Inventory Device (Computer)

IT Asset Management (Cloud)

Inventory devices are (in the main) computers that have been found in imported inventory; and in the current context, they are found in data imported from BMC Discovery. (Keep in mind that it is possible for a device to be reported in more than one inventory source, which becomes important when you are assessing automatic deletion of records no longer appearing in the source inventory.)

IT Asset Management correlates data from several points within BMC Discovery to create inventory device records. For example, the main sources from lowest to highest priority are:
  1. The HostInfo node, by default populated during the discovery phrase of data gathering by BMC Discovery. Current data is staged in the HostInfo_ci staging table; but if BMC Discovery does not inventory the target device regularly, its information may be cleaned up and lost from this node.
  2. The Host node, which by default BMC Discovery populates with data from the HostInfo node.
  3. Data (of type CPU Information) visible in the Detail node of BMC Discovery, and staged into the CPUInformationDetail_ci staging table.
    Tip: This data depends on a custom CPU pattern available only by request (see CPUInformationDetail_ci (Staging Table) for details).
  4. The optional UnixHardwareData pattern (delivered as part of the BMC Discovery adapter). Data from this source is also visible in the Detail node of BMC Discovery (with the type FNMP_HardwareEvidence), and is staged in the HardwareEvidenceDetail_ci table.

Generally, after import into IT Asset Management, inventory devices are stored in the ComplianceComputer table of the underlying compliance database.

Because inventory devices have so many properties, the following tables group their properties into smaller subsets. Within each subset, the tables are sorted alphabetically by the Display property column.

  • Are new records created by imports from the staging database table? — Yes.
  • Can records with matching compound keys be updated by these imports? — Yes.
  • Are records unmatched by an import from the staging table deleted from the compliance database (provided that the staging database for BMC Discovery data is the last/only source for these records)? — Yes.

Inventory device: Computer (general properties)

All these properties are available in listings such as the All Inventory page; and within the properties of an individual inventory device, these all appear on the General tab.

Source table.property Display property Type Max Notes
Host_ci.Domain Domain name (p/key)

String

100

Host_ci.Serial

Firmware serial number

String

100

Visible in the General tab of the inventory device properties. Identifies the firmware on the inventory device.

NetworkInterface_ci.
IP

IP address

String

256

NetworkInterface_ci.
MAC

MAC address

String

256

Host_ci.Vendor Manufacturer

String

128

Host_ci.Model Model

String

128

Host_ci.Hostname Name (p/key)

String

256

Host.Serial Serial number

String

100

A duplicate of Host_ci.Serial, this time taken from the Host database view.

Inventory device: Hardware properties

Except as noted, these properties are available in listings such as the All Inventory page; and within the properties of an individual inventory device, these mostly appear on the Hardware tab (where several values may be manually overridden if the collected inventory data is inaccurate).

Source table.property Display property Type Max Notes
Host_ci.ProcessorSpeed Clock speed (MHz)

Integer

The maximum clock speed of the fastest processor in the computer in megahertz.

Host_ci.Cores (or

CPUInformationDetail_
ci.Cores
for ADDM 11.0 or earlier); or, when the optional UnixHardwareData pattern has been used, HardwareEvidenceDetail_ci.Cores

Cores

Integer

The number of cores in the device (or, for a virtual machine, the number of cores assigned to the VM).

FileSystem_ci.Size (summed) Disk (GB) Integer  

All FileSystem_ci records with an identical HostKey are selected from the staging database, and their Size values are summed and the result converted to GB for display.

Not applicable Display adapters

Integer

 

The number of display adapters is not returned by BMC Discovery.

FileSystem_ci.
COUNT(HostKey)

Hard drives Integer    
Not applicable Inventory chassis type

String

128

After import from BMC Discovery, this value is always Unknown (although some inventory tools can return the chassis type, BMC Discovery is not among them). The result is only available in the property sheet for an inventory device (and its linked asset, if any), and not in device listings. There is also an Assigned chassis type where you can correct inventory data if required.

NetworkInterface_ci.
IP

(counted)
Network cards

Integer

  The number of network cards in the device is not returned by BMC Discovery. Instead, the count of distinct IP-enabled interfaces sharing a common HostKey is used.

Host_ci.LogicalProcessors (or CPUInformationDetail_ci. LogicalProcessors for ADDM 11.0 or earlier); or, when the optional UnixHardwareData pattern has been used, HardwareEvidenceDetail_ci.Cores

Threads

Integer

Saved in the ComplianceComputer table in the compliance database, and generally represented in the web interface as Threads for virtual machines.

Host_ci.OS Operating system

String

128

Host_ci.Processors (or

CPUInformationDetail_
ci.Processors

(for ADDM 11.0 or earlier); or, when the optional UnixHardwareData pattern has been used, HardwareEvidenceDetail_ci.Cores
Processors

Integer

The number of processors reported in the inventory device.

Host_ci.ProcessorType Processor type

String

256

Host_ci.RAM RAM (GB)

String

128

The imported value (in bytes) is converted to GB for display.

Host_ci.ServicePack Service pack

String

128

n/a

Sockets

Integer

 

The number of sockets — a value that is not reported by BMC Discovery.

Inventory device: Last inventory details

These properties are available in listings such as the All Inventory page; and within the properties of an individual inventory device, these appear on the General tab.

Source table.property Display property Type Max Notes

HostInfo_ci.
InventoryDate

Last inventory date

Date

For virtual hosts, the most recent inventory date for any guest system may update this value.

BMC Atrium Discovery and Dependency Mapping Last inventory source

String

128

The string literal "BMC Atrium Discovery and Dependency Mapping" is always inserted as the source value when using this adapter.

Inventory device: User details

These properties are available in listings such as the All Inventory page; and within the properties of an individual inventory device, these appear on the Ownership tab.

Source table.property Display property Type Max Notes
n/a Assigned user

String

512

This value is set manually by an operator in IT Asset Management.

n/a Calculated user

String

512

Set automatically as the logged-on user seen most frequently in the last 10 inventory imports.

LastLoggedOnUser
Detail_ci.Username
(when the optional pattern WindowsLastLoggedOnUser has been used)

Last logged on user

String

512

This information is available only for Windows platforms, and only when WindowsLastLoggedOnUser has been used. On data import, if the username cannot be matched in the ComplianceUser table of the compliance database, a new record is created, and appropriately linked to the ComplianceComputer record.

IT Asset Management (Cloud)

Current