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KACE Systems Management Appliance 14.0 Common Documents - KACE Service Desk Administrator Guide

About the KACE Service Desk Getting started
Configuring the appliance
Requirements and specifications Power-on the appliance and log in to the Administrator Console Access the Command Line Console Tracking configuration changes Configuring System-level and Admin-level General Settings Configure appliance date and time settings Managing user notifications Enable Two-Factor Authentication for all users Verifying port settings, NTP service, and website access Configuring network and security settings Configuring session timeout and auto-refresh settings Configuring locale settings Configuring the default theme Configure data sharing preferences About DIACAP compliance requirements Configuring Mobile Device Access Enable fast switching for organizations and linked appliances Linking Quest KACE appliances Configuring history settings Configuring Content Security Policy
Setting up and using labels to manage groups of items Configuring user accounts, LDAP authentication, and SSO Deploying the KACE Agent to managed devices Using Replication Shares Managing credentials Configuring assets
About the Asset Management component Using the Asset Management Dashboard About managing assets Adding and customizing Asset Types and maintaining asset information Managing Software assets Managing physical and logical assets Maintaining and using manual asset information Managing locations Managing contracts Managing licenses Managing purchase records
Setting up License Compliance Managing License Compliance Setting up Service Desk Configure the Cache Lifetime for Service Desk widgets Creating and managing organizations Importing and exporting appliance resources
Managing inventory
Using the Inventory Dashboard Using Device Discovery Managing device inventory
About managing devices Features available for each device management method About inventory information Tracking changes to inventory settings Managing inventory information Finding and managing devices Registering KACE Agent with the appliance Provisioning the KACE Agent Manually deploying the KACE Agent Using Agentless management Adding devices manually in the Administrator Console or by using the API Forcing inventory updates Managing MIA devices Obtaining Dell warranty information
Managing applications on the Software page Managing Software Catalog inventory
About the Software Catalog Viewing Software Catalog information Adding applications to the Software Catalog Managing License assets for Software Catalog applications Associate Managed Installations with Cataloged Software Using software metering Using Application Control Update or reinstall the Software Catalog
Managing process, startup program, and service inventory Writing custom inventory rules
Deploying packages to managed devices
Distributing software and using Wake-on-LAN Broadcasting alerts to managed devices Running scripts on managed devices Using Task Chains
Patching devices and maintaining security
Using the Security Dashboard About patch management Subscribing to and downloading patches Creating and managing patch schedules Managing patch inventory Managing Windows Feature Updates Managing Dell devices and updates Managing Linux package upgrades Manage quarantined file attachments
Using reports and scheduling notifications Monitoring devices
Getting started with monitoring Working with monitoring profiles Managing monitoring for devices Working with alerts
Using the Service Desk
Configuring Service Desk Using the Service Desk Dashboard Managing Service Desk tickets, processes, and reports
Overview of Service Desk ticket lifecycle Creating tickets from the Administrator Console and User Console Creating and managing tickets by email Viewing tickets and managing comments, work, and attachments Merging tickets Using the ticket escalation process Using Service Desk processes Using Ticket Rules Run Service Desk reports Archiving, restoring, and deleting tickets Managing ticket deletion
Managing Service Desk ticket queues About User Downloads and Knowledge Base articles Customizing Service Desk ticket settings Configuring SMTP email servers
Maintenance and troubleshooting
Maintaining the appliance Troubleshooting the appliance
Appendixes Glossary About us Legal notices

Managing physical and logical assets

Managing physical and logical assets

Add physical Asset Types
Archive device Assets

Physical assets include device hardware and software, as well as other physical assets, such as office furniture. Logical assets include locations, cost centers, and vendors.

The appliance Inventory component automatically provides the Asset Management component with information about physical assets, such as devices, that report software and hardware inventory to the appliance. For physical and logical assets that do not report inventory to the appliance, however, information is added and updated manually. See Update custom asset fields manually.

Managing logical assets enables you to:

•
Identify and protect logical assets.
•
Establish relationships between logical assets and use them in reports. For example, geographical relationships or the relationships of business entities.

You can also add custom logical assets, such as support contracts, to track additional metadata about those objects.

Add physical Asset Types

Add physical Asset Types

You can add physical Asset Types as needed.

1.
Go to the Asset Type Detail page:
a.
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.
b.
On the left navigation bar, click Asset Management, then click Asset Types.
c.
Select Choose Action > New.
2.
In the Name field, under the General tab, enter a descriptive name for the asset, such as Laptop.
3.
In the Defaut Asset Status field, under the General tab, enter a default asset status, or a custom one (if they exist).
A default installation of the appliance includes the following asset statuses:
◦
Active: Any asset that is deployed, active, or in use.
◦
Disposed: An asset that is no longer available for use.
◦
Expired: A software license or contract asset that has expired.
◦
In Stock: A recently received asset.
◦
Missing: Any asset that cannot be located.
◦
Repair: An asset that is being repaired.
◦
Reserved: An asset that is set aside for a specific person or use.
◦
Retired: Any asset that reached its end-of-life state, or is no longer in use.
◦
Stolen: An asset that has been reported as stolen.
4.
If you want to allow users who do not have the Administrator role to delete assets of this type, select Restrict Delete to built-in Administrator Role. This option is turned off by default. Only administrators can configure this option. For other types of users, this field appears on the page, but it is disabled.
For more information on user roles, see Add or edit User Roles.
5.
If you want assets of this type to display the asset location in the asset details, select Show Location settings. This option is turned off by default.
6.
Under Barcodes, click , and provide the following information:

Option

Description

Barcode Data

The barcode number. Barcode numbers are always unique, they cannot be shared between multiple assets. However, it is possible for an active asset to share a barcode with an archived asset.

Barcode Name

The barcode tag associated with this asset type. There can be only one barcode of the same type per asset.

Barcode Format

The barcode format. For example, UPC-A, Code 11, or UPC-E.

You can add as many barcodes as needed.
7.
Click the Add button on the right side of the page: .
A new line appears.
8.
Provide the following information in the new line. For example:
a.
In the Name field, enter Brand.
b.
In the Required column, select the check box to make the field required.
c.
In the Type drop-down list, select Single Select.
The Available Values field is enabled.
d.
Go back to the Available Values field and enter the brands you use. These will appear in the select list. Separate each brand with a comma.
For example: Apple, Dell, IBM. This ensures that brand names, such as IBM, are referred to consistently instead of using variations, such as IBM and International Business Machines.
9.
Click Save at the end of the row, then add a row:
a.
Click the Add button: .
b.
Provide additional information in the new line.

For example:

▪
In the Name field, enter Serial Number.
▪
In the Type drop-down list, select Text.
10.
Click Save at the end of the row, then add a row:
a.
Click the Add button: .
b.
Provide additional information in the new line.
For example:
▪
In the Name field, enter Location.
▪
In the Type drop-down list, select Asset Location.
11.
Click Save at the end of the row, then add a row:
a.
Click the Add button: .
b.
Provide additional information in the new line.
For example:
▪
In the Name field, enter Department, and in the Type drop-down list select Asset Department.
▪
In the Name field, enter Cost Center, and in the Type drop-down list select Asset Cost Center.
12.
Click Save at the end of the row, then add a row:
a.
Click the Add button: .
b.
Provide additional information in the new line.
For example:
▪
In the Name field, enter Warranty Expiration.
▪
In the Type drop-down list, select Date. The format is yyyy-mm-dd. The supported range is 1000-01-01 to 9999-12-31.
13.
Click Save at the end of the row, then click Save at the bottom of the page.

Archive device Assets

Archive device Assets

You can archive device Assets as needed.

Appliance administrators can archive device Assets that are no longer in use. When you archive a device Asset, that device is no longer included in the node license count for the appliance. Devices marked for archiving are archived after a pre-defined number of days, as specified in the General Settings. The default period is three days. This allows administrators to revert the device from being marked from archiving, if needed.

For more information about changing the length of time during which device Assets are marked for archiving, see Configure Admin-level or organization-specific General Settings

Once a device is archived, its record is deleted, and it can no longer be reverted to the previous active state. You can review the device details for an archived device Asset, if required.

1.
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.
2.
On the left navigation bar, click Assets.
3.
Complete one of the following steps:
◦
On the Assets list, select a device Asset. Select Choose Action > Archive.
◦
On the Assets list, click the name of a device Asset. On the Asset Detail page that appears, click Archive.
4.
In the Archive Asset dialog box that appears, in the Archive Reason field, type the reason for this action, and click Save.
The Archive Asset dialog box closes, and the Assets list refreshes, indicating that the device Asset is in the Pending Archive state (). When the Pending Archive period expires, the appliance archives the device Asset, and it enters the Archived state ().
5.
If you want to remove a device Asset from the Pending Archive state:
a.
On the Assets list, click the name of a device Asset that is in the Pending Archive state.
b.
On the Asset Detail page that appears, click Undo Pending Archive.
The Asset Detail page closes, and the Assets list refreshes, indicating that the device Asset is no longer in the Pending Archive state.
6.
If you want to review the device details for an archived device Asset, on the Assets list, in the Name column, click the device name enclosed in brackets.
The Device Details page appears. This page contains a subset of the information typically shown for a non-archived device Asset. For more information about the fields appearing on this page, see Groups and sections of items in device details.

Maintaining and using manual asset information

Maintaining and using manual asset information

For assets that do not report inventory to the appliance automatically, you can manually add asset information. This is useful for logical assets such as locations, cost centers, and vendors, and physical assets, such as office furniture and equipment. Asset information that is imported or added manually must be updated manually when that information changes.

There are two ways to keep manual asset information up to date:

•
Manage the information in spreadsheets and re-import them to the appliance periodically.
•
Maintain the information manually in the Asset Management component.

Whichever method you choose, use it consistently to ensure that data remains current.

Creating an asset administrator role

You can create an asset administrator role to permit other users to update assets in the appliance.

For information on creating roles, see Setting up roles for user accounts.

Scheduling regular imports

To maintain asset information efficiently, you can continue updating source spreadsheets. Each time you import, the Asset Management component determines whether to import or update records based on what was designated as the primary key (PK) when the asset was created:

•
If the primary key matches an existing record, the Asset Management component compares the data and updates the existing record.
•
If there is no matching primary key in the row, a new record is generated.

See Importing license data in CSV files.

Tip:
 
TIP: Before importing new data, consider running a report to export the current data. That way you can return to the original data if there is anything wrong with the structure of the new data.

Using asset data in reports

You can export data from the Asset Management component in standard reports.

Some standard reports are:

•
Unapproved Software Installation: Software found on devices where no license has been approved.
•
Software Compliance Simple: License counts, such as those found on the Assets list.
•
Software License Compliance Complete: A list of software and devices that are impacted by each license.

In addition, you can create your own reports. See About reports.

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