Preface

OCS Inventory NG is a cross-platform, open source inventory, and asset management solution. It brings more than plentiful features to the table to satisfy the business needs of small-to-large organizations with up to tens of thousands of computers. However, to put this inventory solution to optimum use requires a lot of skill.

This book will lead you through the steps of implementing OCS-NG until you master working with it. This book aims at reducing efforts involved in resource management. The solution gives a robust foundation on top of which we can implement other third-party applications, plugins, and much more.

This book begins with the basics—it explains what IT inventorying needs are to be met in the real world. Then, it covers a step-by-step approach to everything you need to know to set up and implement OCS-NG as a centralized inventory solution to meet all these requirements. It delves deeper into carrying out inventory tasks with every chapter.

You will learn how to choose the best agent type and deployment method. We discuss the process of gathering inventory data and cover techniques for creating and deploying packages. You will also learn how to acquire added benefits with the use of plugins. We discuss best practices on inventorying and troubleshooting agent-related problems. The book presents real-world inventorying scenarios along with their solutions. You will basically learn how to use OCS-NG to get the most out of it.

As a conclusion, if you want to learn about a free solution that fulfills inventorying necessities of the real world, then this is the book for you.

A practical guide on how to set up, configure, and work with OCS Inventory NG—a cross-platform, open source inventory solution.