Data Center Record: This record contains on-line information about the data processing centers, the system name, location codes, emergency phone numbers, managers, and contact names. The software and hardware components, and system records will refer to this record.
System Record: This record contains information relative to each processing system within the processing center. This record should contain the system names by LPAR, location codes, operator names, support numbers. Software and hardware components can refer to this record.
Service Record: This record contains the service organization’s data. Maintaining service organization records is advantageous when a user is displaying a record of a failing component. This record should contain the name, location, prime-shift phone number, off-shift phone number, hardware and software representative’s name, and contact phone numbers, and a description of the service organization. Hardware and software components can refer to this record.
Financial Record: Helpful information in this record assists in warranty and service incidents. Hardware financial records contain a user financial id, a financial type, and a description. For software records the same information is required in addition to a license type record entry.
Hardware Components: For hardware component records a consensus must be reached on the hardware types to be managed. A hardware model record for each hardware type will be created and all common hardware components will be entered using this template. This record should contain the following information:
Component ID, Product Number, Serial Number, Generic device type, Model, Manufacturer, Owner, Install Date, Location, Maintenance Vendor, Contract type, Component status, Component Criticality, Component description.
In some instances a hardware subcomponent record must be entered. A subcomponent can be thought of as a feature that can be a stand-alone component and has mobility in the inventory (for example, 3726, 3727, external hard disks). This will allow subcomponents to be removed or moved from their hardware component or attached to another component. This record should contain a subcomponent status code and a description.
Software Components: For software component records a consensus must be reached as to what level of installed software will be within the scope of the asset data base. For example, is the workstation (PC-based) software to be managed? If so, are we to account for all application software or just operating system software?
Feature Components Record: This record identifies associated features and relates these features back to other records.
Model Component Record: The industry uses this type record as a productivity tool to greatly enhance the ability to build large data bases quickly with minimum data entry errors. Model records themselves do not hold configuration data, but they make the entry of data easier by allowing the creation of component records from models that hold information common to a number of components (or subcomponents) of the same type.
INVENTORY MANAGEMENT PROCESS
FUNCTIONAL AREAS
The functional areas that interface with an Inventory Management System are:
All of the functional areas listed above can utilize the information contained within the Inventory Management System's Central Asset Repository of information. Additionally, the Recovery Management area could utilize inventory information to identify an assets criticality (especially when the asset's location and owner are identified within the Inventory Management System). Through the use of reports generated from the Inventory Management System's Repository, it would be possible to obtain a listing of all "Most Critical" resources, by location and group.