Automated network inventory, full self-service help desk, robust reporting, system monitoring and alerts, Mobile Device Management, software and warranty tracking and inventory, dynamic network map and knowledge base, and also the vibrant online community to share/download content and tools are some of the features on system administrators' and IT pros' wish list, which will help them automate and make their daily tasks more efficient. There is a single product that over two million IT pros have installed that does all these and more. No more separate data silos where you have to export/import to see a comprehensive overview. No more having to manually monitor an e-mail box to track user issues. No more installing clients throughout your network to collect even the most basic information from your desktops and servers. If you are struggling with any or all of these challenges, Spiceworks is your solution.
This book provides a walkthrough from installation to configuration of all these topics and more. The screenshots illustrate important areas of the application and guides you throughout. In only an afternoon, you can traverse installation, network inventory, help desk, reporting, and more with the result being a fully functioning and powerful installation of Spiceworks providing you with important data.
One last thing, Spiceworks does all this for free. Yes, you read that right, absolutely free.
So, come along and find out what over two million IT pros already know, that Spiceworks is an essential enterprise tool that no organization should be without. Come join the Spiceworks IT revolution.
Chapter 1, Setting Up Spiceworks, starts off with an overview of all aspects of the Spiceworks application. Then, we go through a step-by-step process of downloading and installing Spiceworks on your network.
Chapter 2, Configuring Network Inventory in Spiceworks, covers setting up of Spiceworks to scan your network, including best practices and Active Directory configuration.
Chapter 3, Configuring the Spiceworks Help Desk and User Portal, provides a detailed, step-by-step instruction on how to set up the Spiceworks Help Desk and self-serve User Portal. Customization of both the portal and help desk tickets are also covered.
Chapter 4, Configuring Other Spiceworks Features, talks about additional features in Spiceworks, such as Reporting, System monitoring and alerts, Mobile Device Management, Dynamic Network Map, Knowledge base, and Cloud services dashboard.
Chapter 5, Taking Spiceworks to the Next Level, tells you how to take things to the next level by leveraging the vibrant Spiceworks community to gain knowledge and interact with fellow IT Pros.
You will need an open mind for this book. Throw out any preconceived notions you have about "free software" and look at Spiceworks for what it does well.
Here is what you will need:
OS requirements:
Windows XP Professional SP2 or later
Windows Vista
Windows 7
Windows 2003 Server SP1 or later
Windows 2008 Server
Browser requirements:
The latest version of Mozilla Firefox
The latest version of Google Chrome
Internet Explorer 7.0 or later
Safari
E-mail server requirements:
IMAP/POP/SMTP
Exchange 2003/2007/2010
This book is for system administrators, IT pros, help desk technicians, IT directors, multiservice providers, and anyone else who wants to make their IT life easier.
In this book, you will find a number of styles of text that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles, and an explanation of their meaning.
Code words in text are shown as follows: "As you can see, if you need to put device-specific usernames and passwords into Spiceworks, you can by using the format, Domain\username."
Any command-line input or output is written as follows:
netstat -a | find "80"
New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, in menus or dialog boxes for example, appear in the text like this: "Clicking on Language Packs brings up the multitude of different ones that users have completed."
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