For partners subscribed to Enterprise plans.
Introduction
Use this article as a guide when you integrate with the Reporter Appliance add-on to the RapidFire Tools Network Detective software. This integration discovers assets, computers, servers, applications, and services such as Active Directory, DNS, and DHCP. Then, it automatically builds relationships between the assets.
The integration uses an API link to write the collected data from Reporter directly in to IT Glue, allowing you to streamline your applications and services. The data is synced as structured documentation and flexible assets are created automatically. In the case that there are pre-existing configurations in IT Glue, the integration enriches the information that is already being synced from your PSA and RMM tools.
Important. This is a powerful integration that can create thousands of assets in IT Glue. We
highly recommend that you review your settings carefully as the data created cannot be mass deleted.
This integration has unique matching criteria to prevent duplicates. Please review the
Matching Criteria for Configurations and Contacts section of this KB article to prevent duplication of data. If you have any questions, please
Contact Us before proceeding.
Prerequisites
- Partners must be subscribed to the Enterprise plan as the integration requires the IT Glue API.
- Partners must complete the following before starting the integration:
- Install the Network Detective application.
- Install a Reporter scan server on your MSP network. Refer to "Initial Reporter Setup" on page 17, Reporter User Guide.
- Ensure that a Remote Data Collector (and its associated Client-Connector) is set up with a Reporter Site configured to perform regular scan tasks. Refer to "Initial Remote Data Collector Setup" on page 22 and "Configure Remote Data Collector to Perform Scan Tasks" on page 30, Reporter User Guide.
- System Requirements:
- Windows 8 or later
- 10GB of free disk space
- Minimum of 8GB RAM (16GB RAM recommended)
Instructions
Generating an API key
- Log in to your IT Glue account and navigate to Account > API Keys.
- In the Custom API Keys section, enter a name for the key and click Generate API Key.
- Save the API key in a secure location as you will need it in a subsequent step within this KB article.
Note: You will not be able to view a key again after it has been generated. Once you leave the this screen, the full API key will not be displayed again.
Creating export tasks
- Create a Report Export Task to export the data to IT Glue.
- Navigate to the Reporter site and then click on Reporter > Tasks > Create Export Tasks.
- In the Select Export Task pop-up, select Export Configurations, enter a task label (e.g. "Daily Export to IT Glue"), and click the Next button.
- Select IT Glue from the list of available integrations.
- Enter the IT Glue connection parameters and target organizations. To add IT Glue to the connection parameters, click on Manage Connections.
- In the Connections Manager window, click on the New button to create the API connection between IT Glue and Network Detective. Enter a connection name and your IT Glue API credentials and click OK.
- Select the IT Glue connection that is now available in the drop-down. Then, select the configuration items you want to export.
Warning. If you have other integrations creating Contacts and/or Configurations in IT Glue such as a PSA and RMM,
DO NOT select the
Export Contacts and
Export Computers options as they will create unwanted duplicates.
IMPORTANT! We strongly recommend that you select the following checkboxes:
- 'Exclude Server Features and Options'
- 'Exclude Startup Programs'
- 'Exclude Windows Services'
If you do not select these options, the Reporter will detect and add all of these items to IT Glue which may clutter search and navigation. If you have any questions, please Contact Us before you complete this step.
- Again, review the configuration items that you have selected to exclude in the step above.
- Then, click Update.
The Export Task will now appear in the task list.
Scheduling export tasks
- To initiate a scan, move the scan from the task list to into Scheduled Tasks. There are two ways to do this:
-
First option - In the task list, click on Run Now in the Action column to automatically move the scan into the Scheduled Tasks list.
-
Second option - Click Schedule to run the scan sometime in the future. In the CRON Builder window, set the time zone, recurrence, and time and then click OK.
- Schedule the Export Task and select the IT Glue connection.
The system will now scan and automatically populate data in to IT Glue. Please note that it may take up to 3 hours for your results to appear.
Important. You must allow time for the scan task to complete before the report and/or export tasks are scheduled to begin. This is to ensure that the RDC can perform and upload the scans so Reporter is using the latest data. We recommend you schedule the reports 3 or more hours after your scan tasks are scheduled to begin.
Accessing data in IT Glue after scan and export
- Log in to your IT Glue account and verify that flexible assets are added to your sidebar. To do this, navigate to Account > General and click Customize Sidebar.
Tip! If the flexible assets are listed in the "Sidebar Sections" column, click
Save to continue. If they are listed in the "Flexible Assets" column, then drag them into the Sidebar Sections column in the order you would like them to appear. For more details, refer to our KB article
here.
- Navigate to the Organization main page and click on a newly updated item in the Apps & Services section. The flexible asset types are:
- AD Domain
- Domain Controller
- FSMO Role
- AD Computer
- AD User
- Security Group
- Group Policy
- DNS Entry
- Windows Service
- Enabled Server Feature
- Enabled Optional Feature
- Startup Programs
- Non-AD Device
- Microsoft SQL Server
- Web Server
- Time Server
- Exchange Server
- DHCP Server
- Hyper-V Server
- Hyper-V Guest
- Printer (Attached)
- Printer (Networked)
- Printer (Share)
- Network Share
- Installed Application
- Licence Key
- Missing Windows Patch
- Open an item to see how the Reporter has automatically built relationships between the assets. Refer to the Matching Criteria for Configurations and Contacts section in this KB article for more information.
Example of a Flexible Asset created by the integration:
- Active Directory users are added as IT Glue Contacts.
Matching Criteria for Configurations and Contacts
The Reporter Appliance will always attempt to make a match according to the criteria in existing IT Glue Configurations and Contacts as listed in the table below.
In the case that there is no match, Reporter will create a new IT Glue Configuration and Contact. The matching logic for IT Glue Configurations and Contacts is similar to that of a PSA and RMM.
| Rule for match on association |
Association matches on |
| IT Glue Configurations |
- Exact match on configuration type and primary MAC address and serial number.
- If there is no match on all three of these fields, the exact match is on the configuration type and primary MAC address.
- If there is no match on those fields, the exact match is on the configuration type and serial number.
|
| IT Glue Contacts |
- Exact match both on a first and last name.
|
Association Criteria for Flexible Assets
New Flexible Assets created by the Reporter integration will always attempt to automatically associate to IT Glue assets (i.e. Configurations and Contacts) based on the table below:
| Rule for match on association |
Association matches on |
| IT Glue Configurations |
- Exact match on configuration type and primary MAC address and serial number.
- If there is no match on all three of these fields, the exact match is on the configuration type and primary MAC address.
- If there is no match on those fields, the exact match is on the configuration type and serial number.
|
| IT Glue Contacts |
- Exact match both on a first and last name.
- If there is no match on these fields, the exact match is on the email address (not case sensitive).
|
| IT Glue Domains |
|
Key Fields
What is a Key Field? Each Flexible Asset created by the Reporter integration has specific fields that it uses to associate data to. Please see the table below for all Key Fields.
Important. After the initial scan by the Reporter Appliance, DO NOT edit the content in these fields within IT Glue. Doing so will create duplicates in your IT Glue account. If you edit the fields after the initial scan, the fields will not match again in subsequent scans and the integration will create a new, duplicate asset.
|
Flexible Asset Type
|
Key Fields
|
|
AD Domain
|
Domain Name
|
|
Domain Controller
|
Computer*, Domain
|
|
FSMO Role
|
Domain, Role, Domain Controller
|
|
AD Computer
|
Domain, Configuration
|
|
AD User
|
Domain, Username
|
|
Security Group
|
Domain, Group Name
|
|
Group Policy
|
Domain, Policy Name
|
|
DNS Entry
|
IP Address
|
|
Windows Service
|
Computer*, Service Name
|
|
Enabled Server Feature
|
Computer*, Feature
|
|
Enabled Optional Server
|
Computer*, Feature
|
|
Startup Programs
|
Computer*, Startup Item
|
|
Non-AD Device
|
IP Address, Computer Name
|
|
Microsoft SQL Server
|
Sever Name, Instance
|
|
Web Server
|
Computer Name
|
|
Time Server
|
Server Name
|
|
Exchange Server
|
Server Name
|
|
DHCP Server
|
Server Name
|
|
Hyper-V Server
|
Hostname
|
|
Hyper-V Guest
|
Host, Guest Name
|
|
Printer (Attached)
|
IP Address, Printer Name
|
|
Printer (Networked)
|
IP Address, Printer Name
|
|
Printer (Share)
|
Shared Printer
|
|
Network Share
|
Hose, Share UNC
|
|
Installed Application
|
Computer*, Application Name
|
|
License Key
|
Computer*, Application Name
|
|
Missing Window Patch
|
Computer*, Issue
|
* IT Glue Configuration
