Multi User Mode

Access to the LOGINventory database is possible in parallel with several users. The access can be done via the normal installation, via the portable version, as well as via the web viewer. LOGINventory offers an authorization concept and the possibility to share individual nodes, i.e. folders or queries from the tree structure, for specific groups or users. This ensures that only authorized persons have access to the data intended for them.

Authorization Concept

In the settings different roles can be assigned. The following roles are available:

Users or groups from the AD can then be added here and individual roles assigned. When using Security Principals from other domains (via Cross-Forest-Trust), nesting is not supported. This means that a Global Group or account from another domain must be entered directly in the roles; if it is a member of a Local Group, this will be ignored.

Run Management Center as another user allows you to test which data other users can see. However, nodes in the tree structure must be shared for this.

<setting name="HideDetailsForGuests">
    <value>true</value>
</setting>

Sharing Nodes

If user roles are to be activated, corresponding shares must be set to nodes in the LOGINventory tree.

User roles defined in the settings specify the type of access to the database that the individual users or groups have (read-only, edit data, ...). User shares determine to which data users or groups have access! Different roles can be defined for each user or group on a share. If no additional roles are defined, the roles from the global definition in the configuration apply.

To share nodes (queries or folders), the node properties can be accessed via the ribbon menu. Then you can define in the tab Share, which group or user has which kind of access to this node and all subnodes.

With role, the inherited authorizations (from nodes above or from the settings) can be overwritten and thus redefined.

Using the Portable LOGINventory Version

In the tab Extras in the ribbon menu the Portable LMC can be published. This version allows you to use the LOGINventory user interface on other Windows computers without having to install or configure LOGINventory. For this purpose, the LOGINventory.exe of the portable version can be called from the shared folder. A distribution is not necessary.

When creating the portable version, all necessary configuration settings and data are stored in a directory in which, among other things, a LOGINventory.exe is located.

The network access to the LOGINventory database server must be configured correctly. For Microsoft SQL Server Express, use the SQL Server Configuration Manager to check that the "SQL Server Browser" service is started and that the "TCP/IP" protocol is available.

Of course, the portable version also takes the role and authorization concept into account.

Web Viewer

Via the Web Viewer, data from LOGINventory can be displayed in a web browser and in some cases also edited. For this purpose, different pages are available for different use cases:

• Asset details for an individual device can be accessed via the details.aspx page, e.g. via http://loginventory-server/LOGINventory9/details.aspx. In addition to viewing the details of a device, this page allows you to document the handover of the device to a user (including signature), change custom properties and store lifecycle entries. The page is responsive and therefore also suitable for access via smartphone.
• User details for an individual user can be accessed via the user.aspx page, e.g. via http://loginventory-server/LOGINventory9/user.aspx. Every user (even if they have not yet been considered in the LOGINventory authorization concept) can go to this page and see which assets are assigned to them according to LOGINventory and which lifecycle entries the user account is linked to. In this way, each user can check which devices they have signed for and when, and whether the return of devices has been correctly documented in LOGINventory.
• The Web Console allows you to navigate through the LOGINventory tree structure and display queries and dashboards in read-only mode. The Web Console can be accessed via the default.aspx page, e.g. via http://loginventory-server/LOGINventory9/default.aspx (or just http://loginventory-server/LOGINventory9/). If only certain nodes have been shared with the user to open the page, the user can only see these nodes in the Web Console. It is also possible to export to various formats (e.g. PDF, XLSX) from here. The page is non-responsive and should therefore be accessed from a PC.

It is also possible to jump directly from the Web Console to the asset details page if a corresponding asset has been selected beforehand.

All pages support the parameterized call, so that you can jump directly to individual devices, users or queries. More information on this below.

Preparation

For publishing, Internet Information Services (IIS) are required on the LOGINventory machine.

To add the necessary roles / features, you can select the option to add roles on Windows Server systems e.g. via Server Manager.

On Windows Client operating systems, you can get to this dialog by going to Enable or Disable Windows Features via Control Panel via Programs, for example.

Then select the role Webserver (IIS) (depending on the operating system version also "Internet Information Services").

Add additionally the following options, or make sure they are selected:

• Common HTTP Features → Static Content
• Security → Basic Authentication (optional: allows use of browsers that do not support Windows authentication)
• Security → Windows Authentication (use Windows authentication by the web browser)
• Application Development → ASP.NET 4.X

The configuration of the web application is done via the IIS Manager which can be started by executing inetmgr.

Configuration

The published website can be configured via the Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager (found via the Start Menu -> Search for "IIS"). Especially the settings for Authentication should only be changed by experienced users who know what they are doing. By default the following settings are set here:

Publishing

In the tab Extras in the ribbon menu the Web Viewer can be published.

Various settings can then be made in the wizard that opens.

If the required features have been added on the server, a new application can be created in the IIS Manager via Publish now. We recommend using the default settings for Website, Application and Directory.

The browser icon can be used to access the website after publication and test the functionality.

The next page in the wizard provides various important settings for productive operation and permanent accessibility of the URLs used.

Alias / CNAME Setup

For example, the web viewer is then accessible under http://my-loginventory/LOGINventory instead of http://server01/LOGINventory.

For this purpose, a corresponding CNAME entry must be set in the DNS. Select one of the aliases currently pointing to this computer here, or enter the new CNAME here, which is still to be created by the responsible administrator.

A CNAME can be defined in the DNS for example as follows:

This entry can then be selected in the wizard:

Set up Redirection to this Version

Since different major versions of LOGINventory can be installed on a machine in parallel, a separate version-specific application is created in the IIS Manager for each version by default.

The setup of such a redirection rule is possible by clicking on the corresponding button.

Since the redirection rule (URL rewriting) is not a standard feature of IIS, it may be necessary to install it later. To do this, the wizard downloads the setup for this feature from the Internet and executes it. If the machine does not have an Internet connection, the address of the download is displayed. The download can then be run on another machine and the setup copied to the LOGINventory machine. In any case, the default configuration can be used when setting up the IIS Rewrite Module.

Once the module is installed, you can create the corresponding redirection rule by clicking the button:

Now it is also visible in the wizard which redirection rule is currently active.

Conclusion

The final page displays the URL where the web viewer is now accessible.

Appending /details.aspx to this address opens a web page with a search window. From here you can jump to the details pages of the respective devices.

Using the Web Viewer

Usage of the Asset Details and User Details pages is explained in detail in the documentation on handing out and returning devices.

In the Web Console, all data views of Queries and Dashboards are available via the default page (see above) and the export of data in various formats is also supported.