Being Objective

I-doit groups the inventory in objects that it stores in the CMDB. You will find matching object types in the objects view on the dashboard to help you with this, pre-sorted by categories such as software or infrastructure. The GUI displays the objects in an intuitive tree structure on the left of the program window in the Object view tab. You can add a new object by left-clicking on the appropriate type in the object view.

A detailed view of the selected type's existing objects then opens on the right in the large panel of the program window. This view is initially empty. To add a new object of the active category, you need to click on New above the view, and a corresponding entry screen then appears. Use this to enter the required data.

Many selection fields are filled with default options. But because these often fail to reflect object-specific data such as the manufacturer name, serial number, or type designation (especially when you launch the software for the first time), you can add these data by pressing the Add new value button, which you will find on the right of the active selection field in each case. Use the clear-cut dialog to enter the new options and then save your changes (Figure 1).

Figure 1: I-doit enables highly detailed data entry.

I-doit offers the option of considering device locations in the Location view. Thanks to this option, you can centrally enter and manage the systems for a site (e.g., a branch office of a larger company) in this context using the reporting function. For components that correlate to other objects of the CMDB system, you can also create appropriate mappings as required: For example, when entering the data for computer systems, you can select the operating systems or application software from the existing Software object group, including license and service management. Of course you can archive the data – say, on retired hardware – to comply with legal requirements.

Import and Export

Basic data resources from the intranet can be automatically loaded using the Nagios interface and the Check_MK [8] plugin, which you can access via the Extras menu. The individual data records can be retroactively modified after pressing the Edit button. I-doit also offers blank text fields in virtually every category so that you can add further explanations.

To import data, the Extras | CMDB | Import menu gives you the option of loading lists in various data formats. It also supports CSV and XML data. Individual data records can also be prepared for use in third-party applications by pressing the Export as CSV button.

Reporting

Like any professional CMDB system, i-doit offers a reporting function that lets the administrator define and output individual reports. The corresponding dialog for creating the report structures can be found in the Extras | Report Manager menu. If needed, individual components included in an object group as object components can be queried in a report. This makes it easier, for example, to inventory additional hardware or software licenses. You can also add contract and vendor data.

The system can also map the geographical situation so that administrators, especially in larger organizations, will quickly have an overview of the existing structures (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Without further ado, i-doit immediately gives the admin an overview of the existing resources.