Managing External Inventory Connections

You can view and manage all the external inventory connections from the External Inventory Connections page (Data Collection > IT Visibility Inventory Tasks > External Inventory Connections).

• Viewing External Inventory Connection Status
• Viewing External Inventory Connection Details
• Disabling, Enabling, and Deleting External Inventory Connections
• Managing Credentials for Cloud-Based Connections 
• Creating Microsoft Intune Connection
• Modifying Microsoft Intune Connection Details

Viewing External Inventory Connection Status

To view information about all external inventory connections, go to the External Inventory Connections page (Data Collection > IT Visibility Inventory Tasks > External Inventory Connections), the Connections tab opens by default.

The Connections tab lists the following properties of connections. Some of these properties are visible by default whereas others are available through the column chooser.

Column

Description

Beacon

Name of the inventory beacon where the import runs.

Beacon Status

Displays whether the inventory beacon is active or not.

Connection Status

Determines how the data from this connection is processed:

• Enabled—The connection is turned on, and any fresh data available from this connection is included in the future imports and subsequent license consumption calculations.
• Disabled—No new data is imported from this connection. However, existing data from prior imports through this connection are maintained in the database, and still affect the calculations.
• Deleted—No new data is imported from this connection and any inventory data imported exclusively through that connection (and not duplicated in any other source) has been removed from the operations databases.

Devices / Users

Number of users or devices that the connection is bringing in before normalization.

Last Import

Date of the last import from this connection. This can be a successful or failed import.

Name

The name of the connection.

Type

The type of the data source declared when the connection was created.

Viewing External Inventory Connection Details

You can view the details of a connection.

To view details of a connection:

1. Go to the External Inventory Connections page (Data Collection > IT Visibility Inventory Tasks > External Inventory Connections). TheConnections tab opens by default.
2. Do one of the following:
• Click the connection name to open the Details view of that connection.
• Click the three-dot menu button in the connection row and select View Details. The Details tab opens, displaying the details of the connection.

Disabling, Enabling, and Deleting External Inventory Connections

You can disable, enable, or delete a connection.

Disabling and Enabling Connections

You can disable an external inventory connection, so that no new data will be imported from this connection in the future imports. However, existing data from prior imports through this connection are maintained in the database, and still affect the calculations.

You can also enable a disabled external inventory connection, so that any fresh data available from this connection will be included in the future imports and subsequent license consumption calculations.

To disable a connection:

1. Go to the External Inventory Connections page (Data Collection > IT Visibility Inventory Tasks > External Inventory Connections). The Connections tab opens by default.
2. Do one of the following:
• Click the three-dot menu button in the connection row and select Disable.
• Click the connection name to open the Details view of that connection, and click Disable in the upper-right corner of the page.

Note:If the connection type is Jamf, ServiceNow, or FNMS, the Disable button does not appear on the Details view of that connection.

In either scenario, the Disable Connection dialog box opens, asking you to confirm if you want to disable the connection.

3. Click Disable. The connection is disabled.

To enable a connection:

1. Go to the External Inventory Connections page (Data Collection > IT Visibility Inventory Tasks > External Inventory Connections). TheConnections tab opens by default.
2. Do one of the following:
• Click the three-dot menu button in the connection row and select Enable.
• Click the connection name to open the Details view of that connection, and click Enable in theupper-right corner of the page.

Note:If the connection type is Jamf, ServiceNow, or FNMS, the Enable button does not appear on the Details view of that connection.

In either scenario, the Enable Connection dialog box opens, asking you to confirm if you want to enable the connection.

3. Click Enable. The connection is enabled.

Deleting Connections

If you delete a connection, all the associated data will no longer be available. The deletion action cannot be undone.

Note:Consider the following:

• To be able to delete external inventory connections, you need the explicit permission granted in IAM.
• You cannot delete a Jamf, ServiceNow, FNMS, or Microsoft Intune connection.

To delete a connection:

1. Go to the External Inventory Connections page (Data Collection > IT Visibility Inventory Tasks > External Inventory Connections). TheConnections tab opens by default.
2. Click the connection name to open the Details view of that connection.
3. Click Delete in the upper-right corner of the page. The Delete Connection dialog box opens, asking you to confirm if you want to delete the connection.
4. Click Delete.

Managing Credentials for Cloud-Based Connections

IT Visibility supports credential management for the following types of cloud-based connections.

Note:Currently, only one connection of each type can be set up.

• Jamf Pro
• ServiceNow

Tip:For instructions on the creation of Jamf Pro API clients and roles, including the generation of a client secret, see Jamf’s technical documentation topic, API Roles and Clients.

You can manage credentials for your cloud-based connections on the Manage Connections tab.

To manage credentials for a supported cloud-based connection:

1. Go to the External Inventory Connections page (Data Collection > IT Visibility Inventory Tasks > External Inventory Connections), and click the Manage Connections tab.
2. Select the type of the connection that you want to configure. You will see the current status of that connection.
3. Click the Edit icon and input the credential details in the slideout.
4. (Optional) If the Enable this connection checkbox is available, you can choose whether to enable the connection immediately after saving. If you choose not to enable the connection now, you can always enable it later. See Disabling, Enabling, and Deleting External Inventory Connections.
5. After confirming the details are correctly input, click Test & Save.

Creating Microsoft Intune Connection

Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based connection. The Microsoft Intune adapter, provided by Flexera, collects inventory data from Microsoft Intune and seamlessly imports it into IT Visibility. The data collected gives you comprehensive visibility into managed devices, user data, and managed and unmanaged applications installed on corporate-owned devices in your Microsoft Intune estate.

Currently, Flexera One enables you to create only Microsoft Intune connection in the Connections tab.

To create a Microsoft Intune connection:

1. Go to the External Inventory Connections page (Data Collection > IT Visibility Inventory Tasks > External Inventory Connections). The Connections tab opens by default.
2. Click Create Connection. The Create Connection slideout opens.
3. From the Connection Type dropdown list, select the type of the connection that you want to configure.
4. Input the following connection details: Name, Client ID, Client secret, and Tenant ID.
5. After confirming the details are correctly input, click Test & Create. The newly created connection appears on the External Inventory Connections page.

Modifying Microsoft Intune Connection Details

You can only modify the Microsoft Intune connection name.

To modify the Microsoft Intune connection details:

1. Go to the External Inventory Connections page (Data Collection > IT Visibility Inventory Tasks > External Inventory Connections). The Connections tab opens by default.
2. Do one of the following:
• Click the connection name to open the Details view of that connection, and click Edit in the upper-right corner of the page.
• Click the three-dot menu button in the connection row and select Edit.

In either scenario, the Edit Connection slideout opens.

3. Update the Microsoft Intune connection name as required.
4. Copy and paste the Client secret value.
5. After confirming the details are correctly input, click Test & Save.