devices on your network and performing tasks such as monitoring device status, creating reports, and so on.

To add devices to the appliance inventory, you can:

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Install the KACE Agent on devices. Devices are automatically added to inventory after the Agent is installed on them and the Agent reports inventory to the appliance. See Provisioning the KACE Agent.

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Enable Agentless management for devices. Agentless management is especially useful for devices that cannot have the KACE Agent installed, such as devices with unsupported operating systems. See Managing Agentless devices.

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Upload inventory information for devices manually. See Adding devices manually in the Administrator Console or by using the API.

NOTE: Your product license agreement entitles you to manage a specified number of devices that are classified as Managed Computers, Assets, and Monitored Servers. Devices count toward these limits even if such devices are MIA (missing in action) or no longer in use. However, devices that are added to inventory manually, or through the API, do not count toward license limits. See View product licensing information.

For information about the features available to devices, see Features available for each device management method.