Provisioning Data
This section describes how you should plan to provision data into the DMO. It's a good idea to understand the concepts of Object Design, and think about how you wish to model your data within the system, as there are many possible ways to do this--some of which can cause problems later.
Normally, users will explore the Definitions tree, and look for the names of Definitions that match information they already know about. For example, if an organisation wishes to create an inventory of all of its laptops, it will look for a definition called "Laptop", which already exists. There are over 200 definitions provided as standard with DMO, and more may be added if required.
Four approaches may now be used, which are described in more detail now:
Create Instance manually -- within the Definition, click on the green cube icon (
) to create a new
instance. This will open a form, into which details for the Instance
(i.e., a new Laptop) may be added. This process is slow, as it
requires a form to be filled out for every item.Create multiple new instances -- within the Definition, click on the cluster of green cubes (
). This
opens up a form wherein it's a little easy to create multiple new
instances, and easily copy information between them.Import Wizard -- the Admin//Import Wizard menu item allows for the importing of an unlimited number of instances of a single Definition using a Comma Separated Value (CSV) file as input. This file might be exported from another database, or saved from an Excel file. See Chapter 8 for more details on the Import Wizard.
Automated Scanning -- this is the best and fastest technique for collecting large amounts of data. It involves using an external scanning tool (NMAP) to connect to the LAN, and determine the IP addresses of thousands of host computers and other network-connected devices. Note that this feature is only available as part of the Event Horizon Security Monitoring system, which is described in more detail in the Event Horizon Chapter.
A fifth method, involving integration with existing Inventory or Asset Management systems, is available as part of a consulting solution directly from CSO Lanifex GmbH. This would allow on-line periodic automated update of inventory items into the DMO, with synchronization of key data. We also support migration from existing inventory databases, which many customers decide to replace with DMO.