Network Inventory User's Guide

Adding Integrations

When you select a computer and launch an integration, Network Inventory executes a PowerShell command. This can be a lightweight "cmdlet," a PowerShell script, or any external program. This gives you a powerful tool for launching any external commands, scripts, and apps directly from your Network Inventory. Parameters passed as placeholders are replaced with actual values from the audit snapshot.

In order to allow for seamless integration, Network Inventory uses Alloy Integration Launcher. You get this small program installed automatically, together with your desktop application.

You can add a new integration as follows:

  1. Select Tools > Integrations > Configure Integrations from the main menu to bring up the Integrations dialog box.

    NOTE: Alternatively, right-click a computer or device and choose Integrations > Configure Integrations from the pop-up menu.

  2. Click Add to open the Integration Properties dialog box.

  3. In the Caption field, specify a unique caption for the command, as it appears in the list of integrations.

    To include a keyboard accelerator for your command, include an ampersand (&) before the character. For example, to use the "D" keyboard accelerator for the Remote Desktop command, enter the caption as Remote &Desktop. To display an ampersand character in the caption, use two ampersands (&&).

  4. In the Run field, enter the commands or scripts for the PowerShell to run, like you would enter them in your Windows PowerShell console. This can be a PowerShell cmdlet, a combination of cmdlets, a script, or any external program.

    To enter a dynamic parameter, such as the name or IP address of the client computer, insert a placeholder from the Placeholders section below. At runtime, all placeholders will be replaced by the actual data.

    IMPORTANT: Add double quotation marks (") around placeholders, so all placeholders in your command are enclosed in quotes. For example: "$AD.Name".

  5. If you want to review the output information in the PowerShell window, select the Display PowerShell window check box.

  6. Under Placeholders, choose placeholders to pass dynamic parameters to your PowerShell script or command. For example, use the $AD.NAME placeholder to pass the name of the currently selected computer as a parameter for the external command.

    To insert a placeholder, click the location in the Run field where you want it inserted, and then double-click the placeholder to insert. Make sure to enclose all placeholders with double quotation marks (").

    By default, Network Inventory displays the following placeholders:

    • $AD.INFO_MAC — the MAC address of the computer’s network adapter;
    • $AD.INFO_USER — the name of the computer user;
    • $AD.IP_ADDRESS — the IP address of the computer or network device;
    • $AD.IP_ADDRESS_V4 — the IPv4 address of the computer or network device;
    • $AD.IP_ADDRESS_V6 — the IPv6 address of the computer or network device;
    • $AD.NAME — the network name of the computer or network device.

    To view all available placeholders, select the Show all placeholders check box. The full list includes placeholders for all fields available in Computer, Chromebook, and Network Device records.

    TIP: Placeholders consist of field names with the $AD. prefix, all caps. You can access the full list of fields in the Settings App, in the Fields section. For details, see Administration Guide: Customizing System Field Labels (Network Inventory). You can also find all database fields in the Database Reference Guide, which is available at the Alloy Support Portal.

    IMPORTANT: The version of PowerShell on your computer must match the version of your PowerShell script or command, or be higher. The screenshot above shows an example for PowerShell version 5, which comes preinstalled on Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016.

  7. Click OK.

Related Information: