Review: Spiceworks 4.5

I attempted to have Spiceworks scan a subnet consisting primarily of networking devices. This was far less successful, because many of these devices are desktop switches and consumer routers that don't respond to SNMP queries. Spiceworks can’t query a networking device that doesn't respond to SNMP, even if the device supports Secure Shell (SSH) access, as some of my devices do. This might also explain why when I asked Spiceworks to create a map of my network, several intermediary switches were missing from the map. I had to manually add some devices that Spiceworks couldn’t capture automatically.

The product was also unable to monitor the health of an Exchange 2007 server on my network. Unfortunately, Spiceworks can monitor only Exchange 2003 servers. This limitation is especially disappointing because Exchange 2003 will soon leave Microsoft’s Extended Support phase. It would be nice to see support for newer versions of Exchange.

Despite the few shortcomings, overall I was impressed with Spiceworks’ inventory capabilities. After I was done giving the inventory functionality a thorough test, I moved on to the Help desk component.

Spiceworks provides a comprehensive ticketing system in the Help desk arena. Creating a new ticket is a straightforward process. The ticketing system is fully aware of the gathered inventory and lets you reference any of your assets. A list of open tickets and their assignees is provided. Editing an existing ticket is also very straightforward. Any IT professional who has used even the most basic of ticketing systems will feel right at home with the Spiceworks system.

The software also includes the ability to track services, such as support contracts and ISP subscriptions. This is a great feature because it lets you see the status of your services at a glance. You can also reference your services in Help desk tickets just as you can reference your assets. These features all tie together nicely with Spiceworks’ monitoring and alerts.

The product lets you specify a plethora of options for monitoring not only your connected computers and devices but also your services (e.g., the end date of a contract). Options range from the basics, such as remaining disk space, to the advanced, such as software compliance. At a periodic interval that you can adjust, Spiceworks sniffs your connected computers and devices to ensure they are in compliance. No agents are necessary, although you need administrator-level access to the scanned machines. Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) must also be configured for Spiceworks to gather information.

Overall, I was impressed with Spiceworks. The most compelling feature of the product, aside from the $0 price tag, is the way all the components tie in together. You don’t have to maintain separate lists of assets or use another interface to query a network device. Everything is integrated in the single Spiceworks interface. My only concern with the product is that its simplicity is a bit deceiving at first. If you dive right in like I did for review purposes, you could be caught off-guard. You need to think about where you will install Spiceworks, especially if you already have a web server installed. In addition, you need to make sure you have the proper credentials to access your devices and computers and ensure that any host-based firewalls are configured to allow Spiceworks access.

Taking these few preliminary steps before you jump in will ensure a good experience from the get-go. Uninstallation is also a cinch, leaving little to no cruft behind. You have little to lose and a lot to gain by giving Spiceworks a try. I highly recommend it.