Asset Management Module

Asset Management is a convenient way to store and manage asset items. With minimal setup and configuration, this valuable tool gives you the power to track and maintain asset items quickly and easily. Asset Management may be used to store information about many types of asset items. The ability to report and search for items in order to uncover trends, as well as the ability to track expenses, are at your fingertips. Asset items may be linked to specific issues, facilitating identification of equipment that may be generating unusually high or low numbers of issues. Asset Management also offers you the flexibility to use automated auditing, manual inventory maintenance, or the choice to use a combination of both methods.

Asset Management was created as a straightforward way to record and maintain asset information for your company. This module allows a wide variety of information to be stored about each item. Items may be cloned to speed data entry. Asset items may be linked to a user or associated with non-users. Extensive search capability is provided to easily locate items and detect trends. Reports are built-in for immediate feedback and include drill-down functionality allowing you to move from summary information to detailed information with a simple click of your mouse. You can find further detail in our Asset Reporting article.

TrakPC and TrakAsset typically run via a network login script and return the configuration and software information for each PC. You may also optionally choose to run ScanPC locally on each machine. If no asset item record exists, a new record will automatically be created. If a matching asset item record already exists, the existing item will be updated with the information discovered by the current audit. There is also the option to review audit information prior to applying it or have it update automatically. Further details can be found in our Asset Audits article.

Activating Asset Management

This section will guide you through the basic setup required to begin using Asset Management.

Steps:

1. Sign into Issuetrak as a Sys Admin.
2. Click the gear icon in the upper right > Click any of the options under Asset Management.
3. Check the box next to Activate Asset Management.
4. Click Update.

The Asset Management options will now be available within the Settings Lightbox. If you also wish to utilize ScanPC functionality, place a check in the Use ScanPC – On Demand Audits checkbox.

Managing Asset Types

Asset Types are used to determine an item classification. Issuetrak allows you to determine what asset type is applied by default under various auditing conditions:

• PC
• Mac
• Cell Phone
• ChromeOS
• Mobile

You can manage the available asset types by clicking the gear icon in the upper right > then clicking on Asset Tables beneath Asset Management > then clicking on List on the Right Context Menu. For each type, you may specify whether you want it to include additional fields by clicking on the Device Attributes checkbox. These additional fields are normally associated with a computing device (such as a computer, mobile phone, or tablet).

Optional User Defined Fields can be used if there is additional data you would like to retain for a certain Asset Type that is not already provided in the item record. You can create any number of user-defined text fields and/or list fields to further define each Asset Type by editing the Asset Type after it has been created.

Asset Management Settings

The Asset Management Settings page can be found by clicking the gear icon in the upper right > then clicking on Settings beneath Asset Management.

This page allows you to set the behavior for matching audits to assets, as well as establish the default values to be used under certain circumstances within the Asset Management module. When audit records come in, they reside in a separate audit table. There is a procedure to apply the audit records to the asset item records. If an asset item record does not exist, one will be created. If an asset item record does exist, then it will be updated with the audit information.

Issuetrak uses a combination of 6 fields to ensure the best match from audit to asset. Fields used with their weights are listed below:

Access to Asset Management Information

Consider who will have access to Asset Management information. There are three user attributes related to Asset Management. These attributes control whether users can view asset item records or whether users can manage and maintain asset item information. You will assign these permissions either to groups that the users are a member of (preferred) or directly to the individual users.

• Can view and select from Assets when submitting and maintaining issues — Allows users to view or select assets from the Issue screens. This permission does not grant the user access to the Asset Management section of the Settings Lightbox.
• Can access and maintain Asset Management Module functions — Allows users to administrate asset item information. These users will have permission to view, create, maintain, and delete Asset Management information. This permission does grant the user access to the Asset Management section of the Settings Lightbox.
• Allowed Read Only access to Asset Management information - Allows users read-only access to all asset item information. This permission does grant the user access to the Asset Management section of the Settings Lightbox.

Deactivating Asset Management

Steps:

1. Sign into Issuetrak as a Sys Admin.
2. Click the gear icon in the upper right.
3. Click Features underneath System.
4. Clear the checkbox next to Activate Asset Management.
5. Click Update.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete.

The Asset Management module has several options that you can use to import configuration information from PCs and Macs. Additionally, if your organization uses Google's mobile device management, it is possible to get audits from mobile devices, which includes: iOS, ChromeOS, and Android devices. The audits can be performed as part of an automated process or they can be manually run when needed.

The auditing process for PCs and Macs will write the configuration information to an XML file that can be automatically uploaded to your Issuetrak site. You also have a choice between several auditing applications that we include with Issuetrak to suit your needs. You have the flexibility to choose the method that works best for you, or you may choose a combination of both methods.

Please be aware that TrakPC and ScanPC will not work with Windows 11.

TrakPC Audits

Audits on PCs are performed by a program named TrakPC.exe, which can be manually run from a command line or automated by using a login script. Another option is by using the Scan PC option (if enabled), which will appear on the lefthand menu within Issuetrak. This allows users to easily initiate and upload an on-demand audit from the Issuetrak user interface.

TrakPC General Usage

The TrakPC.exe file can be found by going to the TrakPC folder within the Issuetrak web folder, or by accessing Scan PC in the left menu of Issuetrak and then selecting the drop down arrow next to Download for Windows and selecting TracPC (Legacy). It can be copied to a network shared drive, and can be run from a command line or via a batch file with no installation needed.

When running the TrakPC.exe file, you will use the following general command format:

TrakPC.exe [filename] [/options]

This command will run TrakPC and automatically produce an XML file containing audit information about the PC. If no [filename] is specified, the twelve characters after “TrakPC-” will be the MAC address of the NIC. This forms part of the file name to be sure that it is unique.

Example default filename:

TrakPC-00-08-82-AE-41-25.xml

In most situations you'll specify a command line parameter to send the output of TrakPC to the server running Issuetrak, using the “/u” option. There should not be any space between the /u switch and the URL enclosed in quotes.

Example:

TrakPC.exe/u"https://www.Issuetrak.com/support/Inv_TrakPC_URLSubmit.asp"

The ASP page Inv_TrakPC.asp receives the audit data and writes a record to the audit table in Issuetrak. Once that has been done, you can apply the audit records to your asset records via the Asset Audits page on your Issuetrak site.

TrakPC.exe /u"https://Issuetrak/inv_TrakPC_URLsubmit.asp"

C:\TrakPC.exe /fw /u"https://Issuetrak/inv_TrakPC_URLsubmit.asp"

\\share\TrakPC.exe /fm /u"https://Issuetrak/inv_TrakPC_URLsubmit.asp"

TrakPC.exe C:\Temp\ /fq /u"https://Issuetrak/inv_TrakPC_URLsubmit.asp"

Output Location

By default, TrakPC will place the XML file in the current user's temp folder. For most people, this will be fine. However, if multiple users use the same computer, then a login script could potentially run multiple times for the same computer even if you have a frequency set. To set a universal location for the XML file, simply place the universal location after trakpc.exe.

Make sure that your users have permission over this location, otherwise they will receive an error because they don't have the appropriate permissions to create a file there. 

Example: This will output the XML file into C:\Temp with the name TrakPC.xml.

C:\Trak\TrakPC.exe c:\Temp\TrakPC.xml /u"https://yoursitename/inv_TrakPC_URLSubmit.asp"

Setting Frequency

It is up to you to determine how often the TrakPC script should run. As a best practice, set a weekly frequency by using the /fw switch.

How to Create a TrakPC Login Script or Batch File

If you wish to run TrakPC on a periodic basis, one method is to use the Windows Task Scheduler. However, this would require that you setup a task on every asset you wish to audit. An easier option is to run TrakPC via a logon script.

Anonymous Authentication needs to be enabled for a single ASP file on your Issuetrak site in order for TrakPC to successfully POST its audits. 

You will need to identify a location where the TrakPC executable will reside. If you wish to use this as part of a login script, then you will need to identify a shared network drive location that all of your users will be able to access.

Copy the TrakPC.exe file found in your Issuetrak web directory's "TrakPC" folder to the location you've found most suitable.

Steps:

1. Right-click on your Desktop, choose New, and then Text Document.
2. Name the file "TrakPC.txt".
3. Open the text document, then copy and paste the following:
    

   location\TrakPC.exe /u"https://yoursitename/"
   pause

4. Keep the structure of the lines above the same. Spaces and quotes should be retained.
5. Update location to reflect the full folder path to your TrakPC executable.
6. Update yoursitename to reflect the URL/hostname of your Issuetrak site.
7. Save the file.
8. Rename the text file to TrakPC.bat.
9. Execute the batch file by double-clicking on it.  You should receive a message similar to the following:
    

   Gathering information
   Posting data to "https://yoursitename/inv_TrakPC_URLSubmit.asp"
   POST successful, data sent
   Done

10. If you do not see a "POST successful" message, then you'll need to troubleshoot the error it specifies. 
11. If you do see "POST successful", then edit the file and remove the line "pause" and save the batch file again.

ScanPC (Legacy)

Your users can import their own PC information into Issuetrak if Use ScanPC – On Demand Audits was selected when activating the Asset Management Module on the Features page.

Once that option has been enabled, a menu option called Scan PC will be included on their Home menu. Clicking on it will bring them to the ScanPC page.

TrakAsset Audits

TrakAsset is another method for auditing PCs as of Issuetrak 15.6. TrakPC remains functional, and you can continue to use it. See the section above for information on TrakPC usage.

Asset audits on PCs are performed by running a program named TrakAsset.exe, which can be manually run from a command line or automated via login script. Another option is to use the Scan PC option (if enabled), which will appear on the left menu within Issuetrak. This allows users to easily initiate and upload an on-demand audit from the Issuetrak user interface.

TrakAsset General Usage

The TrakAsset.exe file can be found in the TrakPC folder within the Issuetrak web folder, or by accessing Scan PC in the left menu of Issuetrak and then selecting the option Download for Windows. It can be copied to a network shared drive, and can be run from a command line or via a batch file with no installation needed.

TrakAsset has a variety of command line options available:

  -r, --remote          Machine name of the computer to audit, defaults to localhost

  -u, --url             Url to upload the results to.

  -s, --show-results    Opens a browser to the results page after uploading.

  -f, --file            Local path to save the audit file.

  -v, --verbose         Prints all messages to standard output.

  -o, --once            Only perform an audit if it was never performed before on this machine.

  -d, --daily           Only perform an audit if no audit has been done today.

  -w, --weekly          Day of the week to perform an audit.

  -m, --monthly         Day of the month to perform an audit.

  -q, --quarterly       Day of the quarter to perform an audit.

  -y, --yearly          Day of the year to perform an audit. In the format MMDD

  --help                Display this help screen.

  --version             Display version information.

The following command will run TrakAsset and automatically produce an XML file containing audit information about the PC in the current directory. If no [filename] is specified, then the twelve characters after “TrakAsset-” will be the MAC address of the NIC. This forms part of the file name to be sure that it is unique.

Example default filename:

TrakAsset-00-08-82-AE-41-25.xml

In most situations you'll want to specify a command line parameter to send the output of TrakAsset to the server running Issuetrak by using the “--url” option.

Example:

TrakAsset.exe --url https://www.Issuetrak.com/support/

The ASP page Inv_TrakPC.asp receives the audit data and writes a record to the audit table in Issuetrak. Once that has been done, you can apply the audit records to your asset records via the Asset Audits page on your Issuetrak site.

TrakAsset.exe --url https://yoursitename/

C:\TrakAsset.exe --weekly --url https://yoursitename/

\\share\TrakAsset.exe --monthly --url https://yoursitename/

TrakAsset.exe C:\Temp\ --quarterly --url https://yoursitename/

Output Location

By default, TrakAsset will place the XML file in the current directory. However, if multiple users use the same computer, then a login script could potentially run multiple times for the same computer even if you have a frequency set. To set a universal location for the XML file, then you should specify the universal location after trakasset.exe.

Make sure that your users have permission over this location, otherwise they will receive an error because they don't have the appropriate permissions to create a file there. 

Example: This will output the XML file into C:\Temp with the name TrakAsset.xml.

C:\Trak\TrakAsset.exe --file c:\Temp\TrakAsset.xml --url https://yoursitename/

Setting Frequency

It is up to you to determine how often the TrakAsset script should run. As a best practice, set a weekly frequency by using the --weekly option. But let's say you want the script to run on a specific day of the week. Or maybe you don't want to run it weekly at all, and have something else in mind. Let's get into the available frequency options.

Performing Remote Audits on a Specific Machine

TrakAsset can be directed to audit a remote computer. There are several requirements in order for this to work:

• Both the local machine and the remote machine must be on the same domain
• TrakAsset must run as a domain administrator
• The account that executes TrakAsset must not have a blank password

When you tell TrakAsset to audit a remote computer, you must specify its machine name.

Example:  This will audit the remote machine named "Trak9887" and POST the results to the Issuetrak server called "yoursitename".

\\Trak\TrakAsset.exe --remote Trak9887 --url https://yoursitename/

This will result in output like the example below:

10:49:22 Gathering information...
10:49:33 Submitting audit to https://www.myissuetraksite.com/
10:49:43
<html>
<head>
<script src="js/app/modules.js?v="></script>
    <title>Audit Submit</title>
  </head>
  <body>
[NewItemID=6]<br />
  </body>
</html>
10:49:43 Done
===== Done =====
PS C:\Tools\TrakPC>

Performing Remote Audits on a Domain

We've made it easy for you to perform audits on all of the machines on your domain. Your Issuetrak web folder contains a PowerShell script that will call upon TrakAsset to audit every machine visible on the domain.

The script is called Invoke-ADAudits.ps1, and it is located in your web folder in the TrakPC directory.

In addition to the requirements listed in the above section, the machine you run the PowerShell script and TrakAsset from must also have the Active Directory PowerShell module installed. Domain controllers have this installed by default.

Simply edit the PowerShell script so it references your Issuetrak site instead of myIssuetrakSite.com, then run it with domain admin rights. You can run the script from any folder that also contains TrakAsset.exe.

The script will attempt to scan every computer that is joined to the domain. This can take a long time on domains that have hundreds of PCs or more, as well as domains that haven't been cleaned of decommissioned PCs. This is because the script will parse through and attempt to reach every machine that the domain controller knows is joined to the domain, even if those machines have been offline for some time.

Example output from running Invoke-ADAudits.ps1:

PS C:\Tools\TrakPC> .\Invoke-ADAudits.ps1
===== Machine WIN-PC1 not connected. =====
===== Machine WIN-PC2 not connected. =====
===== Machine WIN-PC3 not connected. =====
===== Auditing WIN-PC22 =====
10:49:22 Gathering information...
10:49:33 Submitting audit to https://www.myissuetraksite.com/
10:49:43
<html>
  <head>
<script src="js/app/modules.js?v="></script>
    <title>Audit Submit</title>
  </head>
  <body>
[NewItemID=6]<br />
  </body>
</html>
10:49:43 Done
===== Done =====
PS C:\Tools\TrakPC>

In addition to portraying a successful audit, the example output above shows what it looks like when there are PCs joined to the domain that are unreachable.

TrakMac Audits

TrakMac is a program that audits the current state of a Mac on your network and then posts that audit to your Issuetrak web server. Prior to Issuetrak 15.6, TrakMac was provided as a zip file and used different command line options than the current version does.

TrakMac requires a minimum OS version of 10.13 in order to work properly.

Initial Setup

This is a set of instructions to get started with TrakMac.

1. Find TrakMac. It is included in the Issuetrak web folder as TrakMac, which is found within the TrakPC folder.
2. Transfer TrakMac to the Mac that will be hosting TrakMac for the other Macs on the network. It is important that the file is hosted on a Mac and not on a Windows machine.
3. Optional if using TrakMac to scan other Macs. Create a shared network folder on the Mac that will be accessible from the other Macs, and then transfer TrakMac to that folder.
4. Ensure the Folder and has read permissions for group and other via the command: ls -al
   • Permissions may be granted to the folder with the command: chmod -R ugo+r ./
5. Clear any quarantine attribute on TrakMac by running this from the terminal:

   • xattr -cr ./TrakMac

6. Make TrakMac executable by running this command from the terminal:

   • chmod +x ./TrakMac

7. As a test, you can run TrakMac from the terminal and direct it to your Issuetrak site using the URL command line option found below.

Command Line Options

You can pass command line options to TrakMac, which will allow you to target a Issuetrak site to post audits to, as well as determine how often audits should be posted from the current machine. It is also possible to run TrakMac without command line options, which will result in an XML audit file being generated locally without posting it to a site.

TrakMac has a bunch of command line options! Let's have a look:

  -r, --remote          Machine name of the computer to audit, defaults to localhost

  -u, --url             Url to upload the results to.

  -s, --show-results    Opens a browser to the results page after uploading.

  -f, --file            Local path to save the audit file.

  -v, --verbose         Prints all messages to standard output.

  -o, --once            Only perform an audit if it was never performed before on this machine.

  -d, --daily           Only perform an audit if no audit has been done today.

  -w, --weekly          Day of the week to perform an audit.

  -m, --monthly         Day of the month to perform an audit.

  -q, --quarterly       Day of the quarter to perform an audit.

  -y, --yearly          Day of the year to perform an audit. In the format MMDD

  --help                Display this help screen.

  --version             Display version information.

URL Option

The URL option is passed to TrakMac with a --url switch. TrakMac supports posting to both SSL and non-SSL sites. The URL should be the root of your Issuetrak site.

Usage Example:

./TrakMac --url https://www.myissuetraksite.com

The example above tells TrakMac to post its audit to https://myissuetraksite.

Frequency Option

Setting Frequency

It is up to you to determine how often the TrakMac script should run. As a best practice, set a weekly frequency by using the --weekly option. But let's say you want the script to run on a specific day of the week. Or maybe you don't want to run it weekly at all, and have something else in mind. Let's get into the available frequency options.

./TrakMac --weekly Sunday --url https://www.myissuetraksite.com

./TrakMac --monthly --url https://www.myissuetraksite.com

./TrakMac --quarterly 80 --url https://www.myissuetraksite.com

./TrakMac --yearly 0510 --url https://www.myissuetraksite.com

./TrakMac --yearly --url https://myissuetraksite

Google-Managed Device Audits

Issuetrak provides the ability to audit Google-managed devices without having to install any software on the devices being scanned.

In order for this to work, the devices must be enrolled in Google's device management framework, and you must have added the corresponding Google Workspace's API information into Issuetrak.

Once these are added, you can import audits from Google's API via the Audit Management screen in the Asset Management add-on.

Importing Audits from Google Workspace

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right of Issuetrak.
2. Find and click Asset Audits underneath Asset Management.
3. Select the Google Application you want to import from, and the oldest date of audit you wish to import, then click Import.

Any audits that were imported will appear in the Unapplied Audits section further down the page.

Managing Audits

The Asset Audits option in the Asset Management section of the Settings Lightbox will display the Audit Summary page. This page will show the status of your audit items at a glance. If audit records have been received by Issuetrak, but have not yet been applied, the totals for each type display as links. These links allow you to drill down to a list of the individual audit records for review if desired.

The Pending Items will be split into two groups:

• Audits without a matching Asset
  • Applying these Audits will create a new Asset record.
• Audits with a matching Asset
  • Applying these Audits will update the existing Asset record.

The Audit Summary screen also displays the Total Records Currently On Hold and Total Records Applied To Date.

Importing Audit Files

Audit (.xml) files can also be manually imported to your Issuetrak site. If an audit is executed locally, an .xml file will be created and saved in the local user’s temp folder.

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > Click on Asset Audits beneath Asset Management.
2. Under Upload File, click Browse....
3. Navigate to the location of the file.
4. Click to select the file.
5. Click Open.
6. Click Import File.

Automatic Asset Audit Application

Issuetrak creates a scheduled task on the Web server during deployment for the purpose of automatically applying asset audits on a regular basis. The scheduled task is set to run once per day and is staggered with other Issuetrak tasks on the Web server.

Manual Asset Audit Application

You can manually apply audits on your site either in bulk or individually.

How to apply audits in bulk

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > Click on Asset Audits beneath Asset Management.
2. Click the appropriate link to apply the desired audits.
   • apply new will apply all audits for new assets and create the assets records.
   • update will appply all audits for existing assets.
   • apply all will apply all audits for both new and existing assets.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete.

Working with individual Audits

There may be times when you wish to review audit records and put off applying them, or apply only a few of the records in the queue.

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > Click on Asset Audits beneath Asset Management.
2. Navagate to the Work List page either by clicking the number of audits in the Summary or by using the Work List Output Option on the Search Audit Records page.
3. You can view the Audit details for individual audits by clicking on the Computer Name.
4. Once you identify the audits you would like to take action on, check the boxes for those Audits.
   • If you would like to select all audits on that page, you can click Select All.
5. Click the appropriate button.
   • Apply Items will apply all selected Audits.
   • Place Items On Hold will put the selected Audits in a Hold status and prevent them from being automatically applied.
   • Delete Items will permanently delete the selected Audits. This will not affect any Asset records.
6. Click OK on the confirmation message.

Archive Audits

Audits can also be archived, which will export the audit details to comma-separated values (CSV) files on the web server and will delete the Audits from the database.

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > Click on Asset Audits beneath Asset Management.
2. Click Archive Audits on the right context menu.
3. Either select an option from the Archival Range dropdown list or enter a custom date range using the Start and End fields.
4. Click Archive.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete.

Search Audits

You can search for specific audits to either take action on them or export them for reporting purposes.

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > Click on Asset Audits beneath Asset Management.
2. Click Search on the right context menu.
3. Select the desired criteria.
4. Select the desired Output Option.
   • Count Only will just show the number of Audits that meet the specified criteria.
   • Paged List will display details regarding all Audits that meet the specified criteria in a paged list.
   • List Only will display details regarding all Audits that meet the specified criteria in a single page list.
   • Work list will display details regarding all Audits that meet the specified criteria with options to take action on those Audits.
5. Click Search.

Viewing Audits

While viewing a particular asset item record, you can click the View Audits link located in the top right corner of the screen. This screen displays the below information for each audit executed for that asset item.

• Audit Date
• Computer name
• Operating System
• Memory
• Processor MHz

Configuring Auditing Utilities for Single Sign-On

Issuetrak's asset auditing utilities requires that your Issuetrak Web server is configured to allow anonymous authentication in order for audit information to be POSTed to the site. If your Issuetrak site is configured to use SSO via an Active Directory connection over LDAP, then it will not allow anonymous authentication, thus preventing audits from being POSTed. This article describes how to enable anonymous authentication on a single ASP page to allow TrakPC to POST audit information without allowing the rest of the site to be accessible via anonymous authentication.

Steps:

From your Issuetrak Web server:

1. Open IIS Manager and locate your current Issuetrak site.
2. Right-click on your Issuetrak site and select Switch to Content View.
3. You should see a list of all files and folders on your Web directory.
4. Locate the Inv_TrakPC_URLSubmit.asp file.
5. Right-click the file and choose Switch to Features View. 

6. Find and double-click the Authentication setting. 
7. Enable Anonymous Authentication.
8. Disable Windows Authentication.
9. Select your Issuetrak site along the lefthand side and verify that it still has Windows Authentication enabled.
10. Follow steps 2 through 6 again and verify that "Inv_TrakPC_URLSubmit.asp" still has Anonymous Authentication enabled.

Additional Steps for ScanPC

If you're using ScanPC or ScanPC (Legacy), then it is necessary to verify that the site's Application URL is correct. Audits won't POST to the site if it is incorrect.

1. Sign in to your Issuetrak site as a SysAdmin.
2. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click on Defaults beneath System.
3. Verify that the Application URL is correct.

Post-Configuration Testing

You should verify that audits will POST to the site after completing the steps above.

ScanPC / ScanPC (Legacy) if enabled

1. Navigate to your Issuetrak site.
2. From the left menu, click ScanPC.
3. Download and run ScanPC of your choosing (we would recommend ScanPC).
4. Verify that the audit was successfully added to Issuetrak.

TrakPC/TrakMac

1. If you have a TrakPC or TrakMac login script or batch file, locate it and manually execute it from the machine that you want to audit.
2. Verify that the audit was successfully added to Issuetrak.

(Pre-15.6) TrakMac Audits

TrakMac is a program that audits the current state of a Mac on your network and then posts that audit to your Issuetrak web server. You should use this section if you're using a version of Issuetrak prior to 15.6, as the steps and options to use TrakMac are different. Prior to Issuetrak 15.6, TrakMac was provided as a zip file and used different command line options than the current version does.

TrakMac requires a minimum OS version of 10.13 in order to work properly.

Initial Setup

This is a set of instructions to get started with TrakMac.

1. Find TrakMac. It is included in the Issuetrak web folder as TrakMac.zip, which is found within the TrakPC folder.
2. Transfer TrakMac.zip to the Mac that will be hosting TrakMac for the other Macs on the network. It is important that the file is hosted on a Mac and not on a Windows machine.
3. Create a shared network folder on the Mac that will be accessible from the other Macs, and then extract TrakMac.zip within that folder. This will create a folder called TrakMac.
4. Open a terminal and run the _prepareTrakMak.sh script found within the TrakMac folder. This will take a few seconds, and removes the quarantine file attribute from all files within this folder, allowing the files to be executable.
5. Ensure the Folder and has read permissions for group and other via the command: ls -al
   • Permissions may be granted to the folder with the command: chmod ugo+r -R ./
6. As a test, run TrakMac from a terminal and direct it to your Issuetrak site using the URL command line option found below.

Command Line Options

You can pass command line options to TrakMac, which will allow you to target a Issuetrak site to post audits to, as well as determine how often audits should be posted from the current machine. It is also possible to run TrakMac without command line options, which will result in an XML audit file being generated locally without posting it to a site.

TrakMac supports two command line options: URL and Frequency.

URL Option

The URL option is passed to TrakMac with a /u switch. The URL must immediately follow the /u without any spaces. TrakMac supports posting to both SSL and non-SSL sites. The URL should be the root of your Issuetrak site.

Usage Example:

./TrakMac /uhttps://myissuetraksite

The example above tells TrakMac to post its audit to https://myissuetraksite.

Frequency Option

The Frequency option is passed to TrakMac with a variation of the /f switch. There are several rules to be aware of for this option:

1. The Once and Daily variations have no possible switch values.
2. When switch values are specified, it must be specified immediately after the switch without a space.
    
   • Incorrect Syntax: 

     ./TrakMac /uhttps://myissuetraksite /fw 0

   • Correct Syntax: 

     ./TrakMac /uhttps://myissuetraksite /fw0

3. If no switch value is specified, then TrakMac will use the last-modified date/time of the ~/.trakmac-last-run file as the last run date when determining if it should run now. 

./TrakMac /uhttps://myissuetraksite /fw0

./TrakMac /uhttps://myissuetraksite /fm

./TrakMac /uhttps://myissuetraksite /fq80

./TrakMac /uhttps://myissuetraksite /fy0510

./TrakMac /uhttps://myissuetraksite /fy

File Structure Considerations

Since Macs are descended from UNIX-based systems, it is important to know a few properties of the file structure as it relates to Macs and TrakMac:

• Any path that is specified with a tilde (~) at the beginning refers to the home directory of the user that is currently signed into the Mac.
• Any file or folder that begins with a period (.) is hidden when the ls command is given in a terminal window, as well as when viewing files and folders from within Finder (the file system navigation tool found on every Mac). The period is actually part of the file or folder name, and does not just specify the hidden file property.
• Therefore, all references to ~/.trakmac-last-run indicate a hidden file named .trakmac-last-run that is located in the current user's home directory.

Issuetrak provides multiple ways to gather reporting information regarding the Asset Management module. This article will provide some detail for each of the places where reporting information is available, along with typical uses for each of them.

Asset Information

Sources of Asset Information

Asset information will typically be added/updated in your Issuetrak site in one of two ways:

1. Manual Data Input
   • This will include any data manually entered into an asset record. Refer to Managing Assets and Managing Software for more detail.
2. Asset Audits
   • Data uploaded via asset audits using our auditing software will be added to the appropriate asset record once the audit has been applied. This method can save a lot of time by reducing the need for manual data input. Refer to Asset Audits for more detail.

Considerations for Software Information from Audits

TrakAsset, ScanPC, TrakPC, ScanPC (Legacy), and TrakMac are auditing programs that are run on a computer. They send back hardware and software information to your Issuetrak site. For the software, it reads the software name / title that is reported by the computer's operating system.

Software Registry Name Examples:

Adobe Acrobat X

Citrix ICA Client

Amazon Cloud Player

7-Zip 19.00 (x64)

7-Zip 18.05 (x64)

The first three examples above are fairly straightforward. You can easily use those Software Registry Names to assist you with tracking licensing compliance. However, you can see that the last two examples listed are just two different versions of the same software. Linking those two Software Registry Names to a single "7-Zip" Software Title would allow you to track licensing compliance without regard for the version number.

There are two software tables involved with Asset Management, the Software Titles and the Software Registry. Each record in the Software Registry table can be linked back to a record in the Software Title table using the steps in the Managing Software article.

When you enter a software purchase, you indicate a software title. You might record two purchases of 7-Zip, one purchase for twenty-five licenses, and another for ten. Suppose you install eight copies, and they show up in the registry as “7-Zip 16.04 (x64)”. Then you install three more copies, and they show up as “7-Zip 19.00 (x64)”. By linking the two different registry descriptions back to the Software Title “7-Zip”, your license compliance report would show something like:

When searching for asset items, you can search by the registry description or the software title. In the above example, searching on the software title “7-Zip” would produce a list of eleven assets. Searching on the registry description “7-Zip 16.04 (x64)” would show eight.

Methods to Generate Reports

Pre-built Asset Reports

Several predefined reports are available for reporting asset information. These reports can be used to quickly gather either summary data regarding specific asset attributes (such as Manufacturer, Vendor, or Lease Expiration) or a list of assets based on specific criteria (such as PCs audited in a specific timeframe). To access these reports, please follow the steps below.

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > Click on Asset Reports beneath Asset Management.
2. Select the report you would like to run.
3. Click Run Report.
4. Enter a date range or select criteria for the report, if prompted.
5. If you were prompted to enter criteria, click Show Report once that has been entered.

The report will be displayed. These pre-built reports cannot be exported or scheduled to run automatically. You can print the report results by clicking the printer icon in the top right corner.

Custom Reports

The Report Writer can be used to create custom reports using one of the asset-related data sets (such as Assets, Asset Audits, Software Purchases, etc...). You would create a report to select and format the data that you need. Custom reports created using Report Writer can then be exported in various formats and/or scheduled to run automatically on a specified frequency. You can refer to our About Report Writer article for details and guidance on setting up custom reports.

Issue Search by Asset

You may also use Search Issues to locate specific issue information related to an asset. This screen will allow you to filter and sort among all issues related to an asset. A full list of any issue related to a specific asset is also available from the “view issue history” link displayed at the top right of any View Asset screen. This list may also be accessed using the “history” link next to the selected asset in most issue screens (Submit, View, Edit, Assign, etc.). Please refer to Searching Issues for more detail.

Asset item records are created by either entering information manually or by applying audit records returned by the automated discovery process. When creating records manually, simply enter the information desired in the appropriate fields. You'll want to establish values for your Asset Tables before you actually begin to enter item records.

The Asset Summary page is the default starting page when you click Assets in the Settings Lightbox. The asset summary lists total counts for each Asset Type defined in your Asset Types lookup table, thus providing a quick overview of the status of your current inventory. Each total value is a link that will display a listing of the selected asset type.

Adding Assets

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > Click on Assets beneath Asset Management.
2. Click Add Asset on the right quick menu.
3. Enter the Asset Name and select the Asset Type.
4. Enter the remaining information as needed.
5. Click Save to save the record.

Searching For An Asset

You can search for assets by using any of the methods below.

Using Search Assets

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > Click on Search beneath Asset Management.
2. Fill in the desired criteria.
3. Click Search.

You will be taken to the Asset Search Results page. Clicking on an Asset Name will take you to the View Asset page for that Asset.

Using Lookup Asset by #

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > Click on Assets beneath Asset Management.
2. Click Lookup by # on the right quick menu.
3. Enter the Asset Number.
4. Click Lookup Item.

You will be taken to the View Asset page for that asset if the Asset exists.

Using Asset Summary

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > Click on Assets beneath Asset Management.
2. Click the number next to the appropriate Asset Type.
3. On the Asset Type List page locate the desired Asset.
4. Click on the Asset Name to view the Asset.

Editing Assets

Steps:

1. Search for the asset.
2. Click Edit for the Asset you need to edit.
3. Make any necessary changes.
4. Click Update.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete.

Merging Duplicate Assets

If an asset has been duplicated and you would like to merge two records with different Asset IDs into one record, then you should use the Merge Duplicate Assets tool. This tool will allow you to select the asset to keep (ie. the primary asset) and the asset to remove (ie. the secondary asset). The merge will result in the primary asset having all of the history records, issues, and audits that were associated with the secondary asset.

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > Click on Assets beneath Asset Management.
2. Click Merge Duplicate Assets on the right quick menu.
3. Select the Asset to Keep.
4. Select the Asset to Remove.
5. Verify that you have selected the correct asset for each field.
6. Click Merge.

Deleting Assets

Steps:

1. Search for the asset.
2. Click Delete on the right quick menu on the View Asset screen.
3. Click OK on the prompt.

You will be taken back to the Asset Summary screen when this process is complete.

Linking Assets

It is possible to link asset items together. To do this, you would use the Parent Item field. For example, suppose you want to track monitors and printers as well as PCs. You might want to tie a monitor and a printer to a particular PC. The example steps below describe how to link a monitor and printer to a single PC.

Steps:

1. Add each asset individually: PC, monitor, and printer.
2. Edit the monitor asset record.
3. In the Parent Item field (in the Identification section), choose the PC as the parent.
4. Repeat steps 2-3 for the printer.

Cloning Assets

If you need to duplicate an Asset, you can do so via either the Assets menu or from an Asset record.

From the Assets Menu

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > Click on Assets beneath Asset Management.
2. Click Clone on the right quick menu.
3. Click the magnifying glass next to the Asset field.
4. Search for the Asset in the pop-up window.
5. Once you locate the Asset you need to duplicate, click on the Asset Name.
6. Click Clone.
7. Enter the Asset Name and edit any necessary information.
8. Click Save when done.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete.

From an Asset Record

Steps:

1. Search for the asset you need to clone.
2. Click Clone on the right quick menu.
3. Enter the Asset Name and edit any necessary information.
4. Click Save when done.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete.

Asset Availability

Individual assets may be marked as available for check out. When the Asset may be checked out box in the Asset record is checked, the below additional fields will be shown on the Asset record:

• Current Availability
• Checked Out By (either an Issuetrak User or Other)
• Check Out Date
• Req Return Date

Maintaining Drive Information

Steps:

1. Search for the asset you need to manage.
2. Click Edit.
3. To add a drive, click the Add Drive link above the section.
4. To edit or delete existing drives, click the appropriate link (edit or del) to the right of the drive record.

Assets and Issues

Assets can be associated with users and / or issues.

Associate Users with Asset Items

When adding an Asset (or editing an existing Asset), you have the ability to associate a user with that Asset.

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > Click on Settings beneath Asset Management.
2. Click Add Asset if you are creating a new Asset or search for the appropriate Asset and click Edit.
3. In the User Information section click the magnifying glass next to the User field to search for the user.
4. Once you locate the user in the pop-up window, click on the user name that you need to associate the Asset with.
5. If this Asset should automatically be populated for all Issues submitted by this user, check the Default Item for Issues? box.
6. Make any other necessary changes to the Asset and click either Save or Update.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete.

Associate Issues with Asset Items

When Asset Management is activated, the Assets field appears on the Issue Submit screen. You can click on select assets next to the field, and select one or more asset items. This function associates the item(s) with the issue. You can choose to have more than one asset associated with an issue.

Search Issues by Asset Item

The Search Issues screen allows you to search for issues attached to a particular asset item.

Steps:

1. Click Search Issues on the left menu.
2. Click the magnifying glass next to the Asset field.
3. Enter any other criteria needed.
4. Click Search.

You will be taken to the Search Results page and a list of Issues that meet the criteria entered will be displayed.

Asset Attachments

While viewing or editing an asset item, you may want to attach certain files to that asset item record.

Steps:

1. Search for the appropriate Asset.
2. Click Attachments on the right quick menu.
3. Click Choose File.
4. Browse to the file that you need to attach.
5. Click on the file to select it and click Open.
6. Click Save.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete.

Asset Tables are provided to allow you to establish pre-defined lists of common values for certain fields in order to standardize your data.

Steps:

1. To view / modify values in your Asset Tables, click the gear icon in the top right and then click Asset Tables underneath Asset Management. The tables will then be in the submenu.
2. Choose the table that you would like to work with. Asset Tables include:
   1. Asset Statuses
   2. Asset Types
   3. Asset Locations
   4. Manufacturers
   5. Operating Systems
   6. Vendors
3. Select "List" from the right quick menu under that table, and you will be presented with the list of current values with the “edit” or “delete” option, as well as an "Add" right quick menu option. The mechanics of maintaining these tables are the same for all Asset Tables.

Asset Status

Asset Status can be used to describe whether the asset item is currently in use, available, reserved, undergoing maintenance, etc.

Asset Types

Asset Types are used to classify asset items by identifying specific types such as “Router”, “Printer”, “PC”, etc.

When creating and editing Asset Types, you’ll have a toggle available for determining whether you want device attributes to be included within each type. These device attributes are typically related to computer devices (such as PCs, Macs, and mobile devices). Other asset types such as “Printer”, “Cell Phone”, etc, will not need the additional device attribute fields and can be excluded from the definition.

Each Asset Type allows for as many text or list User Defined Fields as needed. These fields will only be visible for the Asset Type that they were created for, so to avoid confusion when reporting it is recommended to use unique names when creating similar fields for multiple Asset Types.

Locations

Asset Locations allow you to be very specific about where a particular asset item is located. This location value may be used in conjunction with Issuetrak Locations if desired.

The Location table includes five optional text fields that allow you to retain more specific location information if desired, such as Room or Floor. Once a label has been defined for an optional field, the field will appear on the add / edit screens for each entry. You may use as few or as many of these fields as you wish. If no label value exists for an optional field, the field will not appear.

Manufacturers

The Manufacturers table is a list of hardware manufacturers furnished for standardization and ease of data entry. An Asset Management Report is available called, “Asset Counts By Manufacturer”.

Operating Systems

Enter your most common Operating Systems values in this table if desired. This table provides a list of values for data entry only; automated audits will not read or add to this information.

Vendors

Add Vendor names to this table along with company and contact information for reference and ease of data entry. An Asset Management Report is available called, “Asset Counts By Vendor”.

Software information can be tracked for assets in the Asset Management module. The specific software information can be added/maintained manually or by applying audit records returned by the automated discovery process.

The Software Purchases page is the starting point to manage software information in your site.

Software Purchases

This section allows you to review expenditures and licensing information for the software products you have purchased at a glance.

Adding a Software Purchase

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click Software Purchases beneath Asset Management.
2. Click Add on the right quick menu beneath Software Purchases.
3. Fill in the appropriate fields.
4. Click Save.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete.

Search for Software Purchase

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click Software Purchase beneath Asset Management.
2. Click Search Purchases in the right quick menu.
3. Enter your search criteria.
4. Click Search.

You will be taken to the Software Purchases Search Results page when this process is complete.

Editing a Software Purchase

Steps:

1. Search for the Software Purchase.
2. Click the Title of the Software Purchase you need to edit.
3. Make the necessary changes.
4. Click Update.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete and you will be taken back to the Software Purchases page.

Deleting a Software Purchase

Steps:

1. Search for the Software Purchase.
2. Click the Title of the Software Purchase you need to delete.
3. Click Delete Purchase in the right quick menu.
4. Click OK in the confirmation prompt.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete and you will be taken back to the Software Purchases page.

Adding a Software License

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click Software Purchase beneath Asset Management.
2. Click edit next to the Software Purchase the license should be attached to.
3. Click License Information in the right quick menu.
4. Fill in the appropriate fields.
5. Click Save.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete.

Search for Software License

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click Software Purchase beneath Asset Management.
2. Click Search Licenses in the right quick menu.
3. Enter your search criteria.
4. Click Search.

You will be taken to the Software Licenses Search Results page when this process is complete.

Editing a Software License

Steps:

1. Search for the Software License.
2. Click the License Key of the Software License you need to edit.
3. Click edit next to the license key.
4. Make the necessary changes.
5. Click Update.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete.

Deleting a Software License

Steps:

1. Search for the Software License.
2. Click the License Key of the Software License you need to delete.
3. Click del next to the license key.
4. Click OK on the confirmation prompt.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete.

Approval Statuses

Approval Statuses can be used to designate the status of Software Purchases at any point in the process. You could use the Approval Status to track whether the initial purchase request has been approved or to designate whether approval is required before installing previously purchased software on a user's computer.

You can view the existing Approval Statuses by clicking the gear icon in the upper right > click Software Purchases beneath Asset Management > click List beneath Approval Statuses on the right quick menu.

Adding Approval Statuses

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click Software Purchases beneath Asset Management.
2. Click Add beneath Approval Statuses on the right quick menu.
3. Fill in the appropriate fields.
4. Click Save.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete and you will be taken back to the Approval Status List page.

Editing an Approval Status

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click Software Purchases beneath Asset Management.
2. Click List beneath Approval Statuses on the right quick menu.
3. Click edit next to the Approval Status you need to edit.
4. Make the necessary changes.
5. Click Update.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete and you will be taken back to the Approval Status List page.

Deleting an Approval Status

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click Software Purchases beneath Asset Management.
2. Click List beneath Approval Statuses on the right quick menu.
3. Click del next to the Approval Status you need to delete.
4. Click OK on the confirmation prompt.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete.

License Types

License Types can be used to specify how the software is licensed, whether it is individually licensed, volume licensed, freeware, etc...

Adding a License Type

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click Software Purchases beneath Asset Management.
2. Click Add beneath License Types on the right quick menu.
3. Fill in the appropriate fields.
4. Click Save.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete and you will be taken back to the License Type List page.

Editing a License Type

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click Software Purchases beneath Asset Management.
2. Click List beneath License Types on the right quick menu.
3. Click edit next to the Approval Status you need to edit.
4. Make the necessary changes.
5. Click Update.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete and you will be taken back to the License Type List page.

Deleting a License Type

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click Software Purchases beneath Asset Management.
2. Click List beneath License Types on the right quick menu.
3. Click del next to the License Type you need to delete.
4. Click OK on the confirmation prompt.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete.

Software Companies

Adding a Software Company

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click Software Purchases beneath Asset Management.
2. Click Add beneath Software Companies on the right quick menu.
3. Fill in the appropriate fields.
4. Click Save.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete and you will be taken back to the Software Companies page.

Editing a Software Company

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click Software Purchases beneath Asset Management.
2. Click List beneath Software Companies on the right quick menu.
3. Click edit next to the Software Company you need to edit.
4. Make the necessary changes.
5. Click Update.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete and you will be taken back to the Software Companies page.

Deleting a Software Company

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click Software Purchases beneath Asset Management.
2. Click List beneath Software Companies on the right quick menu.
3. Click del next to the Software Company you need to delete.
4. Click OK on the confirmation prompt.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete.

Software Registries

Software Registries can be used to track details of the individual software packages installed on a PC or Mac. They are typically added via automated auditing, but they can be added manually if needed. Once they have been added, they can be used to create Software Titles or they can be linked to existing Software Titles.

If you are using the automated audit tools, a Software Registry will be automatically added for any new software found. The Software Registry Name will be the exact name reported by the computer.

For example:

7-Zip 18.05 (x64)

7-Zip 19.00 (x64)

Manually Adding Software Registries

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click Software Purchases beneath Asset Management.
2. Click Add beneath Software Registries on the right quick menu.
3. Fill in the appropriate fields.
4. Click Save.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete and you will be taken back to the Software Registry Names page.

Editing a Software Registry

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click Software Purchases beneath Asset Management.
2. Click List beneath Software Registries on the right quick menu.
3. Click edit next to the Software Registry you need to edit.
4. Make the necessary changes.
5. Click Update.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete and you will be taken back to the Software Registry Names page.

Deleting a Software Registry

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click Software Purchases beneath Asset Management.
2. Click List beneath Software Registries on the right quick menu.
3. Click del next to the Software Registry you need to delete.
4. Click OK on the confirmation prompt.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete.

Linking Software Registries to Software Titles

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click Software Purchases beneath Asset Management.
2. Click Link Titles beneath Software Registries on the right quick menu.
   • This will take you to a screen that will show you which registry items do not have software titles. You can use the Show only Registry Names like: field to narrow the list if needed.
3. Check the boxes for the Registry Names you need to link to the Software Title.
4. Scroll down to the Software Titles section at the bottom of the page.
5. Click on the Software Title that you are linking the Software Registries to.
6. Click Update.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete.

Create Software Titles from existing Software Registries

You can use existing Software Registries to create Software Titles. The steps below will create the new Software Title and link the Software Registry to that new Software Title.

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click Software Purchases beneath Asset Management.
2. Click Copy to Titles beneath Software Registries on the right quick menu.
   • This will take you to a screen that will show you which registry items do not have software titles. You can use the Show only Registry Names like: field to narrow the list if needed.
3. Check the boxes for the Registry Names you need to create Software Titles for.
4. Click Copy Records.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete.

Software Titles

The Software Titles table is the main reference table listing each Software Title along with Software Company and support information. This information is stored for reference and ease of data entry. You can link Software Registries to Software Titles to allow for easier tracking when different versions of software are installed on your network.

For example, you could link both of the below items to a single Software Title named "7-Zip":

7-Zip 18.05 (x64)

7-Zip 19.00 (x64)

Adding a Software Title

Software Titles can be created manually or by copying an existing Software Registry.

Manual Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click Software Purchases beneath Asset Management.
2. Click Add beneath Software Title on the right quick menu.
3. Fill in the appropriate fields.
4. Click Save.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete and you will be taken back to the Software List page.

Editing a Software Title

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click Software Purchases beneath Asset Management.
2. Click List beneath Software Titles on the right quick menu.
3. Click edit next to the Software Title you need to edit.
4. Make the necessary changes.
5. Click Update.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete and you will be taken back to the Software List page.

Deleting a Software Title

Steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click Software Purchases beneath Asset Management.
2. Click List beneath Software Titles on the right quick menu.
3. Click del next to the Software Title you need to delete.
4. Click OK on the confirmation prompt.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete.

Maintaining Software Information

Steps:

To add or edit software information for a particular asset item:

1. Search for the asset using the steps in Managing Assets.
2. On the View Asset page click Edit on the right quick menu.
3. To add software to an asset record, click the Add Software link above the Software section.
   • If there are no Software entries for this asset, it is located above the Purchase/Lease Information section.
4. To edit or delete existing software on the asset record, click the appropriate link (edit or del) to the right of the software record.