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Asset Inventory page

The Asset Inventory page is a complete list of all assets in the organization. It is a list page, i.e. a paginated list with filters. By default, it shows devices that have not been archived.

It is available under Inventory -> Assets.

Asset inventory page found under Inventory -> Assets

The Asset Inventory page has a wide number of columns, and the column selection is configurable as well. The columns include:

Column Description
Hostname The hostname of the asset.
FQDN The fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the asset with Windows OS.
Projects The name of the project to which the asset is added, or (Multiple) if it has been added to multiple projects.
Health The asset health score for the given asset.
State The state of the asset. Supports filtering and sorting (Active > Rogue > Authorized > Inactive > Pending archival > Archived). Included in CSV export. See Asset state for details.
Source The source of the asset based on its discovery and information if the asset is monitored or not. See Asset discovery for details.
IP Addresses IP addresses on the local network interfaces on the asset.
Asset Priority The asset priority in terms of confidentiality (C), integrity (I) and availability (A) each on scale 1-10.
Type The asset type.
OS Operating system on the asset.
Labels Device labels.
Notes Note or remark regarding the asset. Can be useful to explain what an asset is or give context in simple terms.
Issues The number of issue violations currently open on the asset.
Benchmarks The number of benchmarks currently applying on the asset.
Baseline Score The average score of all benchmark rules that are in baseline and apply to the asset.
PCI-DSS Score The weighted score of all benchmark rules that are in PCI-DSS and apply to the asset.
OU The Organization Unit (OU) where the asset is linked in Active Directory (AD). Windows only, empty otherwise.
Agent Up-to-date "Yes" if the agent is up to date, "No" if the asset has an agent with an old version, N/A if it does not apply such as on a collected device.
Last Activity Timestamp when the asset checked in any information last time. Either directly (through agent) or collected from the asset and passed to the server through a collector.

The column selection and order can be configured through the Display Options icon -> Customize columns , which brings up the "Customize columns" dialog, where columns can be selected for inclusion, or dragged up/down to change the order in which the columns appear.

Asset inventory - customize columns

The actions available are as follows. Note that we describe the behavior separately for the case when there no assets selected, and when there are assets selected. This is because it can be different.

Action Behavior if nothing selected Behavior with selected assets
Request recheck Not supported. Need to select assets to use this. Flags the selected assets to check in full information next time it is in contact.
Apply label Not applicable. Need to select assets to use this. A dialog pops up where asset labels can be checked and applied to all the selected assets.
Export Exports a CSV or PDF with information about all the assets in the list with the current filter applying (i.e. same information as seen in the table). Exports a CSV or PDF report with information about all the selected assets.
Upgrade Upgrades the agent on all assets with the current filter applied (i.e. same information as shown in the table). Upgrades the agent on the selected assets.
Confirm archival Confirms archival on assets with states "Pending Archival" on all assets with the current filter applying. Note: This does not archive assets unless it has that specific status. Same as on the left, but only applying to the selected assets.
Assign project Not applicable. Need to select assets to use this. A dialog pops up where projects for working with assets can be assigned.

To select specific assets, the selection icon (checkbox) on the left is used to select specific rows. The selection icon (checkbox) in the header allows selecting all assets on the page or clearing selection for all of them. Note that it only applies within the current page view. To deselect all assets on the same page, one can click the arrow next to the checkbox to see a dropdown and click Deselect all.

Asset inventory - asset row selection options

CSV Import

The CSV import feature allows you to upload asset information from a CSV file. This is useful for:

  • Adding assets that are not discovered by agents, collectors, or network discovery (these assets will have Authorized state and are not monitored)
  • Updating existing asset information, including custom fields (for assets that are not monitored by an agent, collector or parent asset)
  • Bulk operations on asset data

Import Process

  1. Go to Inventory > Assets and click Add new asset.
  2. Choose Import assets as CSV, click Select, and pick your CSV file.
  3. When the import succeeds, a message shows "N asset(s) successfully processed, M unmonitored asset(s) created". If the import fails, an error message describes the problem, for example "CSV row N has an incorrect number of columns".

Success message after a CSV import

CSV File Format

The CSV file must include a header row with column names. Required columns:

  • Hostname (required): The hostname of the asset
  • IP (required): An IP address for the asset, used to uniquely identify it

Optional standard columns:

  • Type: Device type. The value is not case-sensitive. Accepted values include Desktop, Laptop, Server, Workstation, Network, Mobile, Database, Cloud, Printer, Storage, Medical, IoT, TV, Surveillance, VoIP, Gaming and Unknown. A value that is not recognized is treated as Unknown. For existing assets, see below
  • Labels: Device labels separated by commas. In a comma-delimited file, put the whole cell in double quotes, for example "Servers, Production". Without the quotes, the import fails with "CSV row N has an incorrect number of columns". In a semicolon-delimited file, no quotes are needed. Label names cannot contain commas. A label that does not exist yet is created in the organization. A label with the same name in the parent organization is reused if it is inheritable. If you have a label scope restriction and the import would change an existing asset outside your label scope, the import fails and no changes from the file are saved.
  • Benchmark: Name of a benchmark profile to assign to the asset.

A missing Benchmark value removes the benchmark assignment

If the Benchmark column is left out of the file, or its cell is empty or not recognized, the benchmark profile that a previous import assigned to the asset is removed. The asset then drops out of benchmark and compliance reporting. Unlike custom fields, leaving out the column does not keep the existing value. Benchmarks assigned to assets monitored by an agent, collector or parent asset are never affected.

For new assets, the optional columns may be empty or left out. For existing assets that are not monitored by an agent, collector or parent asset, the Type, Labels and IP columns behave as follows:

  • No other monitoring source (no network discovery, external scan or AD discovery): an empty Type cell, a missing Type column or an unrecognized Type sets the type to Unknown. An empty Labels cell or a missing Labels column removes all of the asset's labels. The asset's IP list is replaced by the single IP in the CSV.
  • Also seen by network discovery, external scan or AD discovery: Type and Labels are kept when the cell is empty or the column is missing. A non-empty Labels cell replaces the labels. A non-empty Type cell does not change the type, except that a recognized Type replaces the type of a Rogue asset.

Custom Fields in CSV Import

You can include custom fields in your CSV import to update custom field values for existing assets or set them for new assets.

How it works:

  1. Export assets with custom fields: When you export assets to CSV, custom fields are included as columns in the exported file
  2. Edit offline: Open the CSV file, fill in or update custom field values as needed
  3. Re-import: Upload the modified CSV file to apply the changes

An exported file cannot be imported unchanged

Before you import an exported file, make these changes:

  • Rename the columns to the names that the import expects: hostname to Hostname, ip_addresses to IP, type to Type, labels to Labels, and benchmarks to Benchmark. Column names are case-sensitive.
  • Columns other than Hostname, IP, Type, Labels, Benchmark and your custom field names are ignored.
  • In the IP column, keep one of the asset's IP addresses. The export lists all IP addresses of an asset in one cell, separated by commas. Such a cell does not match the existing asset, so the import creates a new asset instead of updating it. See Asset Matching for the exact rule.
  • In the Benchmark column, enter one benchmark profile name in the form <benchmark> - <profile>, for example CentOS 7 - Level 1 - Server. The export shows only the benchmark names, which the import does not recognize.
  • In Identity custom fields, enter the username without the domain. The export shows DOMAIN\username, but the import expects username.
  • In multi-select custom fields, separate the values with a semicolon (;) when the file uses commas as delimiters. The export separates multiple values with a comma and a space.

Custom field behavior:

  • Values provided: If a custom field cell contains a value, it overwrites the existing value in Nanitor
  • Empty cells: If a custom field cell is empty, the field is cleared on the asset. This applies to every field type. An empty Identity field becomes unassigned. To leave a custom field unchanged, remove its column from the CSV
  • Field matching: CSV columns must match the exact name of custom fields defined in your organization
  • Monitored assets: The import does not change assets that are monitored by an agent, collector or parent asset, including their custom fields. Custom fields are applied to other matched assets and to newly created assets. To set custom fields on assets monitored by an agent, collector or parent asset, edit them in the asset's details

Value formats:

  • Number: A numeric value
  • Date: Use YYYY-MM-DD, for example 2024-03-05. In a comma-delimited file, put a date that contains a comma in double quotes. The import also accepts the following formats, shown here with 5 March 2024 as the example date:
    • DD.MM.YYYY, for example 05.03.2024
    • MM/DD/YYYY, for example 03/05/2024
    • D Mon YYYY, for example 5 Mar 2024
    • Mon D, YYYY, for example Mar 5, 2024
    • Month D, YYYY, for example March 5, 2024
    • DD-Mon-YYYY, for example 05-Mar-2024
    • RFC 1123 and RFC 3339 timestamps, for example Tue, 05 Mar 2024 10:00:00 UTC and 2024-03-05T10:00:00Z
  • Boolean: TRUE or FALSE, not case-sensitive
  • Single select: The exact text of one of the field's options
  • Multi-select: The exact text of each option, separated by a semicolon (;) when the file uses commas as delimiters, or by a comma (,) when the file uses semicolons as delimiters
  • Identity: The username of the identity without its domain, for example jsmith rather than CORP\jsmith. The match is case-sensitive. A local account can only be assigned to the asset it was found on

Validation:

  • If any cell has an invalid value for a single-value custom field, the import fails with the message "General error" and no changes are saved. The error does not name the invalid cell, so check the custom field values and import again
  • Options in a multi-select cell that do not exist on the field are skipped, and the valid options are applied. If none of the options are valid, the field is cleared

Example CSV with custom fields:

Hostname,IP,Type,Department,Location,Owner
server-01,192.168.1.10,Server,IT,Data Center,jsmith
laptop-01,192.168.1.20,Desktop,HR,Office,adoe

In this example, Department, Location, and Owner are custom fields that will be updated for matching assets that are not monitored by an agent, collector or parent asset, or set for new assets.

Asset Matching

The import matches a CSV row to an existing asset only when both of these are true:

  • The Hostname is exactly the name shown in Nanitor, including upper and lower case.
  • The IP is exactly one of the addresses in the asset's IP Addresses column, including the prefix length, for example 192.168.0.140/24. An IP without a prefix length is read as /32 (for IPv6, /128), so 192.168.0.140 matches only an address listed as 192.168.0.140/32.

What happens next depends on the match:

  • If a match is found: The asset is updated with the information from the CSV, including custom fields. Assets that are monitored by an agent, collector or parent asset are matched but not changed
  • If no match is found: A new asset is created with Authorized state (not monitored). For an asset that an agent, collector or parent asset monitors, that new asset is a duplicate

Permissions

CSV import requires the same permissions as other asset import operations. Only users with the Manage assets permission can perform CSV imports and updates.

Notes

  • Assets created via CSV import have Authorized state, meaning they are not monitored by Nanitor (no agent, collector or parent asset is collecting data from them)
  • If an agent is later installed on the device, Nanitor matches it to the existing asset and converts it from Authorized to Active. See Matching agent sign-ups to existing assets.
  • Importing a CSV adds or updates assets only. Assets that are not in the file are left unchanged.
  • Rows for assets monitored by an agent, collector or parent asset must match exactly as described in Asset Matching, otherwise a duplicate asset is created. Matched monitored assets are not changed
  • Rows with an empty Hostname or IP are skipped without a message. If no row has both, the import fails with "No entries with hostname and IP found in the CSV file - is it correctly formatted?"
  • In the success message, N counts every row that has a Hostname and an IP, including rows that match an existing asset and change nothing
  • A matching asset that Nanitor archived automatically is unarchived by the import. An asset that a user archived manually (decommissioned), including one whose pending archival a user confirmed, is not unarchived
  • CSV files can use either comma or semicolon delimiters

Note: The Authorized state indicates that an asset is known to Nanitor and considered legitimate, but is not actively monitored. See Asset states for more information about asset states.