IssueTrak help desk software can now be equipped with an Asset and Inventory Management module, which consists of web-based inventory control and PC audit programs. TrakPC is the PC audit program, and works by producing an XML file on each PC which contains information about that system's hardware and software contents. TrakPC then can be set to send the XML file back to the IssueTrak help desk server using the HTTP protocol. TrakPC shares it's portability with the main IssueTrak system, and does not need to be installed to individual PCs in order to run. Instead, the TrakPC module can run via a system login script, or as a scheduled network task.

Complete Registry Scanning

TrakPC can be configured to look at individual PC registries to see what software, and version, is installed. By extracting software names that are displayed in your Control Panel in the Add/Remove Programs area automatically, you can determine which software is on which PC, whenever an audit is necessary.

It is important to note that the TrakPC module does not examine files on disks to determine what specific software is installed. Instead, it uses registry scanning. In cases where there is software on a PC which needs to be tracked but is not listed within the registry, it is possible to include an entry in an .INI file on the PC which lists the software name and the appropriate file to look for. Then, if TrakPC finds this file, it can return the software name as one of the packages installed on the PC.

From there, TrakPC XML data is loaded into an Audit table within the Asset Management software system. Then, it is transferred to the inventory item table, matching on either NIC MAC address or computer name.

Inventory Data tracked by the IssueTrak asset management module includes:

• Identification details, including asset serial and tag numbers, etc.
• User information - by user ID, organization, department, phone number, etc.
• Location information
• System information details such as computer name, hardware manufacturer, operating system, browser
• Hardware details such as processor, memory, drives and NIC info
• Installed Software System maintenance and warranty information
• Lease or purchase information such as purchase dates, price and vendor.
• Any user defined fields

The Asset and Inventory Management system enables administrators to run various important reports, such as:

• Audited PCs by Processor Type or by Operating System
• Inventory counts by Manufacturer
• Inventory counts by Vendor
• Inventory items by lease expiration
• Inventory items by maintenance expiration
• Inactive inventory items
• Complete Software Licensing Reports

The IssueTrak asset management system also enables you to record any software licence purchases. Once any software purchase details are entered, and an audit completed, a software compliance report can be created. This report will show you the number of software packages installed versus the number of licenses purchased. This module is particularly popular with larger organizations, and we frequently include it as part of our help desk consulting services.