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ocsng + glpi

OCS Inventory is a database and reporting interface that will keep an up-to-date database of the devices on your network(s). It's got a server component that runs on Linux or Windows (Linux is recommended) and client agents that run on Windows, *nix, and MacOS X. The client agents also use nmap to scan for other types of nodes, such as routers and printers. It's very slick; I've used it for six years for my job, and we currently track over 500 computers plus a few other devices through nmap.

The whole thing is GPL, and you can opt for a support contract.

It can also integrate with another package called GLPI, which among other things handles trouble tickets and is also Free.

Use a batch script with "rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry". Youll save a ton of headache. Yes its klunky. Yes, it really is the best way to deploy printers programatically.

http://forums.ocsinventory-ng.org/viewtopic.php?id=10929

Youre welcome.

(and I know that those GPOs look like they should work much better but... just dont)

First, read the PSNA if you haven't already, it features good ideas on documentation and especially process and how to deal with "layer 8" (management, users, whatever is the "real world" for you).

Next step is the wiki. You seem to already have that, good. People here have suggested SemanticWiki, but I'll point you towards Ikiwiki as it has the advantage of (a) being git based so completely decentralised (have a copy of your files on your laptop during a downtime!) and (b) written in perl so you can probably extend it.

Make sure people know where your wiki is and *use* it, so it doesn't become this rotten piece of outdated documentation out there. You have only started to understand how this is going to be a pain: documenting is hard long-term work. there's a (bad) reason why people don't do it effectively: it takes time and dedication.

Next you can consider using dedicated tools for certain things like inventory or issue tracking. We have used Request Tracker with good success. It's a very solid product that does a lot, also in Perl, coincidentally enough. It also has the Asset Tracker plugin to follow inventory, but i haven't personnally used that, although I had good feedback from peers that used it successfully in an heterogeneous environment. An alternative is OCS inventory, which I haven't used either.

So, just bite the bullet: you're going in the right direction. Just consider the right tool for the right job is your next step, i guess.

You may also find an inventory or asset management system useful to make sense of what you have, if its relevant in your circumstances. There is web based or software like http://www.ocsinventory-ng.org/ http://www.tracmor.com/ http://www.pukkapanel.com/ and others mentioned here.. http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/open-source-it-inventory-control-systems.html or if you use RT there is http://requesttracker.wikia.com/wiki/AssetTracker

There's also a previous /. discussion on asset tracking stuff although perhaps a bit outdated now.. http://slashdot.org/story/06/08/20/0214256/it-asset-tracking-and-helpdesk-software

I've been running OCS Inventory for about 4yrs now to track serial numbers of monitors, desktops and servers as well as hardware specs, installed software, Windows CD key, IP, username, etc.

Best part imo is you just install a small agent on each PC or server and it automates the data collection at configurable intervals. The back end is written in perl but uses PHP for management and MySQL for storage. It includes some general reports and a search function but I wrote a basic PHP script to allow me to search the database for a username and return the associated PC name so I can quickly VNC into users PCs when they call for help.

It can also integrate with GLPI to allow fine-grained tracking of printers, support tickets, repair history, consumables stock-on-hand, estimates of TCO, etc.

http://ocsinventory-ng.org/

We use OCS and really like it: http://www.ocsinventory-ng.org/ It's one of those things that tends to just work well. In fact, our version is about 2 years old now and we haven't had a need to upgrade it at all because it's just doing what it need to do.

I work as a network manager in a school in the UK. We use a French Helpdesk system called GLPI. We also use OCS Inventory as recommended to populate the database with our hardware. Overall the solution has a few minor quirks, but if teachers can cope with it I don't understand why office drones can't!

For this exact reason I'm switching my Active Directory Group Policies to use wpkg in combination with OCS Inventory NG (or maybe GLPI, I'm just starting my research on migrating).

With WPKG you aren't constrained to MSI packages, you can distribute and manage ANY package. With the latest IE security flaw fiasco it got me looking at how to deploy Firefox. This seems to be the best way and should actually make my maintenance jobs much easier.

I've looked at wpkg a few times in the past, but there was a lot of overhead getting the system setup, and adding/deploying new packages. I wouldn't mind a system like that, but I work with several admins that are "Windows Admins". They don't want to deal with anything that isn't point-and-click.

But at work, people are still stuck with Microsoft shit. Why? Mozilla still hasn't released an MSI of Firefox.

I admin servers for several companies. If I could simply push out a copy of Firefox using Group Policy, I would give firefox about 250 additional users first thing tomorrow morning.

For this exact reason I'm switching my Active Directory Group Policies to use wpkg in combination with OCS Inventory NG (or maybe GLPI, I'm just starting my research on migrating).

With WPKG you aren't constrained to MSI packages, you can distribute and manage ANY package. With the latest IE security flaw fiasco it got me looking at how to deploy Firefox. This seems to be the best way and should actually make my maintenance jobs much easier.

We're talking about the French Gendarmerie here. It is already a major contributor to open source.

For instance this http://www.ocsinventory-ng.org/ is funded by the Gendarmerie.