Berkeley Lab Automated Workstation Inventory

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Berkeley Lab Automated Workstation Inventory
Craig Nelson ITDan Pulsifer - Engineering

• NLIT

June 11th, 2007
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Agenda

• Overall Goal
• Describe Business Needs
• Potential Approaches
• Implementation
• Technologies Used
• Process Used
• Demonstration

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Overall Goal

• Build an infrastructure for managing computers in
  a decentralized laboratory environment without
  the cost of acquisition, implementation and
  integration of costly third party products
• Based on an agentless method for data collection,
  the software provides capabilities for hardware
  and software asset tracking, preventative
  maintenance, diagnostics, and management of the
  Labs Active Directory environment

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Business Requirements

• Provide a mechanism for configuration management
  of LBNL computer assets
• Provide transparent inventory collection
• Include data from Linux, Mac, and Windows
• Minimize support overhead
• Associate asset numbers (DOE) to computers
• Easy to use web-based interface for display
• Provide different levels of access to users,
  support staff, and management
• Minimize costs

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Potential Approaches

• Research, test, and implement an existing product
• Commercial vendor solutions
• Open source solutions
• Create a custom application
• Modify existing applications through APIs
• Develop custom application from ground up

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Milestones

• Decision to create in-house application Sept,
  2005
• Web view of AD Users/Computers Nov, 2005
• Web view of inventory data March, 2006
• Data stored in Active Directory database
• Inventory data in XML format March, 2007
• Data stored on DFS share
• Mac/Linux inventory data April, 2007
• Use of procmail server

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Technologies Used

• Data Collection
• VBScript
• PERL
• AppleScript
• Data Management
• MySQL
• Data Presentation
• Apache/PHP

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Data Collection From Windows

• Utilize WMI in VBScript for Windows machines
• Add DOE number to LBNL registry key
• GPO linked to computer OUs contains startup
  script
• Inventory script runs at boot time
• XML data written to DFS
• GPO linked to user OUs contains logon script
• Logon history script runs at logon time
• XML data written to DFS

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Data Collection From Linux

• Initial focus on Red-Hat
• Add DOE number to /etc/lbnl.conf file
• Utilize PERL to generate XML inventory content
• Create CRON job for inventory updates
• XML content redirects to Procmail server

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Data Collection From Mac

• Utilize built-in system profiler for inventory
  data
• Add DOE number to /etc/lbnl.conf file
• Create an AppleScript wrapper for profiler data
• Create a startup mechanism for script execution
• Create Apple LoginHook for logon history
• Content redirects to Procmail server

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Data Collection From AD

• Data is directly obtained from the Active
  Directory
• A scheduled task is run once an hour
• OU structure
• Users and systems in AD
• Group membership information
• Group Policy links

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Data Parsing

• XML parser written in PERL
• Accepts XML output from Windows, Linux systems
  inventory (startup scripts)
• Accepts XML output from all operating systems for
  logon history
• Mac Text parser written in PERL
• Accepts Mac system inventory
• All Data is read from Active Directory DFS
• Parsers are scheduled to run at regular intervals
  from CRON job
• Parsers reside on web server system (Linux)

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System Diagram
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Future Direction

• User initiated inventory
• Diagnostic reports
• Preventative maintenance
• Automated exception reports

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Demonstration

• Individual Inventory for Linux/Mac/Windows
• Historical Statistics View
• Search capabilities
• Rollup information (OS, Hardware, Applications)
• Exception Reports
• Computer/User Mapping View
• Asset Tracking View