Architecture and components

Previous scheme shows the components and internal connections in ProactivavaNET® Service Desk and Inventory, tough the latter has more components. Following is Inventory architecture:

Each ProactivaNET® tool is made up of the following main elements:

1. Audit agents, who will audit each one of the networked PCs (only in ProactivaNET® Inventory).
2. A relational database where all the information regarding the computer system is stored.
3. A web application to exploit the database information.
4. User browser to access the web application (MS Internet Explorer).

AUDIT AGENTS:

ProactivaNET® Inventory has several audit agents capable of extracting information from the computer system:

• Agent Win32: panagent.exe is a small executable file (approx. 300Kb), which, as it is run locally on a PC, can audit the PC and issue an XML data package containing all the information regarding the machine  (hardware, software and system configuration). Agent Win32 can also be distributed as ActiveX embedded in a webpage, thus providing additional forms of distribution.
• SNMP Agent: ready to get information from any active networked element (with IP location).
• Active Directory Agent. An audit agent which obtains information stored in the Active Directory and integrates it in ProactiveNET® Inventory with the other data obtained by the previous agents.

Agents main characteristics:

• Minimum traffic. the reduced size of the executable file and the XML packet generated for each machine (approx. 5 Kb) make the system extremely light and easy to implement, whilst it can be run over the network without saturating it, even with narrow broadband, or over the Internet.
• Low impact. The agents do not disturb the normal operation of the client computer, since they run, extract the information and close, without any resident modules. Execution does not usually take longer than 1.5 secons on average, and it can be run in the background without disturbing the user´s work.
• Robustness. If we come across any potential problems after running the agents, these simply close. They do not produce any error in the computer, nor do they impede or obstruct the operation of the other applications. 
• Independence. The agents do not need to be installed, as they run independently from the rest of the system modules, and do not require any external element to complete the audit.
• Flexibility. The agents have a large number of parameters which allow their behaviour to be modified. This allows aesy adaptation to the characteristics of the client network. 
• Safety. The information generated by the agents is encrypted at source with a public / private key, for greater security in the traffic of data.  

DATABASE:

The central repository which stores the information of the computer audits is an open SQL database. It can be either MSDE (free MS SQL motor), MS SQL Server (7.0 or later) or Oracle (8i or later), and, in all cases, there is free access to the database and to the data stored in it. All the necessary documentation is provided, allowing for integration with the client´s existing systems.

WEB APPLICATION:

The application which exploits the inventory data is implemented as a web application on the Microsoft IIS (Internet Information Service) server. The application is formed by pages developed in JavaScript, C# and .NET, using a development framework which allows quick implementation, robust results and common, coherent interface.

This web application may reside in the same machine as the database, or in separate machines.

DATA ACCESS INTERFACE:

The web application which manages the inventory can be accessed from any PC which has HTTP access to the server and MS IE 6.0 or later, or IE version 5.5 updated with some components.

As it is not necessary to install any client software in order to access the inventory, the system administrator may access the data of his/her system from practically any point on the network.