Storage

Storage concept

The TNI Storage is a folder on a hard drive selected by a user.

Each asset is represented by an .inv file.

The folder structure inside the Storage replicates the structure of the groups created by a user in the Network tree. Any direct changes to the Storage contents shall be registered by the program.

It means that you can create, delete and rename groups, move, and delete asset files either using TNI’s tools or via any file manager. Furthermore, its design makes it possible to back up and share data with other TNI users, etc.

For the program to function correctly, do not delete, move or rename auxiliary hidden files in the Storage root folder. This may lead to data loss or corruption.

Do not rename asset files (*.inv). See here to learn how to change displayed names.

Storage contents

Contents of auxiliary files

  1. Logins to access the assets (encrypted);
  2. User information (manually created and domain users);
  3. Software accounting data;
  4. Storage properties (storage name, company name, logo, inventory numbers template);
  5. Network map data;
  6. Last saved scan tasks (saved before exiting the program).

Contents of an asset file (*.inv)

  1. Asset network identifiers (network name, IP address, MAC address);
  2. Properties (alias, type, description, inventory number, etc.)
  3. Asset configuration snapshots, collected as a result of scanning (see Collected information);
  4. An alias of the login assigned to the asset;
  5. The ID of the user assigned to the asset;
  6. The asset’s local user information;
  7. Special field values.

Asset files can be moved between storages. However, various storage data will not be moved. For instance, the remote access login will be lost, but it could be restored manually.

Storage management

A copy of TNI is not linked to any particular storage. This means that you can switch between storages when the program is running.Storage management is carried out from the Storage menu:
  • Create: select an empty folder on a computer and create an empty Storage there;
  • Open: select a folder containing a previously created Storage to work with;
  • Recent: contains a list of recently opened Storage that allows one to quickly switch between them;
  • Backup: create a .zip backup and restore from a backup (backups can be performed automatically on a schedule);
  • Reload: reads the data from the computer again, if the changes made to the currently opened Storage have not been automatically registered by TNI;
  • Close: closes the Storage.
You can choose which Storage should be opened at startup by running tni.exe with one of the following parameters (specify the path to your storage):
/storage:"\\server\TNI Storage"
-storage="C:\Users\User1\Documents\TNI Storage"

To quickly locate the folder containing the current storage or a file representing one of the devices, you can use the Show in Explorer option in the context menu of the Network tree.

You can change the number of Storages displayed in the Recent list. To do this, open the config.ini file that can be found in the settings folder, then change the parameter max-storage-history-depth in the Storage section. By default, the program displays 10 recent storages.

The program automatically checks the conformity of the storage location path and displays any information about the absence or any changes to the storage name, transfer, or removal of the storage. In this case, the Clear invalid paths option appears in the Recent list, which allows the user to remove the missing storages.

When you close the current storage and restart the program, a storage selection screen will appear. Here you can delete the missing storages or open the recently used ones

You can access a common single-user storage from different computers by placing it in a shared folder. Please note that in this case simultaneous access can lead to the display of irrelevant data (when changes made by one user have not yet been reflected in the program of another), damage of data and crashes of the program.

We recommend avoiding simultaneous access to a shared single-user storage and avoid simultaneous editing of data, or add and configure a Multi-user storage.

Data import

Learn about importing possibilities in the Data import section.

Compatibility with TSD Storage

Please note that even though the TNI storage has the same format as the TSD network storage, we recommend using them independently. Opening a TNI storage in TSD and vice versa can lead to unexpected errors.

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