Inventory software on Linux
Costs
I-doit is available in a number variants; a 30-day trial period is available on registration [3]. The trial version can be hosted on-premise or online as a web service. A demo system with prefabricated datasets also is up for grabs. The commercial Pro version is based on a subscription model, wherein the yearly charge is calculated on the basis of the number of objects.
All systems on the intranet (i.e., both server and client machines, but also temporarily connected laptops, smartphones, printers, and IT infrastructure components) count as objects. Licenses or software packages also count as objects [4].
Modules that supplement the selected basic package's feature scope can be purchased; again, the number of objects on the intranet defines the price. Synetics bills you separately in the scope of support agreements, and the company offers training, for which they charge somewhere between EUR2,200 (~$2,300) and EUR4,600 (~$4,900) for one, two, or three days, respectively.
Documentation
Detailed software documentation is important, particularly for newcomers without previous CMDB systems experience because of the many tasks and, in part, strict legal requirements that need to be considered. The vendor takes various approaches to handling this in i-doit: In addition to a software installation and configuration manual [5], which is implemented as a wiki, they also provide information on special functions and modules on the company's website in the form of the doIT Better series.
User groups, which offer conferences and meetings, provide users the opportunity to network. For licensing questions, a dedicated FAQ page [6] is available; its technical counterpart is implemented as a wiki [7]. The content is available in English and German.
Installation
Installing i-doit is not easy because of the many requirements. Thus, the developers provide detailed documentation that lists the numerous services and applications required before the installation. However, a few stumbling blocks remain. The current version of Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) is not supported, and the latest PHP version 7.0 thus remains sidelined. You might also need to install the recommended database back end, MariaDB, from third-party sources, depending on your choice of distribution. Older web browsers on the clients can also cause serious problems, and you might need to update.
Because i-doit runs on a LAMP system with Apache, MariaDB, and PHP, these servers need to be installed before installing the i-doit server. You then copy the i-doit ZIP archive to a directory that can be accessed by the Apache web server. After adjusting the permissions that grant the web server read and write access to the directory, you can call the graphical setup menu in the web browser; it then guides you through the configuration in a few steps.
If you decide to deploy i-doit as a virtual appliance, make sure the system resources are sufficiently dimensioned. As the minimum hardware requirements, the vendor cites 2GB of RAM and 10GB of mass storage, but the recommendations for smaller organizations are 8GB of RAM and 50GB of disk space. Also, a dual-core processor is imperative. If you are running i-doit as a virtual application, of course you need to add to the resources required for the host system.
A bug in the virtual test appliance was reproducible on all test systems using several versions of VirtualBox: The virtual machine is configured with the wrong operating system ID and with an insufficient graphics memory allocation of just 4MB, thus making it impossible to launch.
To remedy this, access the General section of the VirtualBox configuration settings and, in the Type and Version selection fields, replace the existing values with Linux and Debian (64-bit). Additionally, you need to increase the value for graphics memory to at least 8MB in the Display section. I-doit only launched after we did this, taking us to the initial configuration in a simple ncurses screen immediately after logging in with the authentication data idoitadmin as the username and idoit as the password.
After adjusting all the options, you can then access the i-doit dashboard using any web interface. Note that after entering the CMDB server's IP address in the browser, the default authentication credentials are admin (username) with a password of admin. Once you see the dashboard, access Manage | Manage License to load the license key. The software is then ready for use.
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
So Long Neofetch and Thanks for the Info
Today is a day that every Linux user who enjoys bragging about their system(s) will mourn, as Neofetch has come to an end.
-
Ubuntu 24.04 Comes with a “Flaw"
If you're thinking you might want to upgrade from your current Ubuntu release to the latest, there's something you might want to consider before doing so.
-
Canonical Releases Ubuntu 24.04
After a brief pause because of the XZ vulnerability, Ubuntu 24.04 is now available for install.
-
Linux Servers Targeted by Akira Ransomware
A group of bad actors who have already extorted $42 million have their sights set on the Linux platform.
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils Linux Laptop Featuring AMD Ryzen CPU
This latest release is the first laptop to include the new CPU from Ryzen and Linux preinstalled.
-
XZ Gets the All-Clear
The back door xz vulnerability has been officially reverted for Fedora 40 and versions 38 and 39 were never affected.
-
Canonical Collaborates with Qualcomm on New Venture
This new joint effort is geared toward bringing Ubuntu and Ubuntu Core to Qualcomm-powered devices.
-
Kodi 21.0 Open-Source Entertainment Hub Released
After a year of development, the award-winning Kodi cross-platform, media center software is now available with many new additions and improvements.
-
Linux Usage Increases in Two Key Areas
If market share is your thing, you'll be happy to know that Linux is on the rise in two areas that, if they keep climbing, could have serious meaning for Linux's future.
-
Vulnerability Discovered in xz Libraries
An urgent alert for Fedora 40 has been posted and users should pay attention.