Workstations
Workstations are high-performance IP-based computers designed for technical tasks such as data analysis, software development, etc.
Add New Workstation
To add a workstation,
- Go to Assets.
- On the left pane accordion, click Assets > IT > Computers > Workstations.
- Choose a customer from the drop-down in the application header.
- Click New on the toolbar.
Alternatively, go to Quick Actions 
> New > Asset and choose Workstations as the product type.
On the New Workstation form, fill out the required details in the following sections and click Save:
Computer | Enter the workstation name, service tag, BIOS details, and the manufacturer. |
Select the domain from the drop-down. | |
Operating System | Enter the name, version, service pack, build number, and product ID |
Memory | Specify the RAM and virtual memory in MB. |
Processor | Specify the processor information, manufacturer, clock speed, and number of processor cores. |
Hard Disks | Specify the hard disk model, serial number, manufacturer, and capacity in GB |
Keyboard | Specify the keyboard type, manufacturer, and serial number. |
Mouse | Specify the mouse type, mouse buttons details, manufacturer, and serial number. |
Monitors | Specify the monitor type, serial number, manufacturer, and maximum resolution of the monitor. |
Asset Details | Specify the asset details using these pointers. |
Asset State Details | Specify the asset state details using these pointers. |
Network Details | Specify the network adapter details such as IP Address, MAC Address, NIC, Network, DNS Server name and Default Gateway in the given text field. If you want to enable DHCP, select True from the DHCP drop-down and enter the address in the DHCP Server field. |
Bulk Scan of Newly Added Workstation
You can only scan workstations that are associated with probe.
You can bulk scan new workstations added to the domain using their hardware and software details. You need not have to scan the entire domain for adding the workstations to ServiceDesk Plus MSP Cloud.
To scan a new workstation,
- Go to Assets.
- On the left pan, click Assets > IT > Computers > Workstations.
- Select the workstations to be scanned using the check boxes.
- On the toolbar, click Actions > Scan Now.
You will now be prompted to associate the workstations with a probe. Click Yes.
Fill out the following details in the pop-up:
- Select the probe name and device type from the relevant drop-downs.
- Associate an available credential with the probe or click the plus icon to associate a new credential.
- Enable software scan, if needed.
- Click Save.
User Suggestions for Workstations
When assigning workstations to users, ServiceDesk Plus MSP Cloud suggests users based on the last logged-in information obtained during scan.
Prerequisites
Domains must be added along with credentials under Domain Scan.
In Active Directory, email addresses must be configured for the required users.
How User Suggestions Work
During scan, the probe fetches the last logged-in username from every workstation's registry. Registry example: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI.
If SCCM scan is used, the last logged-in username is fetched from SCCM.
- The probe retrieves the domain name from the last logged-in username. For example, if ZYLKER\Test is the last logged-in user, then the domain name is ZYLKER.
- The probe then retrieves the domain controller name from the domain name or the domain credentials from ServiceDesk Plus MSP Cloud.
- Now, the probe queries the domain controller to fetch the users' email address.
- The fetched data will be associated to the relevant users in ServiceDesk Plus MSP Cloud. These users will be listed under Suggested User while assigning workstations. If a user is not available in ServiceDesk Plus MSP Cloud, the user will be added as a new non-login user.
Associate Suggested User with Workstations
- Go to Assets.
- On the left pane accordion, click Assets > IT > Computers > Workstations.
- Choose the required customer from the drop-down in the header.
- Select the required workstations from the list using the check boxes.
- Click Assign Users on the toolbar.
- In the pop-up,
- Assign users using the Suggested User drop-down across the respective assets. You can exclude assets for user assignment by disabling the relevant check boxes.
- The Last Logged In User data will be displayed based on the information collected during the scan.
- Click Assign Users.
Edit/Delete Workstations
- Go to the Workstations list view.
- Click the gear icon next to the required workstations and select Edit or Delete as required.
- To bulk edit and bulk edit, select the required workstations using the check boxes and click Edit or Delete on the toolbar.
Deleting workstations will delete all its financial data and historical records.
Refer here to know about various list view actions.
Identifying the Uniqueness of Workstations
While performing a scan in ServiceDesk Plus MSP Cloud, the workstations are identified and marked unique using the following criteria:
- Service tag
- Workstation name
- MAC address
If any of these criteria match for two workstations, then the workstation details will be overwritten.
Service Tag
Consider two workstations, machine A and machine B, with a similar service tag 12345, and machine A has already been scanned by the application.
While scanning Machine B, the workstation details of Machine A will be overwritten by Machine B due to service tag similarity. This can happen when service tags are not configured properly by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).
Solution: Configure Invalid Service Tags
Such similar service tags can be ignored during a scan by adding them under the Invalid Service Tag List. To do that, go to Setup > Probes & Discovery > Settings > General.
Workstation Name
For workstations with invalid service tags, workstation names are considered as the unique identifier during a scan.
Consider the workstation, MachineA.domain.com, is already available in the application. If another machine with same name is scanned, the former workstation's details (MachineA.domain.com) will be overwritten by the latter.
Solution 1: Append DNS or Active Directory Domain Name
During a scan, DNS domain name and Active Directory domain name are fetched for workstations and servers. You can append any of the domain names to the device name to create a fully qualified name. To do that, go to Setup > Probes & Discovery > Settings > General > Computer Name Format.
Solution 2: Rename Workstations
Below are some of the use cases to rename workstations by appending _old:
Scenario 1: When the workstations are swapped in the network
Consider two workstations, MACHINE-A with service tag ST-1 and MACHINE-B with ST-2. Both the workstations are swapped in the network as MACHINE-A with ST-2 and MACHINE-B with ST-1.
If you scan MACHINE-A, then MACHINE-B will be overwritten as MACHINE-A and MACHINE-A will be renamed as MACHINE-A_old.
When MACHINE-B is scanned, MACHINE-A_old will be overwritten as MACHINE-B.
Scenario 2: When existing workstations are discovered with a new service tag
During a scan, an already discovered workstation with a valid service tag is detected with a different service tag.
In this case, ServiceDesk Plus MSP Cloud appends _old to the existing workstation name and a new workstation record is created with the latest service tag.
Case 1:
When a workstation initially discovered with a valid service tag undergoes a hardware change (e.g., motherboard replacement), a new service tag will be assigned to it.
In this case, ServiceDesk Plus MSP Cloud renames the original workstation name by appending _old and a new workstation record is created with the latest service tag.
Case 2:
The workstation MACHINE-A with service tag ST-1 is already scanned in the network. Another new workstation, MACHINE-A with service tag ST-2, is added to the network.
If you scan the workstation MACHINE-A again, iServiceDesk Plus MSP Cloud renames the already-scanned workstation as MACHINE-A_old and will add the newly added workstation as MACHINE-A.
Case 3:
For VMwares, when the host is changed, the service tag is also updated accordingly.
MAC Address
For workstations with improper service tags and names, scans consider their MAC addresses as a unique identifier.
In certain environments, same MAC addresses will be used by many machines, like VMwares or machines connected through VPN. In such cases, one machine's data will be overwritten by another during a scan.
Solution: Disable MAC Address as a Unique Identifier
You can enable and disable the MAC address identification for scanning under Setup > Probes & Discovery > Settings > General.
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