Inventory Methods

Docusnap offers two different approaches for inventorying IT systems. Depending on your infrastructure, security requirements, and organizational circumstances, the appropriate method can be selected. Both methods are available for many system types.

Interactive Inventory (Wizard)

With interactive inventory, the scan is initiated via the Docusnap interface or the Docusnap Server. The inventory is performed remotely – Docusnap connects to the target systems and reads the data directly. The results are immediately written to the Docusnap database.

Advantages:

• Simple setup via wizards
• Central management of all inventory tasks
• Direct storage in the database
• Scheduling possible via Docusnap Server

Requirements:

• Network connection to the target systems
• Stored credentials with appropriate permissions in Docusnap

Autonomous Discovery Modules

The autonomous discovery modules are standalone executable files (.exe) that are executed directly on the target system or an authorized system. They generate a result file (.dsi or .xml), which is then imported into Docusnap.

Advantages:

• No storage of highly privileged credentials in Docusnap required
• Suitable for tier models and segmented networks
• Can be used in DMZ or air-gap environments
• Execution via logon script, Task Scheduler, or manually possible

Requirements:

• Access to the target system to execute the module
• Local administrator rights (depending on the module)
• Import of result files into Docusnap

Details on using the autonomous discovery modules can be found in the chapter Autonomous Discovery Modules.

Method Comparison