EMCO Network Inventory Professional: Complete Setup and First Scan Guide

How to Automate Hardware and Software Audits with EMCO Network Inventory ProfessionalAutomating hardware and software audits saves time, reduces human error, and gives IT teams up-to-date visibility into assets. EMCO Network Inventory Professional (ENIP) is designed to scan workstations, servers, and network devices, collect detailed inventory data, and produce reports you can schedule and act on. This guide shows how to configure ENIP to perform automated audits, from initial deployment to advanced scheduling, reporting and troubleshooting.

1. Planning your inventory automation

Before configuring automation, define goals and scope:

• Identify which network segments, device types (Windows, Linux, macOS, network devices) and IP ranges you need to audit.
• Decide what data you must collect: hardware components (CPU, RAM, storage), installed software, running services, Windows updates, installed patches, license keys, user accounts, and custom registry values.
• Determine scan frequency — daily for critical servers, weekly or monthly for desktops.
• Plan access credentials and security: local admin or domain credentials, SSH keys for network devices, firewall rules or port allowances.
• Prepare a dedicated machine for the ENIP console/collector with reliable network access.

2. Installing and configuring EMCO Network Inventory Professional

1. System requirements and installation

   • Use a Windows machine that meets ENIP server/console requirements. Install the product from the official installer and apply license information for the Professional edition.

2. Configure scanning rights

   • Add domain or local administrator credentials to allow remote inventory collection. For workgroup devices, ensure matching local admin credentials or enable WMI access via alternate credentials.
   • For non-Windows devices, prepare SSH credentials and SNMP community strings where applicable.

3. Add target computers and ranges

   • Use automatic network discovery to scan IP ranges or import host lists from CSV/AD. Group devices logically (by location, department or role) for easier scheduling and reporting.

4. Set up collectors (optional)

   • For larger or segmented networks, deploy remote collectors to improve performance and reduce WAN traffic. Configure each collector with credentials and assign target ranges.

3. Choosing what to collect

EMCO supports a broad set of inventory items. Common useful selections:

• Hardware: CPU model, cores, clock speed, RAM size and type, motherboard, BIOS/UEFI, storage devices and SMART info, MAC addresses.
• Software: installed applications, version numbers, install dates, MSI product codes.
• OS and patches: OS version/build, installed Windows updates and hotfixes.
• Services and processes: running services, startup types.
• Network: IP configurations, open TCP/UDP ports (if using port scanner), MAC addresses, network adapters.
• Security info: antivirus presence/version, firewall status.
• Custom: registry keys, scheduled tasks, installed fonts, printers.

Select only the items you need to keep scans quick and efficient.

4. Configuring automated scans and schedules

1. Create scan tasks

   • In ENIP, create a scan task and assign target groups, collectors (if used) and credential sets.
   • Choose scan type: Full scan (hardware + software), Quick scan (basic system info), or custom scan (select specific data categories).

2. Set scheduling options

   • Use the built-in scheduler to run tasks at defined intervals (daily, weekly, monthly) or specific times. For servers, schedule scans during low-usage windows. For desktops, schedule outside business hours to avoid interruptions.
   • Configure retry policies for offline devices — e.g., attempt again later the same day or next scan cycle.

3. Incremental scanning and change detection

   • Enable incremental scans where supported so ENIP only collects changed data to reduce load. Configure change detection alerts for significant differences such as new software installs or removed security software.

4. Notification and error handling

   • Set up email notifications for scan completion, failures, or when thresholds (e.g., new unauthorized software) are triggered. Ensure your SMTP settings are configured.

5. Automating reporting and data export

1. Built-in reports

   • ENIP includes many predefined reports (inventory summaries, software license compliance, hardware lifecycle). Schedule these reports to run after scans and deliver via email or save to a network share.

2. Custom reports and templates

   • Create custom report templates to show only the fields and groupings you need. Use filters (by department, OS, software name) to tailor outputs for different stakeholders.

3. Export formats and integrations

   • Export inventory data to CSV, XLSX, XML or directly to external systems. Use exports for license reconciliation, CMDB updates, or feeding other asset management systems.

4. Automate export workflows

   • Schedule exports alongside scans and use network shares or scripted post-processing to automatically import data into other systems.

6. License and compliance auditing

• Use software inventory reports to find installed applications, counts by version, and identify unauthorized or unlicensed software.
• Configure alerts for prohibited software or for exceeding license counts.
• Combine software installs with usage data (if available) to plan license reclamation.

7. Maintaining and optimizing your automated audits

• Review schedules periodically — adapt frequency when network changes or seasonal workloads change.
• Prune unnecessary data collection fields to speed scans.
• Monitor collector performance and distribute collectors to reduce latency across WANs.
• Keep ENIP updated to obtain the latest device/OS support and bug fixes.
• Test credential validity regularly and rotate credentials per security policy.

8. Troubleshooting common automation issues

• Failed authentication: verify credentials, network connectivity, firewall/WMI settings, and that remote services (WMI, RPC, SSH) are running.
• Incomplete data: ensure collectors have required permissions and that target machines allow the chosen access method (WMI, RPC, SSH).
• Slow scans: reduce collected fields, enable incremental scanning, deploy more collectors, or segment scans by subnet.
• Network device inventory gaps: enable SNMP or use device-specific credentials; ensure SNMP community strings match.

9. Example automation workflow

1. Deploy ENIP on a central server and install two remote collectors for branch locations.
2. Import AD computers into groups by OU. Assign domain admin credentials for domain-joined devices and a separate credential set for service accounts.
3. Create three scan tasks:
   • Daily Quick Scan for servers (02:00 AM) — basic hardware, services, and critical software.
   • Weekly Full Scan for workstations (Sunday 03:00 AM) — hardware, full software list, updates.
   • Monthly License Audit (1st of month) — full inventory + software compliance report.
4. Schedule automated reports: daily status email to IT ops, weekly license report to procurement, monthly executive summary to CIO.
5. Configure alerts for new/unauthorized software and failed scans.

10. Security and privacy considerations

• Store credentials securely within ENIP and restrict access to the console.
• Use least-privilege accounts where possible; prefer per-collector or per-group credentials.
• Limit who can read or export sensitive inventory data.
• Ensure exported reports containing personal or sensitive info are stored and transmitted securely.

Automating hardware and software audits with EMCO Network Inventory Professional reduces manual effort and keeps asset data current. With careful planning, proper credential management, sensible scheduling and targeted data collection, ENIP can provide continuous, actionable inventory information for IT operations, compliance and procurement.