mwdmeyer wrote on 2023-11-27, 09:14:

I would be interested to see how you store your data in Snipe-IT so I can get a better understanding of what works out of the box etc.

There is a demo version here: https://demo.snipeitapp.com/

Storage is simple, there’s an “uploads” directory that the database references, so if you attach a .zip file to an asset (or model if you have multiple assets of the same model), it gets uploaded to the webserver (in my case IIS on Windows) for download again at any time.

You can find the file through Windows Explorer should you break the site or similar.

Here’s the driver zip for my Wildcat VP880 Pro for example:

paradigital wrote on 2023-11-27, 10:42:

Storage is simple, there’s an “uploads” directory that the database references, so if you attach a .zip file to an asset (or mod […]
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Storage is simple, there’s an “uploads” directory that the database references, so if you attach a .zip file to an asset (or model if you have multiple assets of the same model), it gets uploaded to the webserver (in my case IIS on Windows) for download again at any time.

You can find the file through Windows Explorer should you break the site or similar.

Here’s the driver zip for my Wildcat VP880 Pro for example:

IMG_2853.jpeg

That's really cool. And I guess there's nothing to stop you mounting a network share at the location Snipe-IT expects to store those files. I keep all my drivers etc on a NAS share that's also exposed via FTP for retro systems to pull from. I can feel this all coming together 😁

paradigital wrote on 2023-11-27, 10:42:

Here’s the driver zip for my Wildcat VP880 Pro for example:

IMG_2853.jpeg

Spent a bit of time this evening setting up Snipe-IT on a Windows '22 VM. Yikes... not especially straight forward, and the YouTube vid I was following was all over the place. A combination of that and the docs got me up and running though.

Now I'm starting to get it. I was slightly stumped by the inability to set a manufacturer for a component. But looking at your example screenshots and reading around, it looks like it would need to work as follows:

1. Create Categories, e.g. Case, Motherboard, CPU, etc.
2. Create Manufacturers, e.g. Lian Li, Gigabyte, Intel, etc.
3. Create Models, e.g. PC-60, GA-5AA, Celeron 300, etc. to link together a Category and Manufacturer for a specific part
4. Create an Asset for each instance of a Model (i.e. part) that we have
5. Create an Asset for each system build that we have, and checkout each 'component' or part Asset to link them together

It seems to me like the Components data type is largely useless. Does that marry up with your experience using it paradigital?

This is part of the reason I want to do my own thing, I want to set it up specifically for retro computers and benchmarking and keep it very focused.

I think Snipe-IT is very powerful but we are not its target audiance. Saying that, I think it is better than a lot of other options.

Shadzilla wrote on 2023-11-27, 19:59:

Spent a bit of time this evening setting up Snipe-IT on a Windows '22 VM. Yikes... not especially straight forward, and the YouT […]
Show full quote

paradigital wrote on 2023-11-27, 10:42:

Here’s the driver zip for my Wildcat VP880 Pro for example:

IMG_2853.jpeg

Spent a bit of time this evening setting up Snipe-IT on a Windows '22 VM. Yikes... not especially straight forward, and the YouTube vid I was following was all over the place. A combination of that and the docs got me up and running though.

Now I'm starting to get it. I was slightly stumped by the inability to set a manufacturer for a component. But looking at your example screenshots and reading around, it looks like it would need to work as follows:

1. Create Categories, e.g. Case, Motherboard, CPU, etc.
2. Create Manufacturers, e.g. Lian Li, Gigabyte, Intel, etc.
3. Create Models, e.g. PC-60, GA-5AA, Celeron 300, etc. to link together a Category and Manufacturer for a specific part
4. Create an Asset for each instance of a Model (i.e. part) that we have
5. Create an Asset for each system build that we have, and checkout each 'component' or part Asset to link them together

It seems to me like the Components data type is largely useless. Does that marry up with your experience using it paradigital?

Pretty much sums it up. From my understanding as a Snipe-It admin from an IT infrastructure perspective, components were added retrospectively to Snipe after feedback from some niche customers.

Rather than assets for builds I tend to create users instead, so for example I have a user called “High-End Athlon XP” and have a Barton CPU, Asus A7N8X and Geforce 7900GS checked out to that user.

paradigital wrote on 2023-11-27, 20:31:

Rather than assets for builds I tend to create users instead, so for example I have a user called “High-End Athlon XP” and have a Barton CPU, Asus A7N8X and Geforce 7900GS checked out to that user.

Does that offer any benefits over assigning assets to assets or is it more of a conceptual thing?

For me, as builds come and go I found it easier to add/delete users rather than have another asset being added and deleted from the db.

Either works, I just liked the distinction that a “use”(r) wasn’t an asset in its own right, just something the assets belonged to for x amount of time.

The only exception I have is full systems that are brand and configuration specific, like say my Mac G4 Cube. I’ll never split that out into its parts so the Mac itself IS the asset.

That makes a lot of sense when you think about it like that. Thanks for your insight. This will keep me busy for a while!

That's how I was abusing a Video Rental database program a while back, until I found out the limited records in the trialware and the author appeared to disappear off the face of the earth for registering it. For some reason a decade back it seemed an ideal exact fit for cataloging hardware and checking it out to various builds. ... though you had to rename the categories, like Director, studio, distributor etc and use them for bus type or whatever.

I currently don't have anything setup...I'm cursed with an insane photographic memory of every component I own. Can literally name anything I own off the top of my head.. meanwhile I have friends who buy something from ebay.. once it arrives they have no clue where it came from..

At some point I want to get a database going of everything I own. Few good ideas\solutions above i'm keen to try out.

No. I don't have a collection, I have spare parts. It's not so big that I completely forget about anything and accidentally buy a duplicate. Even if I couldn't list everything off the top of my head, If I see something I have, I remember that I have it.

The only list I do have is about full systems on Systemreqs:
https://gamesystemrequirements.com/user/rando … tranger/devices

My ideology is "Hobby should serve a hobbyist, and not vice versa".

So all what I have is an Excel spreadsheet for tracking purchases, their shipping, and where they are stored. In addition I have a folder (with number of subfolders) where I store images of the items I have. And related materials like manuals, drivers etc are simply stored in individual folders on an external hard drive.

I know, it is not a perfect solution for sure, but it is so much convenient in terms of saving my time. 🙂

From working on computer education center computers back in 1993 I can say I have seen allot of inventory tools.
From Excel spreadsheets, MS Access menu database, HTML web pages with Oracle database, etc.
And then there were programs like HP Openview, HP Toptools, UNIX Sysinfo, Hardware info,
You could take Screenshot of your Devices config window and paste onto MS word or OneNote.
I have seen allot of businesses use their own home made webpages and database. Or use programs like Remedy with database
Where you can query for a specific data.

I would say the easiest is just to make an Excel spreadsheet but if you want to be period correct build an MS-Access database or Oracle database with Remedy. Or an HTML webpage with Oracle database. Or use a spreed sheet from MS-Office, Quattro pro or Lotus suite.

A speadsheet online that you can access from anywhere like Microsoft Onedrive, Google drive, iCloud Drive, etc.

I'm starting to think a spreadsheet and folder structure might be the way. Snipe-IT is... frustrating. I don't mind the overhead of filling information in and setting it up (appreciate that's not for everyone though). But this evening I wanted to add some CPUs. I can create a model to represent say an Intel PII, including the S-Spec value as the model ID (which of course will make the model unique). For CPUs I want to also record things like socket, speed, voltage, FSB. You can create a custom fieldset for those properties, but you can't assign it to a model! Only to an asset! So if I create a model for an Intel PII SL357 I would have to enter those property values - which aren't going to change for any instances of an SL357 - for each instance I add as an asset. I'd have to start creating product families as models instead, but then the model no. part of a model is useless.

Bonkers.

Square peg round hole 🤔

For that CPU though, wouldn't you just have a quantity? Do you need a CPU linked to a S-Spec?

I'm also self hosting Snipe-It, but with an attached Python script to generate labels/tags in three different sizes. It's a lot of work, but once you get in the hundreds of parts it's a necessity. I recently found a stack of third gen Ryzen CPUs that I fixed the pins on before using an inventory and completely forgot about. Oops..

I want to do RFID so I can find things!

mwdmeyer wrote on 2023-11-28, 20:50:

For that CPU though, wouldn't you just have a quantity? Do you need a CPU linked to a S-Spec?

I don't think it's a simple as that unfortunately. Models can have a minimum quantity before it will bleat at you for running low, and Components can have an actual quantity. But you can't set a Manufacturer on a component, or add custom fields. So to get any decent information on a part you have to make it a Model, attach a custom set of fields, and then build an Asset from that Model.

The other thing is, if you start having a single Model and re-use it, akin to quantity, then you've made the assumption or decision that every instance of that Model is identical. In the example of slot CPUs they quite often arrive with non-standard cooling solutions, making items that are the same model unique in their own right. You could put some of that extra detail into the notes field but then it's harder to index.

Maybe getting into the weeds a bit but if you're going to inventory stuff, may as well do it right 😅

Yeah I’m interested in your use case as my goal is to handle that correctly in PCB!

My day job is running an SAP integration company including production and warehousing so I’m very aware of the fun that is inventory.