Our two basic goals are to find out what we've got and to keep track of it. To do that, we need a place to store information that we collect about what we've got and then we need a way to get that information (preferably automatically).
So, to start with, let's take a look at a typical network. This will no doubt consist of a bunch of computers, a few hubs, switches, firewalls, some cabling and maybe some other devices:
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The first thing we want to do is to establish a repository on this network where we can store the information that you collect. That repository, in our case, will be Microforge.net Enterprise Server (ENT Server).
For the purposes of this document, we're mainly interested in how ENT Server fits into our broader auditing solution, so we won't go into details on installing or configuring this. The main thing to keep in mind here is that ENT Server is the repository where you will store all the information that you collect, so you probably want to install this in a central location, such as your main network. We'll talk about this in more detail later on. For the moment, just remember that the final destination for all the data that we collect is this central repository.
However, ENT Server itself will not actively collect any information about your network or the users that you support. ENT Server is simply a repository for this information. So, once you have an ENT Server in place you will then also need to go about actually collecting the information that you want to store on that ENT Server, which will involve the use of a collection of tools and utilities known as auditing agents.
Since this document primarily concerns auditing your IT assets, these auditing agents will be the main focus of this document.
We'll start off with an introduction to auditing agents and some basic concepts which will help you to understand and use the various auditing agents that are available for Enterprise Server.
Then we'll discuss the specifics of installing and configuring each of the different auditing agents in turn, noting the requirements of each auditing agent and discussing various different ways that you might deploy these.
Finally, we'll compare the different auditing agents and discuss the pros and cons of using different agents in different situations, so that you will be in a position to build an effective auditing strategy and choose the right tools to implement that strategy on your network.
