Inventory software on Linux
Taking Stock

© Lead Image © Wong Yu Liang, 123RF.com
As a network grows in size, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep track of hardware, software, licenses, and infrastructure. Inventory solutions can provide significant relief.
IT administrators are responsible for computers working smoothly. As a company expands, keeping an eye on individual hardware components, cabling, software packages, licenses, and operating systems becomes increasingly time consuming. Having multiple locations aggravates the situation.
Inventory solutions that deliver a precise overview of the installed hardware and software and take into account the entire lifecycle of an installation (including maintenance, support contracts, and planning) promises some relief. This month's column looks at three of these software tools.
Standards
The most professional inventory solutions are geared toward the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) standard. The ITIL standard, developed in the 1980s, originated in the United Kingdom. It comprehensively describes the components of IT service management [1]. Meanwhile, the requirements have evolved constantly to take account of technical development. Professional inventory and monitoring packages are therefore often ITIL certified.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 Drops bcachefs
After a clash over some late fixes and disagreements between bcachefs's lead developer and Linus Torvalds, bachefs is out.
-
ONLYOFFICE v9 Embraces AI
Like nearly all office suites on the market (except LibreOffice), ONLYOFFICE has decided to go the AI route.
-
Two Local Privilege Escalation Flaws Discovered in Linux
Qualys researchers have discovered two local privilege escalation vulnerabilities that allow hackers to gain root privileges on major Linux distributions.
-
New TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro Powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300
The TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen10 offers serious power that is ready for your business, development, or entertainment needs.
-
Danish Ministry of Digital Affairs Transitions to Linux
Another major organization has decided to kick Microsoft Windows and Office to the curb in favor of Linux.
-
Linux Mint 20 Reaches EOL
With Linux Mint 20 at its end of life, the time has arrived to upgrade to Linux Mint 22.
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.
-
KaOS 2025.05 Officially Qt5 Free
If you're a fan of independent Linux distributions, the team behind KaOS is proud to announce the latest iteration that includes kernel 6.14 and KDE's Plasma 6.3.5.