Softinventive Lab, the publisher of Total Network Inventory (TNI), has a generous offer for 4sysops readers. You can win an unlimited worldwide license for Total Network Inventory, worth $1,695. This means that you can take an inventory of as many machines as you wish. For a quick overview of the tool, I recommend watching this Flash demo.

Even if you already have a systems management solution with inventory capabilities, TNI could be useful because it allows you to quickly retrieve very detailed information about the computers in your network without hassle. I tested TNI and liked the tool immediately because of its straightforward user interface. As you have noticed, I am testing many Windows administration tools, and TNI certainly belongs in the click-as-you-go category.

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In my last post, I explained Total Network Inventory’s (TNI) scanning features. Today, I will discuss the tool’s inventory capabilities and show you how you can manage software licensing with TNI.

Note: You can win a TNI license for an unlimited number of computers. More information is at the end of the article.

User Interface

TNI’s user interface basically consists of three panes: The Network View on the left-hand side, the main windows in the middle, and the Category Selection on the right-hand side. The toolbar of the Network View allows you to sort computers and to search for computer names or IP addresses. I like that TNI also can show you which computers are currently online. The main window in the middle displays inventory data TNI has collected. You can use the Category Selection to navigate quickly to the inventory categories and properties that interest you.

Inventory Categories

There are three inventory categories: Hardware, Software, and Other Information. Each of these categories has a couple of subcategories and each subcategory is divided into properties. The properties are also structured and quite detailed. For example the “system memory” subcategory offers general information about the computer’s RAM, the paging files actually on disks, the paging files possible to store, and specific information about each memory slot. For the subcategory system memory alone, you have about 20 data fields (see screenshot).

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In my last two posts, I introduced Softinventive Lab‘s Total Network Inventory (TNI), an easy-to-use inventory solution. Today, I will discuss TNI’s reporting capabilities. The reporting functionality is probably the most important part of an inventory tool. Reports are not just for printing or exporting data, they allow you get an overview of your whole infrastructure.

Note: You can win a TNI license for an unlimited number of computers. More information is at the end of the article.

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