TL;DR: Network inventory management is easier when IT teams keep Active Directory organized, maintain useful device attributes, clean up DNS, group endpoints for safer patching, and use inventory software to automate device discovery, reporting, and endpoint visibility. This gives sysadmins a more accurate view of what devices exist, where they are, what software they run, and which systems need attention.
Network inventory management is the process of discovering, tracking, organizing, and reporting on the devices connected to your network. For sysadmins, it helps answer the big questions fast: What devices do we have, where are they, what is installed on them, and which ones need attention?
You can simplify network inventory management by cleaning up Active Directory, improving DNS accuracy, grouping devices for patching, and using a dedicated inventory tool to automate discovery and reporting. Because manually tracking endpoints in spreadsheets is a fine way to ruin both your day and your asset data.
At a glance: How to simplify network inventory management
The easiest way to simplify network inventory management is to make your core systems reliable first, then automate device discovery and reporting with an inventory tool.
Step | What it improves | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
Clean up Active Directory | Device organization and ownership | Reduces stale objects and makes Group Policy easier to manage |
Populate AD attributes | Reporting and categorization | Helps identify devices by location, department, serial number, and other useful data |
Fix DNS hygiene | Device discovery and name resolution | Prevents duplicate, missing, or inaccurate device records |
Group devices for patching | Update targeting and risk reduction | Helps test patches before rolling them out broadly |
Use inventory software | Visibility and automation | Replaces manual tracking with scheduled scans, collections, and reports |
What is the difference between network inventory and endpoint management tools?
Network inventory tools focus on discovering, tracking, and reporting on devices, hardware, software, and configurations. Endpoint management tools usually go further by adding patching, remote access, policy enforcement, automation, and security controls.
Category | Network inventory tools | Endpoint management tools |
|---|---|---|
Primary purpose | Track what is on the network | Manage and secure devices throughout their lifecycle |
Common features | Device discovery, hardware inventory, software inventory, reports, collections | Inventory, patching, remote access, monitoring, automation, policy management |
Best for | Sysadmins who need accurate device visibility and reporting | IT teams that need broader device control and remediation |
Example use case | Find computers missing a required app or running low on memory | Patch third-party apps, run scripts, monitor endpoints, and support remote users |
Tool fit | PDQ Inventory, Lansweeper, Spiceworks Inventory | PDQ, Action1, NinjaOne, ManageEngine Endpoint Central |
What are the best network inventory management tools?
The best network inventory management tool depends on what you need to track. Traditional network inventory tools help discover and report on devices across a network, while cloud-based endpoint management tools usually inventory enrolled devices through an agent. If you need visibility into Windows devices on a local network, PDQ Inventory is a strong fit. If you need cloud-based inventory, patching, and software deployment for managed endpoints, PDQ's agent-based tool may be the better option.
Tool | Inventory type | Key features | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
Network and endpoint inventory | Windows hardware and software inventory, scheduled scans, collections, reports, Active Directory sync | Windows-heavy environments that need detailed local network visibility | |
Cloud-based endpoint inventory and management | Agent-based device inventory, patching, software deployment, vulnerability remediation, Windows and macOS support | Distributed teams that need to manage enrolled devices without a VPN | |
IT asset and network inventory | Asset discovery, hardware and software inventory, lifecycle insights, reporting | Teams that need broad asset discovery across mixed environments | |
Cloud-based endpoint inventory and management | Endpoint inventory, OS and third-party patching, vulnerability visibility, reporting | Teams that want cloud-native patching and inventory for managed endpoints | |
Cloud-based endpoint management and IT asset inventory | Endpoint inventory, monitoring, patching, remote access, automation | MSPs and IT teams managing distributed endpoints | |
Endpoint inventory and endpoint management | Hardware and software inventory, patching, remote control, configuration management | Teams that need a broader endpoint management platform |
1. Organize and continually maintain Active Directory
Active Directory (AD) is the heart of most network environments. AD provides essential administrative functions, such as managing authentication requests, delegating access to network resources, and storing and organizing information about network resources and objects.
When properly structured and maintained, AD can provide exceptional administrative control. However, AD can quickly become bloated with stale objects, especially in rapidly growing organizations. Moreover, leveraging certain administrative tools, such as group policy, can be more difficult if AD isn’t properly structured.
Tips to help organize and manage your AD environment:
Disable accounts immediately upon a user’s departure from the organization. Some organizations leave accounts disabled indefinitely, while others delete disabled accounts after a given number of days. Discuss with your team and consider a policy that works best for your environment.
Move disabled accounts into a designated disabled accounts organizational unit (OU) to keep production OUs clean.
PowerShell is your friend. You can use it to automate many tasks, such as moving and deleting accounts in AD. If you don’t want your day filled with manual tasks, PowerShell is the way to go.
Separate OUs containing user objects, computer objects, and security groups.
Organize OUs based on location and departments. Properly structuring OUs in Active Directory can drastically simplify Group Policy management.
It’s important to remember these tips are things to consider but won’t work for all environments. Develop a cohesive strategy that’s best for your network, devices, and users. Keep what works and change what doesn’t.
2. Populate Active Directory with useful information
Active Directory isn’t just great for accumulating and organizing objects. It also excels at storing object data.
Attributes in Active Directory are bits of information that define the properties of AD objects. Sysadmins can leverage hundreds of attributes defined in AD to extend AD’s functionality. This information can be extremely beneficial for identifying, categorizing, and reporting on devices.
Many object attributes are populated and regularly updated automatically in AD, including:
cn (Common Name)
distinguishedName
lastLogon
logonCount
objectSid
operatingSystem
operatingSystemVersion
whenCreated
However, admins can also take advantage of tons of attributes that AD doesn’t automatically utilize, such as:
comment
company
department
description
location
serialNumber
Now, all that’s left to do is manually input this information for each computer object in your domain … Okay, put the pitchforks down; I’m kidding. Besides, we’re far too lazy and far too smart for that. Instead, we can utilize PowerShell and a CSV file to do the heavy lifting. Here’s an example CSV file containing information I want to add to some of my computer objects.
sAMAccountName,location,department,serialNumber
HEIMDALL$,Asgard,Transportation,123888463
SIF$,Mars,Public Relations,88463389
THOR$,Earth,Security,1588946237
This CSV file contains the location, department, and serial number data for three computers. PowerShell can easily import this data in Active Directory for us with a simple script:
$Computers = Import-Csv -Path C:\CSV\computer_attributes.csv
ForEach ($Computer In $Computers)
{
$sAMAccountName = $Computer.sAMAccountName
$location = $Computer.location
$department = $Computer.department
$serialNumber = $Computer.serialNumber
Set-ADComputer -Identity $sAMAccountName -Location $location -Replace @{department=$department;serialNumber=$serialNumber}
}
All you need to do now is upscale this example to meet your needs and populate your Active Directory with all sorts of helpful information.
3. Get DNS in shape
I love the old domain name system (DNS) haiku that has been floating around the internet for several years now:
It’s not DNS
There’s no way it’s DNS
It was DNS
— SSBroski of Reddit
This haiku faithfully summarizes DNS and also seems to accurately depict the quintessential routine of a sysadmin.
DNS is the hidden superhero lurking in the shadows making all our lives exponentially better while receiving little credit. However, while DNS is largely to thank for connecting us to our digital destinations, it’s also notorious for being the root of many sysadmin-related conundrums.
DNS translates human-rememberable device and domain names to IP addresses. It allows me to connect to my server LordOfThePings using its super great name, which is easy to remember, rather than an IP address like 10.10.218.242.
When DNS works, it’s incredibly valuable. When it doesn’t work, it’s the source of many sysadmin tears. Thankfully, getting DNS in shape is pretty straightforward. Check out our DNS guide, specifically the section about fixing common DNS issues, to learn how to configure scavenging properly and enable dynamic DNS updates on your DHCP server.
4. Group devices to help with patching
Organizing and maintaining a large fleet of devices is no easy task. Even more challenging is ensuring all those devices get adequately cared for and regularly updated to help defend against cyberattacks.
Digital threats continue to rise year after year. There are several contributing factors to this unfortunate statistic. The skill requirement for cybercriminals is lowered all the time. The cost of data is rising, meaning successful attacks are more lucrative than ever. And organizations are continually adding to their fleet of networked devices, increasing their attack vector footprint.
As cyberattacks increase, it becomes significantly more important to ensure all managed network devices are regularly updated with security patches. Unfortunately, updates don’t have a perfect track record of being bug free. To ensure devices get updated on time and minimize distributing patches that could negatively impact your environment, organize your devices into patching groups.
Devices should be divided into a minimum of three categories, a pilot group, a production group, and a critical group.
5. Use a network inventory management system
At some point, your fleet of devices will grow beyond what you can reasonably track by hand. A dedicated inventory solution can automate device discovery, software visibility, reporting, and endpoint targeting so you are not relying on spreadsheets, stale records, or best guesses.
For local Windows environments, PDQ Inventory provides detailed network-based inventory. For distributed teams, PDQ also provides cloud-based, agent-based inventory plus patching, software deployment, remote desktop, and remediation for managed endpoints.
Network inventory management FAQs
How do I simplify network inventory management?
Simplify network inventory management by cleaning up Active Directory, populating useful device attributes, fixing DNS issues, grouping devices by patching needs, and using inventory software to automate scans and reports.
What are network inventory management tools?
Network inventory management tools discover, scan, organize, and report on devices connected to a network. They typically collect hardware details, installed software, operating system data, online status, and other endpoint information.
What is the best network inventory management tool?
The best network inventory management tool depends on your environment. PDQ Inventory is a strong fit for Windows-heavy networks, while tools like Lansweeper, Action1, NinjaOne, and ManageEngine Endpoint Central may fit teams that need broader asset discovery or endpoint management.
Why is Active Directory important for network inventory?
Active Directory is important for network inventory because it stores computer objects, user objects, OUs, and attributes that inventory tools can use for grouping, targeting, and reporting.
How often should network inventory be updated?
Network inventory should be updated on a regular schedule, especially before patching, audits, software rollouts, or security reviews. Many teams use scheduled scans so device data stays current without manual spreadsheet work.
Don’t put off your inventory management overhaul
If you find yourself drowning in an ever-deepening sea of devices, it’s not too late. These tips, some TLC, and the right tools can help you regain control of your network.
If you’re looking for an inventory management solution that provides all the power without all the complexity, PDQ may be the tool for you. Try it out for yourself with a 14-day free trial.
