PDQ Inventory, made by Admin Arsenal, is a free inventory tool that allows you to track software, hardware and OS configurations in a Windows network.

One of the first things that struck me with PDQ Inventory was the ease in setup! Downloading PDQ Inventory is a breeze. Registering for the free version requires just your name, an email address, and your company. While waiting on the download link, take the time to read the confirmation page as it is sure to provide a chuckle or two.

The welcome screen for PDQ Inventory immediately begins guiding users through computer inventory collection.

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OCS Inventory NG is a free, agent-based inventory software for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Submitted by Matthew Borcherding – BorchTech Consulting

The OCS Inventory NG backend can run on Windows or Linux. Inventories are done daily or on demand, and take very little CPU time. Inventories include very detailed lists of hardware and software components. The inventory software allows you to display all systems that have particular software installed.  Access to server is web-based, usually via Apache.

Free inventory software – OCS Inventory NG

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Rate this tool: (4 votes, average: 3.50 out of 5)

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This article introduces a brand-new freeware utility from EMCO that can help you to collect information about installed programs and patches from network PCs and track installation changes remotely.

Submitted by Igor Vinnykov

According to the Windows 7 Programs and Components info, I have 85 applications and 118 updates installed on my PC. No doubt, it’s hard to keep in mind all these installed programs even for a single PC, and I have to open the Programs and Components view every time I need to check the software installed on the PCs in my network. If you use the same approach when you need to audit installed software, let me show how you can optimize your software inventory procedures using the free Network Software Scanner utility from EMCO Software.

The Welcome screen of EMCO Network Software Scanner

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Rate this tool: (5 votes, average: 4.40 out of 5)

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In this second part of two I will describe some technical details of ManageEngine Desktop Central 7 and give an overview of the tool's systems management features.

Role-based access control

Desktop Central 7 uses a role-based access control (RBAC) motif in which you can log into the system as a full-fledged administrator or as one of a series of dedicated sub-administrative roles, including the following:

• Patch Manager
• Auditor
• Asset Manager
• Remote Desktop Technician

Once you are logged in as an administrator, Desktop Central offers you a plethora of administrative action options for managed devices; some of these are shown in the screenshot below.

Desktop Central 7 administrative options

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In the last post of this series, I gave an overview of the scanning and inventory features of Total Network Inventory (TNI). In this last part, I will outline how you can generate reports and manage software licenses with TNI.

Reports

Whereas the inventory View Details tab, which I described last time, allows you to retrieve detailed information about a particular computer, the Table Report tab gives you an overview about a configurable set of inventory data fields. TNI is delivered with a few predefined report templates, such as installed software, hard disk drives, removable drives, printers, and user accounts.

Total Network Inventory – Table Report

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In my last post, I outlined what makes Total Network Inventory 2 a reliable and fast software and hardware inventory tool. Today, I will show you how to scan your network with TNI and access inventory details.

TNI users who have worked with version 1.6 will notice that version 2 has a completely revamped user interface. The new UI is appealing, and you will be able to use it without studying the manual first.

Scanning computers and devices

The first thing you have to do is tell the scanner which machines you want to scan. Essentially, you have three ways to do this. You can select IP networks, select Windows networks (for Windows Workgroup), or leverage Active Directory to select individual computers or containers. Active Directory support is new in TNI 2. Computer selections can be saved, which allows you to easily re-scan specific computer sets at a later time.

Since TNI has to authenticate at remote computers, you should configure the credentials used to log on remotely. For Windows computers TNI uses the current user as default login, but you can change this setting. For SSH and SNMP logins, you have to specify the credentials in the Edit tab.

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Total Network Inventory is complete inventory software for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, FreeBSD, and SNMP devices. This review comes in three parts.

Softinventive Lab is raffling off two licenses, each worth $1,490 USD, of its software and hardware inventory solution Total Network Inventory(TNI). The license allows you to scan an unlimited number of nodes nationwide. The deadline of this contest is October 26, 2011. If you want to have a chance to win this license, please send an email with the subject “TNI” to .

Inventory Software – Total Network Inventory 2

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XIA Configuration Server is a network documentation and audit software that supports Windows servers and workstations, Active Directory and Group Policy, Exchange, SQL Server, IIS, Clusters, DNS, WINS and VMware.

Submitted by David Homer

CENTREL Solutions raffles off an Enterprise license of their centralized network documentation and audit software – XIA Configuration Server, to 4sysops readers. The winner will receive an enterprise license worth $1,000 USD. The deadline of this contest is August 11, 2011. If you want to take part in this raffle, please send an email with the subject “XIA Configuration” to .

XIA Configuration Server – Network documentation and audit software

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EMCO Remote Installer is a tool— this may surprise you—to remotely install software. However, the free version only supports software inventory. Compared to other free software inventory tools, it has the advantage of not limiting the number of computers it can scan. The software inventory software is very easy to use, and you don’t need to install agents on remote computers.

Thus, you can use EMCO Remote Installer to quickly get an overview of the installed software in your network. If you already have software inventory software, you can compare the results in cases where you are uncertain whether the scan results are correct.

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Rate this tool: (6 votes, average: 4.17 out of 5)

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Update: This great free tool has been submitted more than two years ago by Jeffrey Botts. Since then quite a few new features have been added and because Spiceworks 4.7 is now out, I updated this post. The top new features and some screenshots follow after Jeffrey’s original comment. Also check out Spiceworks installation guide.

Submitted by Jeffrey Botts, November 2007

You want network management software that works for you, not software that makes you work. You wish you could have it… without spending a fortune. Your wish is granted.

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Rate this tool: (31 votes, average: 4.10 out of 5)

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Submitted by Jeff Botts

Purgos is an agent based, desktop management software that supports remote control of Windows PCs. It uses WMI for software and hardware inventory, and VNC for remote management.

Unfortunately, the original author has recently EOLed the project. But this tool is so useful I had to post it. It works on all current versions of Windows.

Michael’s update:  Just after I published the article the Purgos website disappeared. The successor, Desktop Management Software  3.1, is  no long free and is now sold by Swift Water Software. For the time being the old free version 3.0 can still be downloaded from 4sysops. I can’t make any guarantees!

Here is the description from the (original) Purgos website:

Purgos gives its users complete administrative control over large numbers of computers from a single, easy to use console. Utilizing WMI for computer administration, it has the ability to instantly manage hundreds of NT workstations (Windows 2K3, 2K, XP) and server class operating systems, virtually eliminating the amount of IT work needed to meet the high demands of a thriving business.

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PC Audit is really a very simple tool. But, in some cases, this is just what you need if you want to quickly see an overview of the hardware and installed software on a PC. The tool can also display the running processes. You can save all the data to the clipboard, which allows you to paste the inventory data quickly into any application, or to a text file. I think this latter feature makes PC Audit a useful tool for the helpdesk.

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Submitted by Joe

I couldn’t live without this marvelous little tool. Take any machine in any AD domain and it will display a plethora of data about it as well as letting you control services, uninstall software, create scheduled tasks as well run standard stuff like MMC consoles, VNC etc. For such a small application it’s amazing how many features are packed into it.

From the publisher’s site:

ManagePC is an open source .NET application for PC management in Windows environments.

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Rate this tool: (3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)

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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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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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