Bule Conistruction and

Indestrial college
LO1 Maintain Inventory Of
Information Technology
List of discussions in this learning outcome
Defining asset and inventory items
An inventory database
Maintaining a hardware inventory
Maintaining a software inventory
Maintaining inventory data
Summary
 
 Defining asset and inventory items

An inventory is basically a detailed list of

items. How assets and inventory items of a
company should be treated will ordinarily
form part of the organisational guidelines.
A company item will be defined as either
an asset or inventory item, that is, not all
items will be recorded in an inventory.
Defining asset and inventory items

For example, an expensive laser printer would not

be placed in the inventory but will be placed in the
asset register of the organisation.
Consumables, such as printer cartridges, would be
placed in the inventory as ‘consumables’.
Some inventories allow for asset numbers to be
recorded with the data of an inventory item to
allow that item to be associated with a specific
asset.
A sample inventory database
Throughout this resource we will be using an
inventory database called SerialReg. You can
download a copy of the SerialReg database
(for free) at:
http://www.sitedesigncenter.net/
Here are a few screen shots of the database
dialog boxes.
figure 1: The SerialReg initial dialog box
 Figure 2: The types of programs that can be
inventoried
figure 3: You can create, edit, preview and print reports of inventory items
Maintaining a hardware inventory

There is a very large array of hardware that can be used in a

computer network.
There are CPUs, hard drives, network cards, printers,
routers, monitors, video cards and cables, just to mention a
few.
There are also many options within each of these broad
categories.
Depending upon the organisational decisions that are made
regarding the variety of devices that will be used on the
network, the detail of inventory items can be simplified or
become extremely complex.
 Maintaining a hardware inventory

It is not your job to choose the method of

inventory but to maintain the inventory. The
amount of detail you put into the descriptors
of individual items may well be your choice.
It is critical that enough detail be included to
clearly identify the class and capacity of
items, but not too much detail to slow the
inventory search devices and increase the
storage capacity required.
Maintaining a hardware inventory

Technical manuals form an integral part of the management

of the hardware devices and should, therefore, be a main
part of the inventory entry.
For example, with modern hardware devices the manuals
are often placed on an accompanying CD in perhaps a PDF
file. Details and location of the CD may form part of the
inventory item data.
A decision might be made to print a hardcopy of the
manual or in another instance a manual might be supplied.
The locations of these hard copies should also appear as
part of the inventory item data.
Reflect

Upgrades of drivers and firmware are an

important part of maintaining the efficacy of
computer hardware.
This is software isn’t it? Where do you think
it belongs in an inventory?
Feedback

Some software, such as Basic Input Output System

(BIOS), is embedded within an integrated circuit.
This is a special kind of software for hardware, ie
somewhere between hard and soft, called
firmware.
Other devices such as network and video cards,
printers and scanners, for example, require a
special kind of software called device drivers to
instruct the devices how to interact with the
operating system.
 Feedback

It is now more common to download drivers and firmware

upgrades or ‘flashes’ from the Internet and, as a consequence,
there is little documentation, CDs or packaging.
However, drivers and ‘flashes’ are not software in the general
sense and should be treated as a component part of hardware.
Inventory details should include any upgrades and driver
changes, where the drivers may be found on the computer
network or where they may have been saved to CD, for example.
All hardware devices of the same maker and series should be
upgraded in the same way and duly noted in the inventory.
Figure 4 shows how a 3 Com network card installed in an accounting
department PC of XYZ type, designated AD-43, could be maintained.

Figure 4: Inventory entry of a 3 Com network card

Maintaining a software
inventory
Software is classified into two broad classes:
operating system software and application
software.
Application software is further broken down into
sub-classes such as office, database, software
development and so forth.
Many types of application software are written to
run on specific operating system platforms.
Microsoft Office XP will not run on a Linux platform
unless you have installed a Windows emulator.
 Maintaining a software inventory
Therefore the inventory might need to be segregated by
platform. This is not your problem as you are only required to
maintain an inventory not create one.
However, you should be aware of the consequences of accurately
maintaining an inventory.
Detailed definition of the types of application software may need
to be sought from a supervisor.
For example, are database and spreadsheet application software
going to be place in the same categories or are the various
packages of Microsoft Office, eg Word, Excel, PowerPoint, going
to be placed in the same sections because they are part of the
Office suite? On the other hand, application software may be
classified by the process it performs.
Maintaining a software inventory

Different versions of application software offer different or

improved features; in most cases they are designed to work
with a particular operating system.
Are these versions going to be separated or not?
Depending on the organisational guidelines, you may or
may not be required to make these decisions.
User documentation is an important and necessary
resource for the productive use of a software application
package.
The amount of user documentation will depend upon the
nature of the user licensing.
Maintaining a software inventory

Some years ago, commercial entities

complained to software developers that too
much user documentation was distributed to
a business when multiple copies of the
software were purchased.
The concept of site licensing was
introduced.
 Reflect
Should you record application software
user documentation in a software
inventory, and if so how should you do
this?
Feedback
For a large number of user licences there is a small
amount of user documentation because every user
does not require the user documentation
simultaneously.
It is, therefore, important that the user
documentation be adequately detailed in an
inventory to comprehensively detail where the
documentation is stored, to what device it applies,
the version number and if the documentation is
subject to upgrade detail.
Figure 5 shows an entry for Microsoft Windows XP.

Figure 5: Entering details for Microsoft WindowsXP operating system software

Maintaining inventory data
We have discussed what data should be entered
into an inventory, what extent of detail should be
required, and defined the inventory differences
between software and hardware requirements.
Now we must consider how much data is enough,
and when data should be updated.
In any inventory system it is critical that the
integrity of the data be evaluated from time to time
to ensure that the data is current and valid.
 Reflect
A network is a dynamic and complex system of
hardware and software items and constantly
subject to change — the speed of change being
determined by organisational, statutory, security
and currency needs.
When should data from an inventory be
updated, archived or deleted?
Feedback
As long as a single piece of hardware or software remains in
use in a network then the item details should not be
deleted from the inventory, but a decision may be made to
archive the details.
It is therefore important that the people maintaining the
inventory have a good knowledge of what is used on the
network.
Therefore, at the time of regular hardware and software
audits it might be prudent to cull the data held in the
inventory by archiving and deleting redundant items where
necessary.
Figure 6 shows that existing details can be edited. You can add
or delete records to maintain the inventory items.

Figure 6: Editing existing details, adding or deleting

records
Summary

We began with defining asset and inventory items and

then moved on to how to maintain a hardware
inventory, where we have to consider the depth of
detail required.
Next we explored how to maintain a software inventory
where software is not owned but a licence is obtained
to use that software under certain conditions.
As the content of an inventory is useless unless it can
be shown to be current, factual and easily stored and
retrieved, it is crucial to maintain or update all inventory
data.
LO2 Keeping Your Organization’s Hardware and
Software Inventory Accurate and Current

The purpose of this lesson is to:

Provide liaisons with information to keep
organizations’ hardware inventory accurate and
current
Provide clear instructions for gathering and
reporting inventory information
Explain procedures for updating and maintaining
hardware inventories
Maintaining Organization Inventory
Records

It is important that complete inventory records for

all computer-related hardware be maintained at
the schools, universities, colleges as well as at
organizations.
The particular appearance of that inventory may
vary.
It may take any of these forms, as long as the
information is kept current and accurate:
Maintaining Organization Inventory
Records
A copy of the organization’s inventory printout, with update pages
added as new equipment is added
The Excel files
Another database or print record designed and maintained at the
school
Recorded using software developed for the purpose of inventory control
An audit of all your ICT equipment:
◦ software version number and license numbers – which should be kept in a
secure, fireproof place for insurance purposes, preferably offsite;
◦ lists of passwords and permissions – kept safe and backed up off site;

model, make and serial numbers of PCs, screens, printers, cameras,

scanners, external drives, etc; these are needed for your inventory –
copy and keep offsite.
 Hardware Inventory includes
Computers
CPUs
Laptops
Servers
Monitors
Printers
Removable Media Devices
Scanners
Projection Devices
Digital Projectors
LCD Panels
TVs 27 in. or larger that are used to project from computers (NOT the View Golds)
 Con...
Digital Cameras
Digital Whiteboards
Digital Tablets
ELMO Document Cameras
Alpha Smart Devices
A register / data base of all computer equipment used within your organization is to be
established and maintained. Top of ForBottom of Form
- Theft of equipment is most likely to result in
additional cost to the organization and could
compromise data security.
- Establish an inventory and implement
procedures for updating it.
- Ensure that you have a procedure to
advise the acquisition of new
hardware, the disposal of old items,
and any changes of location.
- Periodically verify the correctness of
the inventory by checking that a
sample of hardware is physically
present.

Inadequate insurance could render your - Establish an inventory and implement

organization liable to loss in the event of a procedures for keeping it up-to-date.
claimable event. - Ensure that you periodically review the
adequacy of your insurance cover.
Shortcomings in the planning of equipment - Establish an inventory and, in conformance
replacement can make it difficult to plan ahead with your IT Plan, assign equipment for
for new technology. replacement and plan accordingly.

Where documentation is poor, or perhaps non - Record key information, especially hardware
existent, the planning and performance of specifications and system software names
upgrades to equipment can be both time and versions.
consuming and also burdened with problems.
 The following format could form the basis of a
computer inventory template or model:
For Printers etc  
Equipment type e.g. printer, scanner, router, etc
ID/code  
Manufacturer  
Model  
Serial number  
Date of purchase  
Cost  
Supplier  
Computer details Example
ID/code An identification number you give the machine – it is worth having this permanently
marked on the casing for identification purposes in case of theft and also as a
prevention
Manufacturer e.g. Dell, Compaq, Apple, Sony, Toshiba etc
Model The manufacturers model reference e.g. Dimension 4550
Serial number The unique number of the equipment usually marked on the back or underside.
Processor speed e.g. 2.0Ghz
Hard drive capacity e.g. 30Gb
Memory e.g. 256Mb
Operating system e.g. Windows 2000 Professional, XP professional or Windows server 2003, Windows
Vista etc
Peripherals Possibly a CD Re-Writer,
Upgrade notes Any additions since the machine was purchased, e.g. more memory, replacement hard
drive etc
Date of purchase  
Cost  
Supplier  
Invoice number  
Monitor  
ID  
Manufacturer  
Model  
Serial number  
Size  
 
Keyboard  
Manufacturer  
Model  
Serial number  
Port type  
Mouse  
Manufacturer  
Model  
Serial number  
 Port type  
Thank You!!!