GLPI + OCS – personal inventory system on VPS

Why do we need GLPI and OCS?

Businesses grow, equipment changes, people come and go — and suddenly IT becomes a “black box”: nobody remembers which laptop has which software, where licenses are used, who owns a printer, why a workstation is slow, or what changed last week before the incident happened.

GLPI and OCS Inventory NG are popular tools to bring order into that chaos. Together they give you an inventory system, service desk, and visibility into what is happening across your infrastructure — especially if your team works remotely or supports multiple locations. And yes: you can run all of it on a VPS, keeping the system accessible from anywhere.

In practice, GLPI + OCS helps you:

• see every device and its configuration in one place;
• track software and licenses (and reduce “shadow IT”);
• detect changes: new devices, removed devices, hardware upgrades;
• build an internal IT service desk (tickets, SLA, categories, knowledge base);
• reduce downtime by responding faster and troubleshooting smarter.

GLPI — Computer and Office Equipment Inventory + Service Desk

GLPI is widely known as an IT asset management (ITAM) and service desk system. It is used to keep track of computers, peripherals, network equipment, software, contracts, suppliers, and also to manage incidents and requests through tickets.

GLPI includes capability:

• inventory management (assets, peripherals, printers, network devices);
• application and incident management (ticketing);
• license and contract tracking (ITIL-friendly approach);
• user and group linking (departments, locations, roles);
• knowledge base and FAQ for users and staff;
• reporting and dashboards;
• MySQL/MariaDB database support;
• notifications (email alerts, escalations, reminders);
• extensibility via plugins.

The advantage of a GLPI-based system is flexibility. You can configure workflows, permissions, categories, approval steps, and the interface can be adapted to different teams: internal IT, MSP, or multi-branch business support.

Tip for real use: even if you install GLPI “just for inventory”, enable tickets from day one. A clean inventory without an incident history is helpful — but inventory + incidents gives you the full story.

Inventory of computer networks based on OCS Inventory NG

OCS Inventory NG is a system designed to automatically collect information from devices on your network. The key concept is the agent: an agent runs on a workstation/server and reports hardware and software information back to the central OCS server.

OCS helps network and system administrators track:

1. all devices connected to the network;
2. hardware configuration and installed software;
3. changes over time (new software, removed components, etc.).

Key features of OCS Inventory:

• convenient web interface for inventory data;
• agent-based inventory (works even for large fleets);
• IpDiscover and SNMP support (useful for network discovery);
• advanced search and filters;
• collection of Windows/Office keys (where permitted and needed);
• remote deployment of packages and command execution (big time saver).

OCS supports popular operating systems and mixed environments. That’s important for real companies where Windows desktops, Linux servers and other devices coexist.

How GLPI and OCS work together (simple explanation)

Think of OCS as the “data collector” and GLPI as the “single source of truth” and service desk.

• OCS collects raw technical facts (CPU/RAM/disk/software versions).
• GLPI stores assets in a structured way, links them to users, locations, contracts, and tickets.

When connected, your GLPI inventory becomes more accurate and easier to maintain because devices can be imported/synchronized instead of entered manually.

Recommended VPS setup (so it stays fast)

For a small company you can run GLPI and OCS on one Linux VPS. For bigger fleets, separate them (or at least separate database) to keep performance stable.

Practical baseline for a typical small/medium deployment:

• 2 CPU cores (more if many agents report frequently)
• 4 GB RAM (8 GB if you want more speed and less tuning)
• fast SSD storage (inventory databases love IOPS)
• regular backups (database + config + uploaded files)

Installation and “first day” checklist

You don’t need to overcomplicate the first setup. Your goal is to make the system usable quickly and improve it step-by-step.

• Deploy server: choose a stable Linux OS, install web server + PHP + database.
• Install OCS server: configure it and verify it receives agent reports.
• Install GLPI: finish web installation, configure email notifications.
• Connect GLPI ↔ OCS: set synchronization rules and test import for 1–2 devices.
• Roll out agents: start with IT team machines, then expand gradually.
• Create categories: “Hardware”, “Software”, “Access”, “Network”, “Security”.
• Enable backups: daily DB backup + weekly full backup at minimum.
• Secure access: HTTPS, strong passwords, restricted admin access.

Security and maintenance tips (don’t skip)

• Use HTTPS for GLPI and OCS web interfaces.
• Restrict admin access by IP (or VPN) if possible.
• Keep the system updated (OS + PHP + web server + GLPI/OCS).
• Back up the database and test restore procedures.
• Document your agent deployment method (GPO, scripts, MDM, etc.).

GLPI is a proven and reliable inventory and service management platform, and pairing it with OCS can significantly increase productivity. Once implemented properly, this duo saves time, reduces downtime, and gives you full visibility across your infrastructure — from anywhere, especially when hosted on a VPS.