Automatic Inventory Collection¶
Automatic inventory collection allows the platform to build and maintain an up-to-date list of assets without requiring manual registration.
This is achieved using the GLPI Agent (installed on Satellite or on a client/server host) and built-in discovery mechanisms, which scan the environment, identify devices, and collect relevant technical information.
The functionality supports:
Discovery of devices present in the network
Collection of detailed asset information
Continuous synchronization of inventory data
Discovery Methods¶
Automatic inventory collection relies on two main discovery approaches:
SNMP-based network discovery
Virtual environment discovery (VMware)
These methods allow coverage of both physical infrastructure and virtualized environments.
SNMP Network Discovery¶
SNMP discovery is used to identify devices available within the network. A network discovery task scans IP ranges and detects reachable devices using SNMP.
This allows identification of infrastructure components such as:
Network printers
Switches
Routers
Other SNMP-enabled devices
The result of this process is a list of detected devices, which are then added to the asset inventory as known assets.
SNMP Network Inventory¶
Once devices are discovered and added to the inventory, additional information can be collected from them.
A network inventory task retrieves detailed data from SNMP-enabled devices already known to the system.
This includes:
Device type and model
Network interfaces
Configuration-related information (depending on device capabilities)
As a requirement, the device must already exist in the asset list, and valid SNMP credentials must be provided.
This step enriches the asset data and provides a more complete view of network devices.
VMware Environment Discovery¶
For virtualized environments, inventory collection is performed using VMware APIs.
The system can connect to a VMware vCenter instance and retrieve information about the virtual infrastructure.
This includes:
ESXi hosts managed by vCenter
Virtual machines deployed in the environment
Configuration of the VMware infrastructure
This method provides visibility into virtual infrastructure and virtual machines, while detailed guest-level inventory typically still requires an agent inside the VM.
Resulting Asset Visibility¶
By combining these discovery and inventory methods, the platform enables:
Identification of virtual infrastructure components
Collection of installed software and system information, granted the Agent is installed
Automated updates of asset data through repeated scans and agent communication