Managing Assets

This chapter provides an overview of asset management, lists prerequisites, lists common elements, and discusses how to:

• Manage assets from the Case page in PeopleSoft HelpDesk.

• Add and reconcile installed assets.

Note. This chapter is relevant only to PeopleSoft HelpDesk; PeopleSoft Support and HelpDesk for Human Resources do not incorporate asset management functionality into their applications.

Understanding Asset Management

This section discusses:

• Asset management functionality.

• Asset related actions.

• Link definition setup.

Asset Management Functionality

Asset management provides organizations with the ability to gather information about the hardware and software that is used over their network. The system can also detect the location of personal computers on the network.

Asset management offers these benefits:

• Provides foundation data for effective troubleshooting.

• Facilitates planning for upgrades.

• Helps control the total cost of ownership.

• Helps to accurately determine how much has been invested on a client system.

• Increases company control and security.

Note. PeopleSoft Helpdesk does not currently provide any mechanisms to detect hardware and software assets from within the PeopleSoft CRM applications. You must integrate with a third-party application, such as Altiris, for asset discovery or remote control of technology assets.

Asset Related Actions

After you set up an integration with Altiris or a third-party asset management system, agents can perform these functions from the Case page or Case toolbar in PeopleSoft HelpDesk:

• Asset Administrator

  Execute web administrator actions.

• Asset Summary

  Run an ad hoc asset discovery process to verify configuration details of a specific asset. This process is equivalent to the resource summary feature in Altiris.

• Remote Control

  Execute a remote control process so a help desk agent can remotely take control of an employee’s desktop to resolve a problem.

• Software Delivery

  Perform software delivery related actions

Link Definition Setup

The PeopleSoft system delivers four link definitions that appear on the Case page in the Related Action drop-down list box:

• Asset Administrator

• Asset Summary

• Remote Control

• Software Delivery

Portal Crefs (content references) are set up on the Content Ref Administration page in PeopleSoft PeopleTools (select PeopleTools, Portal, Structure and Content, Hidden Crefs. Then click Asset Administrator, Asset Summary, Remote Control, or Software Delivery.

Link definitions are set up in PeopleSoft CRM on the Link Definition page (select Set Up CRM, Product Related, Call Center, Link Definition). Click the RELA (related actions) category.

On the Link Definition page, the Field Name in the Search Keys grid is set to cfResourceIdentifier because Altiris requires this string in the URL.

Additionally, the PeopleSoft system selected the Solvable check boxes for all four link definitions. However, the Self-Service check boxes are not selected for any of the link definitions. The term Serial Number is associated with three link definitions (Asset Summary, Asset Administrator, and Remote Control).

At runtime, the system resolves the Serial Number term and adds it to the URL string. For example, the Asset Summary related action generates this URL: http://209.17.27.128/Altiris/ContextFactory/SelectionView.aspx&cfResourceIdentifier=2UB234345

Note. You may need to update the Portal CREF information to point to the correct URL based on your environment.

See Also

Enterprise PeopleTools PeopleBook: Internet Technology, “Administering Portals”

Setting Up Links and Related Actions

Prerequisites

Before you can access your asset management application from PeopleSoft HelpDesk, you must:

• Install a third-party asset management application or the Altiris asset management application.

• Install the Altiris agent or other third-party software on the computers that need to be discovered.

• Install the Altiris Carbon Copy agent or the third-party remote control software on the computers that need to be remotely controlled.

Note. The PeopleSoft HelpDesk integration only works with Altiris versions 6.0 and above. For other third-party vendors, refer to vendor's documentation or ask your consultant for advice on setting up an integration with PeopleSoft CRM.

Common Elements Used in This PeopleBook Chapter

This section discusses common elements used in this chapter.

Terms

These terms are used throughout this chapter:

Managing Assets from the Case Page in PeopleSoft HelpDesk

This section discusses how to:

• Access the Asset Administration application.

• Access the Asset Summary process.

• Access the Asset administrator.

• Access the Remote Control action.

• Access the Software Delivery application.

Accessing the Asset Administration Application

This graphic illustrates how an agent can access the Altiris asset management system or a third-party asset management system from the PeopleSoft HelpDesk application. Once an agent has opened a case for an employee, he or she can use the Related Actions drop-down list box on either the Case page, the Summary page, or the Related Actions page to access the asset management pages in Altiris or another third-party asset management system.

Note. PeopleSoft CRM may not integrate with all third-party asset management systems. PeopleSoft systems support frameworks for which you can open a URL and pass in parameters via the URL. The PeopleSoft integration has not been tested with other asset management applications, so we cannot guarantee that it will work with all third-party applications. Please ask your consultant for advice on setting up an integration from your third-party asset management system to PeopleSoft CRM.

Access to Asset Administration from the PeopleSoft HelpDesk component pages

See Also

http://www.altiris.com/

Accessing the Asset Summary

From the Case page in PeopleSoft HelpDesk, agents can run an Asset Summary process to verify configuration details of a specific asset. Using the Altiris application, this feature also assists help desk agents in performing asset discovery.

The Asset Discovery process gives help desk agents the ability to get the baseline information about the user’s asset, which helps agents resolve issues.

To identify an asset on the network:

1. The agent navigates to the help desk case.

2. The agent fills in the required information as well as the asset tag information, saves the case, and then selects Asset Summary from the Related Actions drop-down list box or the toolbar.

3. The agent then clicks Go to perform the action.

   If you are using Altiris, the system displays the Managing Resource page.

PeopleSoft CRM passes the serial number information to the Altiris application in the URL. If the agent performs the Asset Summary action and the Serial Number field is not populated, the system displays an error message. Once the system performs the Asset Summary action, the system creates a record in the Related Actions grid. The system displays the word Performed in the Status field in the Related Action Summary grid on both the Summary page and the Related Actions page in the Case component.

The asset information retrieved is not transferred back to PeopleSoft CRM. Once an agent has access to the Altiris application, they can locate the hardware configuration, installed software, specific network information, and the services that are running on the user's desktop.

Accessing the Asset Administrator

From the Case page in PeopleSoft HelpDesk, agents can select Asset Administrator from the Related Actions drop-down list box and then click Go to transfer to the Altiris application. Agents can then manage asset information using Web Administrator in Altiris.

Web Administrator allows agents to access their organization's server. Web Administrator gives agents the ability to perform remote control actions, software distribution, inventory browsing, advertisement and package management, query creation and management, notification policy creation, and report generation.

Accessing Remote Control

From the Case page in PeopleSoft HelpDesk, agents can take control of a user's machine to troubleshoot problems by initiating the Remote Control process. Using this feature, help desk agents can effectively resolve an employee issue involving their computer equipment.

Once an agent performs the Remote Control action, the system creates a record in the Related Action Summary grid. The control is then transferred to the asset management application, where an agent can remotely control a user's desktop using the remote control features provided by the Altiris ITAM application or another third-party vendor.

The Remote Control utility lets the local computer take full operational control of a remote computer, provided it has the Carbon Copy Agent installed (Altiris). Full operational control includes the ability to launch applications or change system settings. When the system makes a connection with a remote computer, a Remote Control window appears, which displays the remote computer's desktop. Within the window, the system sends all keyboard and mouse functions to the remote computer.

Accessing Software Delivery

From the Case page in PeopleSoft HelpDesk, agents can select Software Delivery from the Related Actions drop-down list box and click Go. This action launches the Altiris Software Delivery application, which is used to install software on various identified assets.

The Software Delivery application enables agents to efficiently deliver software to highly distributed desktops, laptops, and servers through intelligent network devices. The application includes multicast distribution, task sequencing, and dynamic bandwidth throttling.

The application can help organizations achieve near total software patch penetration combined with optimal network bandwidth utilization. The Altiris solution offers enterprise-class scalability while providing policy-based software distribution for applications and software change packages.

Once the agent performs the action, the system creates a record in the Related Action Summary grid on both the Summary page and the Related Actions page in the Case component.

Adding and Reconciling Installed Assets

This section provides an overview of installed assets and discusses adding installed assets for PeopleSoft HelpDesk.

Understanding Installed Assets

The Installed Assets feature allows IT asset information to be shared between the Asset Repository Module (ARM ) in PeopleSoft Financials and installed products in PeopleSoft CRM. For a PeopleSoft CRM implementation, ARM is considered the master data source for asset information.

PeopleSoft HelpDesk requires a configuration option at the setID level, which determines whether integration to the ARM is used. This option appears under the navigation Setup CRM, Product Related, Installed Product, Configuration.

The Integration Options group box and the Enable Asset Integration with PeopleSoft Financials field appear on this page. If you select the check box for this field, the synchronization between the two databases is in effect.

IT asset information from PeopleSoft Financials is published to PeopleSoft CRM as an initial full data synchronization. Subsequent changes made to IT asset data in the ARM triggers an incremental synchronization that is published to update installed product information.

Likewise, any changes made to installed products asset data in PeopleSoft CRM triggers an incremental synchronization that is published to update the PeopleSoft Financials asset information.

The system evaluates data coming from PeopleSoft Financials to PeopleSoft CRM to see if a corresponding installed asset entry already exists, or whether it represents a totally new asset. In the later example, a new entry is created in PeopleSoft CRM. If a possible, but not definite, match exists, the system sends the result to a reconciliation table for analysis by an agent. The agent decides to either update an existing PeopleSoft CRM entry or create a new entry.

Note. The system checks the mapping table first to determine the product ID since a default product ID should always exist in the mapping table (even when no matches exist on the asset subtype, manufacturer, and model data). If no mapping table entry is found, the system derives the product ID from the item ID. The item ID would be used only in cases when no mapping table exists for the setID. Not having a mapping table for the setID, however, would constitute an erroneous data setup.

See Also

Understanding Hardware Asset Information Mapping and Reconciliation

Pages Used to Add and Reconcile Installed Assets

Adding Installed Assets

Access the Installed Assets page.

For instructions about using the Installed Assets page, refer to the section below.

See Also

Managing Installed Products

Reconciling Assets

Access the Asset Reconciliation page.

For instructions about using the Asset Reconciliation page, refer to the section below.

See Also

Mapping and Reconciling Asset Information