Hey everyone! I'm working at a medium to large organization where we struggle to accurately keep track of our assets. We use custom asset labels for our IT hardware, but there's no officially documented system in place. Right now, our asset labels, which have a numerical ID and a barcode, aren't being utilized effectively — we don't even track which assets are assigned to which employees. This makes it nearly impossible to find the right equipment, especially when they are just piled together without proper identification.
Currently, our labels are just stickers that can easily peel off, especially in hot environments, which adds to the frustration. I've started to use the asset IDs from these labels in my infrastructure hostnames, but with the quality of the stickers being an issue, I need a better solution. My goal is to provide consistent asset labels for our global teams, ideally allowing them to order from a vendor instead of me having to ship labels everywhere. I've seen tamper-proof labels in other organizations and I'm considering this option seriously. I keep detailed records in NetBox and want to incorporate barcode scanning for a more streamlined process. I would appreciate any advice on how to move forward with this!
5 Answers
Honestly, tamper-proof labels can be more trouble than they're worth. Instead, focus on using the serial number of each device as a consistent identifier. It's already linked to the device and makes tracking SO much easier. Look into asset management software that integrates with your existing systems; this will handle everything from pulls to user assignments automatically. Less hassle for you!
Check out Snipe-IT! It's a great asset management application that you can host for free. It might help you with tracking your assets more effectively.
Thanks! I hadn't seen this application before, but it looks really promising.
For asset labels, I've had success with Maverick Label. They've provided quality labels without any issues of them peeling off. They can create barcodes for you to use in whatever data repository you prefer, and it really makes organizing much simpler.
Thanks for the tip! I’ll definitely check them out.
You're on the right track with NetBox and standardizing hostnames. Just ensure your asset labels are tied to a proper system. Start with an asset discovery to see what devices you have, then transitional into better governance with tamper-evident labels that link directly to your NetBox records. Scanning them should streamline your process incredibly!
Thanks! I'm doing this mainly for my workload since there's hardly any documentation elsewhere. Hopefully, it will help.
Whichever vendor you decide on, make sure they can deliver labels directly to your remote locations. I suggest using a naming convention based on asset numbers, it really speeds things up when you need to find assets later. MyAssetTag has been reliable for me, and the foil tags don’t fall off easily.
I appreciate your input! I just want labels that actually stick well and don’t fall off. It's good to know about relying on serial numbers since they are usually embedded in the devices.